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Selling your home? Beyond the
basics of completing needed repairs and addressing any
issues revealed in your pre-listing home inspection, it’s
also important to consider the effect your home’s appearance
will have on prospective buyers. “Staging” a home should be
thought of as creating an appealing but neutral space that
will allow buyers to see the potential of your home.
Naturally, it’s difficult to look at your own home
objectively; it’s
yours, after all. So consider enlisting a friend
to help you evaluate your space, or you may wish to hire a
professional home stager to make your home the star of the
show.
Here are some tricks to consider:
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Staging is more about subtraction than addition. A room
stuffed full of furniture will looked small, crowded,
and difficult to move around in. Ideally, only the basic
furniture should remain in order to highlight the size
of each room.
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Get rid of clutter! Pack up your everyday items on table
and dresser surfaces, knickknacks, magazines,
electronics, etc. You want buyers to focus on your home,
not on your “stuff”.
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Remove personal items from view. While of course you
love displaying your family’s photos and cherished
mementos, they are a distraction for potential buyers. A
buyer wants to be able to see themselves in the home and
not feel as though they’re in someone else’s space.
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Take everything off the kitchen counters and display a
few cookbooks and a beautiful glass bowl of lemons
instead. A bouquet of flowers – real or silk – on the
dining table is a nice touch.
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In bathrooms, get all of the clutter off the countertops
and sink area. A few fluffy towels and attractive soaps
can provide that “spa” feeling with minimal cost.
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Be sure walls and flooring are clean and maintained.
Paint any rooms where the walls are in bad shape as well
as any that have strong, “polarizing” colors. A
potential buyer might find your red dining room and the
purple in your teen’s bedroom a real turnoff.
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Have the exterior painted if its condition warrants
improvement. As with interior paint, neutral colors work
best.
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A few large potted houseplants can soften a room and
make it feel friendly and fresh.
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Don’t forget the curb appeal of landscaping. Trim any
overgrown bushes that may be blocking windows or
walkways and remove any weeds. A few dollars’ worth of
bright flowering plants can be charming when planted by
a walkway, doorway, and mailbox.
Your local Pillar To Post
office looks forward to serving homeowners and real estate
professionals all year round.
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