Selling your house? Should you stage your home?

Even in the cooler months, you can sell your house. With a few less buyers and still lots of homes for sale it is important to have your house stand out from the rest!
It is important to realize that when your house is for sale, it is no longer "your home". Before it goes up for sale, is the time to get your home ready. You want to have anyone walking in your home to feel at home and to picture themselves living in your home. 

A few ways to do that:

• De-clutter: You are getting ready to move, so now is a great time to get all of your extras packed up. Those clothes that only get worn seasonally can be stored (it might not be a bad idea to keep them accessible if you are about to change your clothing). Closets are a great feature, if you can make it look like there is more room than there actually might be. Clearing your closets out, not only helps you, it gives the impression of tons of storage! Storing your rarely used kitchen appliances helps to keep your counter tops clear to show off all of your kitchen work space and empties your cabinets, which again shows off all of your storage!
• Depersonalize: This one might be the hardest to do. Pack up the pictures of your kids, grand kids, pets, family and friends. Replace them with  art work. Art work can be pricey but you can also DIY some inexpensive artwork as well (we will work on some of that late). A great way to add the void from your old pictures is a mirror (or mirrors grouped together). A mirror adds a big impact, making the room feel larger and can let the potential buyers really SEE themselves in your home. 
• Furniture & Placement: Keeping your home feeling large is helped with the furniture that you have in it. Some rooms cannot support a large heavy couch, or china cabinet. While it works for you and your family, if it does not emphasize the amount of space in your home, it might be best to store it until you move into your new home. Furniture placement is very important. you don't want to show an empty home, but you don't want your home crammed with furniture. As you move your furniture, be aware to keep the walking areas, large enough that as a realtor is showing your home to 1 or 2 people, don't run into each other or "get stuck". Pulling your furniture off of the wall can help a room feel cozier and if you can keep it far enough off the wall, you can add a nice walking area to see the whole room without tripping over a chair.
• Maintenance: Even if you take care of your home, it is easy to miss small things (paint touch ups for the kids running toys into the walls) because while you are living in it you get used to it. It is helpful to have someone with no emotional attachment to your home (it could be a friend, your realtor, or a staging professional) walk thru your home and let you know what they notice.
• Color: If you have rooms that need more than paint touch ups, it might be best to re-paint. Use warm and soothing colors, that will help relax buyers when they walk in. Lighter shades help your home feel larger and are more attractive to the eyes and help potential buyers picture their own furnishings in the home.

Staging Stats:
1. You will make more money: A survey conducted by Coldwell Banker discovered that staged homes are usually sold 6% above the asking price and spend less time on the market when compared to an unstaged home.
2. You will get a good return on your investment: Another NAR survey reveled that a 1-3% investment on home staging yields 8-10% return.
3. Your photos will stand out. Most buyers start shopping online, so it is very important that your online pictures look great!

Are you getting ready to sell? Give Megan Jelsema Designs a call today! (616)240-7095