10 Spruce-Up Tips in 10 Days. Get More Added Value to Your Home Before You Put it on the Market!!

Staging Is More Important Than You Realize!

This is one of those steps that I really enjoy, but I expect that there's a lot of people that don't.  Again, it does involve work.  You will probably be sore if you do this on your own.  (Which I don't recommend.  Furniture can get heavy!) But, once it's done, you will see the results and be glad that you did!  You can also hire someone to do it if you live in an area where there are companies that stage.  Your agent should be able to help you with either finding a company, or walking you through the process.  Your agent may have also taken a staging course, which would really benefit you during this phase.

However, there are many folks who don't want to spend the money it would take to professionally stage a home, and they prefer to do it on their own.  If that's YOU, then listen up!  I have some tips that will help you along the way!

First, depersonalize everything you're able to.  Pack up your wedding pics, family pics, kid pics, everything that doesn't help to perspective buyers visualize anyone but them living in the home.  If you haven't done so already, declutter!  Seriously, it makes a HUGE difference.  If you can afford to, go buy nice baskets to put things into them like games, puzzles, toys, video game controllers and games, you get the idea.  If you go to yard sales or thrift stores, you can get some at those places that are mismatched and spray paint them all so they're cohesive to your space.  When you're on a budget, you HAVE to get creative!  Just make sure that you store things neatly into the baskets that you've gotten!

Next is to move your furniture around in your rooms.  You want the rooms to feel open and spacious.  NOT sterile.  There's a HUGE difference.  Sterile makes people feel like they're in just a house.  You want your house to feel like a home.  Look through magazines/websites to get inspiration.  HGTV has both.  Better Homes and Gardens has both.  There are probably about a zillion options to choose from!  Just start thumbing through the pages either in the magazine or on the website to get some great inspiration for your different spaces.  You would be amazed at what you can find.  Just don't overwhelm yourself with too many ideas.  Simplicity is key here.  You want every room to be cohesive with the next.  You want the rooms to feel comfortable.  The bathrooms need to feel almost spa-like.  This is what buyers expect more and more often now.  Your master bedroom needs to be a retreat.  The other bedrooms need to be comfortable and welcoming for kids or guests.  Your living room/family room needs to be a place where people can feel like they can gather with family.  Get the picture??

With some time, effort, and hopefully some friends, you should be able to get your home staged and nearly ready for sale!

Happy Selling!

10 Spruce-Up Tips in 10 Days. Get More Added Value to Your Home Before You Put it on the Market!!

Organize, Organize, ORGANIZE!

Okay.  You've completed the first 5 items on the list.  (By the way, you do NOT have to do them in this exact order.  These are guides!)  Now, you're wondering what's next?  The next step is to organize everything!  This is to include closets, cupboards, pantries, EVERYTHING! Whether you realize it or not, potential buyers WILL look through everything.  (And on a side note, please make sure that you lock up things like guns, ammunition, prescription meds, etc.)  After all, they want to see how their things will fit into this potential future home.  Yes, there are some that are just being nosey, unfortunately.  It's an unfortunate fact of life, but if you lock away things that you need to or don't want anyone to see, you should be just fine!

Anyway, starting in the bathroom, you should go through all of your medicines.  It's a good idea to do this periodically to ensure that your medicines aren't expired, and in this case, to help you pare things down a bit.  Any bathroom appliances like old curling irons you haven't used in 10 years need to GO.  Old make-up, empty shampoo bottles, anything that's old needs to be tossed out as well.  If you have a linen closet in or close to the bathroom, make sure that the towels, washcloths, etc., are all folded and stacked neatly.  Make it look like it would at a high-end hotel.  Get rid of towels that have a ton of holes in them or are worn down to nearly nothing.  (I would just hide them somewhere because I LOVE those ones to put my hair in when it's wet!)  Wipe the drawers, shelves, and cabinets out clean and replace what's left.  Keep it looking nice!!!  It's super-easy to maintain with limited time if you just keep it up. 

Closets are next.  Coat closets and bedroom closets are where you need to head to.  Depending on the time of year, that will determine what needs to be in your closets.  And keep it as MINIMAL as possible.  You want to give perspective buyers the idea that there's a TON of storage space in your home.  You can't typically do that if you have your entire wardrobe stuffed into your closet.  As much of a pain as it is, store things that are out of season.  Coat closets do need to have something in them, even during the summer, so maybe some light jackets or house sweaters (don't judge...) would suffice.  You can even go a step further and color coordinate the hangers, or buy hangers all of one color.  It's just an extra finishing touch that's nice, but that one's not exactly necessary.

The pantry and kitchen cupboards are next.  Get rid of the expired stuff!  You don't need it, and you shouldn't eat it.  Get things together.  For example, all of the spices should be together.  The baking items should be together.  If you can afford it, get some pretty jars to keep some of this stuff in.  Again, not necessary, but a very nice added touch!  Wipe the inside of the cupboards/pantry/cabinets down.  Get them CLEAN.  Get under that kitchen sink and make it look as glorious as you possibly can!  People WILL look under there.  When putting things away, make sure that it's neat and tidy.  If that's not how you typically live, you will need to do it while your home is on the market.  This is a non-negotiable!

Finally, any kind of storage areas like the garage, attic, and any other storage places need to be organized, cleaned out, and swept if at all possible!  Again, people WILL be looking into these places, trying to envision their things in your house!

Make sure that, while your house is on the market that you keep up with everything every single day.  Yes, it's exhausting, but well worth the effort.  When a showing call comes in, you won't be running around like a crazy person trying to tie up loose ends.

Happy selling!!!