by Sheri Dettman, Realtor
Would you like to sell your home faster and for more money? Hopefully your answer is yes, and in that case you’ll want to follow this time proved strategy. We call it getting ready to move! The National Association of Realtors reports that a staged home sells 50% faster and for 17% more money then unstaged. While hiring a home stager is an option, you can stage your home yourself very effectively by following the five key steps below. These tips can also improve your upcoming magazine quality photography and/or professional video shoot of your home.
1. Disassociate Yourself With Your Home
When you list your La Quinta or Palm Springs area home for sale, people will begin looking at your home, and they’ll be comparing it to other homes they also want to visit.
To each of these prospective buyers your home is now a product. Say to Yourself: “I’m selling and moving so this is not my home it’s a product to be sold much like a color TV on display at Costco.
Decide to let go of your emotional attachments to the house because someone else will buy it, and you’ll be moving soon. Picture yourself moving into your new home and saying goodbye to every room.
2. De-personalize
Hide everything—family photos, awards, trophies, your collection of antique teacups—that might interfere with a buyer feeling like your home could be theirs. People get distracted when they’re surrounded by someone else’s personal stuff. Make your bathroom look like a hotel’s; no one wants to see your soggy loofah and half used bar of soap. Put all your beauty products in a shower caddy that can easily be stowed under the sink before a showing.
3. De-clutter
Clutter can lower a home’s sale price and can make a home sell slower! Since you want to move now, it’s a great time to start packing! Most people have too much stuff, whether its tchotchke or paperwork or furniture. The goal is to create a sense of space in a room—and in all of your closets. Fight the urge to shove all your stuff in your closets, since many prospective buyers open every last one and love to examine nooks and crannies. An organized closet can send the message that, as an owner, you’re a person who doesn’t slack on any aspect of maintaining your home…
4. Clean and Freshen
No one wants to walk into a dirty house. Bathrooms and kitchens, in particular, should be sparkling. Pay attention to hidden corners like the nook behind a toilet or the inside of your refrigerator. You never know where people are going to look. Since only about a third of Americans live with pets, be sure you’re not alienating the other two thirds of the population. Remove all traces (leashes, litter boxes, dog beds, pet food bowls) of animals.
And since outdoor living is so popular here in the desert, be sure to make your patio, outdoor furniture and barbecue area appear ‘entertainment-ready.’ Adding a color bowl or two full of seasonal annuals is an easy and inexpensive way to brighten up your patio, as well.
5. Lighten and Brighten
You want to have as much light as possible filtering through your home. Start by cleaning the windows. Prior to a showing or open house, make sure your shades are open. Check to see if all your bulbs are working, and replace low-watt bulbs with high-watt ones to maximize brightness.
Bonus Tip: A Pre-Listing Home Inspection Can Add Value
After accepting an offer for your home we will open an escrow account, and during escrow most buyers will order a home inspection. You can avoid any potential surprises during escrow by having a pre-listing inspection completed by a qualified home inspector.
Taking care of any needed repairs before your home is listed and before opening escrow removes a potential roadblock that buyers could use to re-open negotiations by asking for concessions during their due diligence period.
Sheri Dettman & Associates suggests that your investment in a pre-listing inspection could prove to be of significant value prior to receiving an offer and opening escrow.
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