How To Stage The Home To Sell It
The first step in getting a home prepared for selling is to recognize that the house is no longer your home, but simply a product that needs to be sold. In an effort to get the highest price, there needs to be in emotional detachment where the homeowner looks at their house objectively.
The easiest solution to this is to focus on each and every room using the eyes of the purchaser instead of the homeowner. Certainly a crucial mistake that many sellers make is to use their own perspective in how they think the house should appear. In reality, the potential buyer will not care about what types of activities the family is involved in, or how the current homeowner uses the house. Because of that, it needs to appear as neutral as possible. This will allow the potential home buyer to visualize their family residing in the house.
Removing all the clutter in the home is a key component to making it look presentable. The potential buyer will be using their own imagination to visualize their furniture throughout the house. Remove all family photos from the walls, and remove as many knickknacks as possible. An open and airy house is easier to sell than one that is cluttered.
Bear in mind that every potential buyer will be poking their nose everywhere inside the home. They will look in crawlspaces, inside closets, and behind furniture. Make sure that all areas are unblocked, de-cluttered, and show lots of storage space. Take all unnecessary items in the home and store it inside the garage, making sure that everything in the garage looks neat. Recognize that men might want to check the garage to see how large it is, and where they can place their tools.
Staging is a key component to selling a house for the best price. This means that all of the decorations, furniture, appliances, countertops and other areas need to look their best at all times. This way when a potential buyer arrives, they will see more of a stage home, then a lived in home.
Minor repairs need to be performed on the house. This will provide the opportunity for the potential buyer to see that the house has been well cared for. This means replacing burned-out light bulbs, dusting and carpet cleaning. Avoid going way overboard on making repairs to the house.
At some point a home inspector will make their way through the house to perform a thorough evaluation. Only then should larger repairs be made. Remember that it is the inspector that is getting paid to locate any issue or problem in the house. Every type of repair is negotiable, and you might not be asked to fix a problem that is expensive.
Remember to take care of the outside too. Curb appeal is one of the key components to selling a house right from the start. If the landscaping is cluttered, overgrown or untidy, the potential buyer might be turned off from the first moment.
