Staging Your Home for Sale

The Second Most Important Step in Selling Your Home

The most important task in selling your home is choosing the right Realtor, second is staging the property to be attractive to buyers and to make them feel that it could be their home, not yours.

I have worked with a number of Realtors in Palm Springs, however I make it a point to work directly with sellers to insure the home is staged to be sold. A vacant property will show much better with even a minimal amount of furniture and some decorations than an empty house. You can use this link to see some examples of staged properties and what a difference it makes.

The seller can start by going through the house and removing all of the personal items, clean off the refrigerator, remove family pictures from the mantel, clean up newspapers and magazines, basically bring the house to a neutral point so the prospective buyer doesn’t feel like they are in someone else's house.

Look around at the furniture, if something looks out of place remove it. If you have a desk in the dining room move it to a bedroom or storage. Too much furniture can make a room look crowded. Worn furniture can be covered with a slipcover or cushions to improve the look of it. Do what you can to brighten the room, nothing deters a buyer as much as a dark room during the daytime, especially when buying a home in Palm Springs.

Take a few hours and cover up or repair any obvious visual problems such as holes in the wall, broken door handles, corroded faucets and other obvious negatives. A little money spent on repairs will go a long way to attracting an offer and when the home inspection is done by the buyer there will be fewer issues to deal with.

Kitchens and baths are a major selling point. Be sure to put away as much of your personal items as you can. A cluttered bathroom counter is not nearly as attractive as a sparkling clean one. You can shove it all under the sink if you want, but be sure to put it away, out of site. It is important to remove all jewelry and put it in a safe place. When showing your property the Realtor can’t watch everything.

Add vanilla scented candles or you can purchase strips that go in the return air ducts to add a pleasant scent to your home. I have used air fresheners that plug into an outlet that have also been effective in giving a property a pleasing odor. It’s a lot easier than baking cookies.

As I mentioned before, lighting is important. Be sure all the lamps are turned on and as much outside light as possible flows into the room. Dark, dingy homes are not attractive to buyers and I have seen many a buyer walk in and only focus on the lack of light. Most people buying property in Palm Springs want to enjoy the sunshine inside and out, except in the middle of summer, of course.

Adding silk plants and flowers will also brighten up a room without the maintenance of live plants. When I list properties I usually provide these additions, but they can be rented or purchased. Plants and trees can be used to hide unsightly things such as vents, additional air conditioning units and other things that are better hidden than in plain view. Do not try to cover an obvious repair item with a plant as it will only be discovered at a later time and could kill the deal down the road.

Repair and paint as much as you can. Check the outside, especially around the windows and doors to make sure there is a good clean coat of paint. Painting a room is a simple and inexpensive way to brighten up a house. Be careful to use neutral colors that will work with the buyers furniture. I would suggest consulting an expert, click here for additional advise on choosing colors for your home.

By sure the yard is mowed and add flowers to the outside. From the curb is how prospective buyers get their first impression of your property. Trim the trees back from the roof and harvest the fruit before the field mice and decay get to it. Make sure the sprinklers are all working correctly and not spraying on the side of the house or wall. Clean up the clutter that might be on the deck and get rid of any old tattered deck furniture.

These are a few of the items that will go a long way in selling your home for more money in a shorter period of time. If you would like a free evaluation of your Palm Springs property click here and I will contact you.