According to (NAR) 2019 Profile of home
staging report, 40% of buyers’ agents cited that home staging had an effect
on most buyers’ view of the home. 83% of buyers’ agents said staging a home
made it easier, for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. Staging
the living room was found to be most important for buyers (47 percent),
followed by staging the master bedroom (42 percent), and staging the kitchen
(35 percent).There so many reasons why home
staging is important. In this article we have pointed out the most
important considerations when staging a house.
1. De-personalize
the space
You must make sure that prospective buyers
visualize the space as their own the first time they see the house. Remove all
personal touches that belong to you as the seller like personal photos, both on
the walls and on the surfaces, keep sakes anything hanging on the fridge, clear
bathroom counters of personal items. Keep away all clothes hat and all toys.
This will help the buyers to easily connect with
2. Get
rid of clutter
If you want to make your home look bigger and
more appealing to your potential buyers, make sure you pack your things and get
them out of the house. Clutters distract buyers from seeing the features of
your house. Remove everything that you don’t need on daily basis from our house
like un- seasonal clothes, your décor, papers and messy hobbies. Don’t
even put them on your closet because buyers will want to see their storage. A
de- cluttered home is a sign that you really care about your home.
3. Do
a thorough cleaning
A clean house is warm and more welcoming.
When cleaning your home make sure that every square inch is clean. Most
areas that buyers will concentrate with includes on the baseboards, the
corner of your ceiling, kitchen counter tops, inside of your refrigerator,
window blinds ,inside the closets, all bathroom corners and definitely the
entire house. These areas should be cleaned thoroughly. When your
house is clean, it’s that time to put it to market.
4. Make
a good first impression
The most important aspect of a home showing
is the buyer's first impression. A buyer is not compelled to buy a house
when they are inside it. The decision making starts when they are few meters
away from the house. It’s therefore very important to work on the entrance of
your home. Remove any sort of seasonal decoration, power wash the front stoop.
Try adding a touch of hominess with a clean and beautiful doormat, a potted
plant that is in good condition. One way of making a great first impression to
the home you are selling is to assess the appearance of other houses in the
neighborhood. Pay attention to color scheme, the quality of fencing
and other features like exterior doors, walls, windows and door frames.
See ways to make
a great first impression before buyers even walk in the door
5. Make
thing fresh
Try to add freshness in your home. Add a few
pots that are well spaced, with fresh flowers to make your home inviting.
Dispose any dead or bad smelling flowers. You can try to place a vase with
bright flowers at the center of your kitchen table, potted plant in the corner
of the living room. But if it’s hard to maintain the plants freshness, you can
use fake plants. This will actually save you time. Still in the line of
freshness, make sure you have cleaned your trash bin. If you want to maintain a
pleasant smell, install some scented plug in in your bedroom.
6. Work
on your furniture
There some small changes that will add value
and make it more appealing to the customers. You can try to rearrange
your furniture leaving a reasonable space that will allow the buyers navigate
through and are able to have a good view of the entire room. In in case there
are unnecessary furniture or ones that are broken beyond repair or those that
don’t match the rest put them in a storage. A well-arranged room will give you
confidence to show your home in the light and to potential buyers. If your
furniture is old, you can try to replace with new ones, those are appealing to
the eye .You can buy or rent for the sake of staging your house. You can
add throw pillows to make them more inviting. Just make sure it has the right
size for the room
7. Do
necessary repairs
Look through your home to see if there some
damages that may signal neglect to buyers. The buyers don’t want to live in a
house that will cost those repairs and maintenance in future. These are the
main areas that every buyer will first check.
i. Wall
Remove all wallpapers and wall hangings that
in your house because chances are the client won’t like them. Remove all
the paints especially if you had garish colors and replace it to neutral colors
like gray, white, taupe. Each person has the color of their choice and neutral
colors give the potential buyer an option to choose their preferred color.
ii. Floor
Let your main focus be kitchen, the living
room, and dining room, bathrooms. Look that the walls are not damaged and if
there damages, repair them. Do some ceramic or vinyl tiles in your bathroom.
You can opt to add hardwood floors in the living room .Let the floor look
expensive
iii. Light
Brighten all the rooms by letting much light
shine in them. When it’s your house showing time make sure that your lights are
turned on to make your home welcoming. You can also make sure make sure that
your curtains are opened. Where necessary, add fixtures. This will actually
ease the buyers effort of looking for switches. Do repairs, replacements or
additional of your lightings where necessary. If they are in good condition
make sure they are clean.
iv. Ceiling
Make sure there no cracks on the ceilings.
Cracks on the ceilings are an indication of a poor foundation. Check with your
inspector to know whether you will need to repair the foundation or just the
ceiling. And just like the walls let the color of your ceiling remain neutral.
8. Stage
the exterior
The entryway and the entire exterior is what
make the first impression. If the exterior is appealing to potential buyers
they will definitely be excited to view your home. Prune all flowers,
lawns, hedges and any other plants and make sure there no weeds. If necessary,
powers wash your exterior. Make sure that the windows are all clean. You can
add flower boxes to make your home look bright. If you have a swimming pool let
be crystal clear. It will also be to your advantage if you have a
well-furnished and clean outdoor living space such as a gazebo, a deck or a patio.
Summary
The rooms that all buyers will keenly focus
on are the living room, master bedroom and kitchen. Other rooms, children’s
bedroom, bathroom, gust bedroom, have less influence but it’s good to have them
staged. You can consider hiring a home inspector just to make sure everything
is in order and that necessary repairs, replacements and maintenance are made.
Also see benefits
of home inspection in real estate. You can also ask a friend or a family
member to walk in buyers shoes and see what the buyers see.
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