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Are you thinking about selling? Don’t know where to start? Here are 5 Tips for Staging and Preparing your home to list.
1. Clean/Declutter:
This is one of the most important steps to prepare your home for listing. A clean home leaves buyers feeling like your home has been well taken care of. If your home is cluttered, it makes the space feel smaller and less functional.
Cleaning tips:
- Wash your floors, walls and wipe down your baseboards
- Clean all your appliances inside and out. Don’t forget about the inside of the oven and fridge
- Make your bathroom sparkle. Don’t miss the corners of the tubs, behind the toilet, and the sink drains.
- Clean your carpets. Anyone with kids or pets will worry about what their family members will be exposed to. Buyers without pets may have allergies that you don’t want them worried about while viewing your home.
- Dust and clean all your light fixtures and switches.
- Box up items that you don’t use on a day-to-day basis (e.g. board games, papers, seasonal clothes and decorations, etc.).
- Empty cabinets and closets of items you do not need (e.g. expired food, clothes and winter gear you have outgrown, etc.).
- Make sure your hallways, stairs, and main walkways are clear of clutter.
2. Depersonalize:
Potential buyers want to visualize themselves living in your home. Put away your personal items, kids toys and/or pet supplies from main areas where possible. Remember that there may be lots of people through you home for showings or open houses, so put away anything you wouldn’t want to share with them especially items with personal information.
3. Focus on Fresh:
Make a good first impression with a your curb appeal. Take care of landscaping by cutting the grass, watering flowers, trimming trees or shrubs, and consider adding some pots and a welcome mat to your front door. Greenery (even fake greenery) will make your home feel fresh and inviting. Consider repainting or re-staining your porch, entryways, or doorways. Start by power washing your siding and walkways, sometimes a good wash is all that is needed. If it is winter, make sure to keep your sidewalk and driveway cleared.
Another way to make your home seem fresh is to get rid of odors. If you have had moisture in your basement make sure to add a dehumidifier to help get rid of the smell. Put away smelly pet toys/bed, kids sport equipment, and avoid cooking strong smelling food before showings (e.g. fish, broccoli, or brussels sprout). Consider giving your home an inviting aroma by baking cookies, pies, or by burning candles with citrus or baking scents (but don’t pick anything that will smell really strong). Careful not to burn the baking and don’t forget to take out the trash! For showings, consider opening the windows for at least 10 minutes beforehand to let the air flow.
4. Define your Rooms:
Optimize your room to make sure it has a single, defined purpose. It will help a buyer view all rooms of the home as usable space to maximize the square footage. Consider repainting to neutral colours so buyers can envision their own decor in your space. White walls provides them with a blank slate to decorate but bright colours tend to be very specific and personal. A staging consultant can provide advice for your room layouts or rent items to add to your empty space.
5. Natural Lighting:
Take advantage of the natural lighting in your home. Open all blinds, curtains and remove screens. Make sure to wash your windows well so the light flows through. Consider replacing lightbulbs to bright white or daylight bulbs throughout your home. At least make sure to have matching coloured bulbs within rooms.
If you need some help preparing your home to list and want some advice, give me a call!
Stephanie Harder – Realtor®
Coldwell Banker Signature
306-241-1000
stephanieharderhomes@gmail.com
