Staging Your Home

A Home Buyers First Impression

There’s no second chance to make a first impression on a potential home buyer. Preliminary planning, attention to detail, and creativity can help you in making sure your home generates a positive first impression.

Preliminary Planning Before Putting Your Home On the Market

Curb Appeal

You need to sell your home 3 times. Once with the pictures on the internet. The second time when the buyer drives by your home. And the third time when the buyer actually views your home. If you don't have good curb appeal then you won't make it past the internet viewing of your home. So here is some preliminary planning to take to make sure your home doesn't turn away buyers.

Start In The Yard

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Make sure your lawn looks nice. Here are 5 tips for good curb appeal.

The yard should be mowed and leaves should be removed.
There should not be toys or lawn equipment scattered around the yard.
A garden hose is not only unsightly when left out but is also a potential hazard for a visitor to trip over.
Shrubs that cover a portion of the windows should be trimmed.
The walkway to the front door should be free of limbs from overgrown shrubs if there are any planted along the walkway.

Compare Yourself To Your Competition

As part of your preliminary planning, view other homes' photos, videos & virtual tours. Pay attention to the good and bad. And compare your home to each. What are you doing better than the other homes? What do you need to improve on? Make sure your list of "better than others" is included in your marketing.

On the good side notice their upgrades and updates. Do they have new paint? New floors? New countertops? On the bad side pay attention to the flaws and to the things that need attention or repair. You will view a home that is not your own more critically than you will the one you live in. When you get home take special note of how your home compares to the one you viewed.

Pay Attention to the Small Details! It Matters.

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Small details matter when preparing your home. It’s probably the small details that drew critical attention from you when you viewed other properties. There are some small things that seem to instantly make your home appear unattractive.

Common Exterior Issues

If you have house numbers attached to your door or on the side of your house, make sure those numbers are straight.
Outdoor items such as lampposts and mailbox need to be in good condition.
If a coat of paint is needed, it is well worth the time and small effort required to make them look better.

Common Interior Issues

The interior of your home must be clean.
Try to make each room look as large as possible. If you have too much furniture or furniture that is too large for the space its in, you might want to store some of the pieces.
Definitely clear away all clutter.
Clean, replace, or repair small problems that attract negative attention.
Clean carpet stains, replace broken blinds, missing door handles or drawer pulls, repair dripping faucets and anything else that needs repair.

How To Be Creative in Dressing Your Home for Success

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Use holidays and seasons to help enhance the beauty and appeal of your home. When decorating in a holiday theme don’t overdo it. Keep it simple. Decorating according to the season is always a good idea.

Flowers Are A Must!

Fresh flowers placed in a few rooms in spring work well. Placing arrangements of fresh garden items on the kitchen counter adds beauty to your home during the summer.

The Aromas Of The Season

Autumn offers a variety of options for decorating both inside and outside using pumpkins, gourds, and apples. Winter offers you an opportunity to make your home feel like a warm refuge. The aroma of hot cocoa or spiced cider in your home instantly makes a visitor feel welcome.

Go Get Them Tiger!

You don’t want a potential buyer to just take a quick walk through your home and leave. You want to encourage them to linger.

You want your home to look attractive to a potential buyer. You want it to feel comfortable. The longer a visitor lingers the more opportunity they have to been to feel like your home could easily be their home, which is precisely how you want them to feel.