Homes are Purchased Based on Emotions…Love at first sight!

A Buyer’s First Impression is Made Within 5 Seconds of Walking Into Your Home...

And for some buyers it’s when they drive up and see the curb appeal…or the lack there of.

Some food for thought in helping you prepare your home for resale.

What is your budget? How much will it cost you to show your home at its full potential and receive the greatest return on your investment?

Make the best use of your time and money. Do the work you are truly capable of doing and spend the rest of your budget in hiring professionals to do what you cannot or do not have time for.

A Home Staging Professional can recommend reputable services as required.

Here are some tips to help prepare your home for resale.

De-clutter. Get rid of all the garbage. Anything that can not be sold at a garage sale, given to charity or recycled goes to the dump. I try to avoid throwing things into the landfills, however, if it is garbage then treat it as such. Call a garbage removal company if necessary.

• Pack items that you are not currently using.
• Pare down cupboards, vanities, closets, storage areas to show maximum space.

This is a good time to re-evaluate how many items in your home are truly useful and used.

Do not take anything to your new home that is of no value and will not be used by anyone living in the home.

• Hold a garage sale. Anything left over goes to charity.
• If you have electronics including fax machines, computers, monitors and even batteries, call your local landfill. Most have areas set up to receive these items and recycle them through the appropriate means. If they don’t they should be able to tell you who in the area handles these items. Another suggestion, call your County, Region or City offices. They can refer you to the experts in your community.
• Clean your home from top to bottom.
• Rent a storage unit off site or call a company that delivers portable storage units. By the way, the cost works out to about the same as when you pack your car, drive to the storage facility and tote all your items to the locker. The gas alone…
• Remove all excess packed boxes, suit cases and furniture not being used to stage the home.

Each room should be featured and decorated for the original purpose that it was designed. And I am serious about this. I have a 3 bedroom bungalow which currently functions as a one bedroom, a TV room and a home office. Great use of space for 2 adults but to sell it needs to show as a family home.

• Clean out the garage
• De-personalize your home
• Replace personal photos with pictures and décor that appeal to almost anyone

Repair everything – fix everything even the small stuff. Don’t leave even the minor details unfinished When you leave the small repairs unfinished this allows a potential buyer to think that there might there be things wrong with the big stuff like the furnace, air conditioner, roof and so on.

Have a handyman in to take care of all these little things. You will be surprised when you call for quotes and hear how inexpensive these services cost. Do you really want to get offers on your home that are low and you have no bargaining power?

Ask your agent about the return on your investment. They are the expert and they will tell you if there is value or not on doing these repairs. If you want top dollar for your home do what you need to do. Show it with a pride of ownership. You enjoyed living in this home or not but show it so someone else will fall in love with it and be willing to pay for a home that is move in ready.

Painting. The goal is to create a relaxing and appealing environment that buyers find welcoming.

On large surfaces choose neutrals which are great for background colours and can be used in virtually every room in the home. Keep all the doors and trim the same throughout the home’s interior. This pulls the house together.

Helpful Tip: All the big paint companies now produce a range of Historic colours.

Liven up these naturals by using throw pillows, cushions, vases, lamp shades and rugs in more brilliant colours to add warmth.

Keep patterns to smaller, simpler pieces to avoid Visual Clutter.

A note on smoking. If anyone has smoked in the house make sure you rid the home of all the odours, nicotine stains, etc. and smoke outside until you move out of the home. Do not leave ash trays in the cupboards or anywhere else. A house that has been smoked in can be a huge turn off for buyers, especially if a child has allergies or asthma.

Remove all animals, bedding and crates from the home for viewings. I had a client who refused to do this and after 3 weekends of open houses they did not have an offer. The feedback was that the home smelled. I had an entire crew in to prepare this home and it was beautiful, fresh and clean.

But the seed was planted when the crates were left in the basement. Finally, the homeowner took the cat and its cage out during the showing and that was the last showing. They received a firm offer close to the asking price and the remarks were now about how lovely this home was.

And lastly curb appeal. No matter the season make your home look inviting from the curb:

• Shovel the snow
• Mow the lawn
• Pull the weeds
• Trim back hedges and shrubs
• Store garbage bins
• Make necessary repairs
• Paint the doors and trim
• Use hanging pots and planters near the front door or along the walk way
• If your front yard is in major need of grass or repairs, invest some money here to get full value for your home

A few reminder benefits to staging your home to sell:

• A buyer’s decision is made within 5 seconds of walking into a home.
• Homes that are staged sell four times faster than homes that are not – and most often for more money.
• Today’s buyers will pay more for homes that are move in ready.
• Home Staging works in both a buyers and sellers market.

• The cost of staging your home is significantly less than having to drop the listing price of your home.

How much will it cost you to show your home at its full potential and receive the greatest return on your investment? Make the best use of your time and money. Do the work you can and spend the rest of your budget in hiring professionals. A Home Staging Professional can recommend reputable services as required.

Written by Margaret Harlos, Owner – Living Organized