Staging Without Spending — One Key to Home Selling Success!

Effective staging is a tremendous benefit when needing or wanting to sell a home. But professional staging can be expensive. Don’t get me wrong — professional stagers do absolutely amazing jobs! But sometimes the money’s just not there to hire a stager, buy a bunch of staging materials or rent snazzy furniture.

Although the real estate market seems to be recovering slightly, most sellers still need to capture every penny possible from the sale of their existing home — perhaps to gain maximum sufficient funds to purchase a new place or perhaps to attract a sufficient price will keep their sale from falling into the short sale category.

Simple clean-up and rearranging of furniture can do wonders without spending much more than the cost of soap and water, a few boxes to store extra clutter and possessions, and maybe the short-term rental of a storage unit. 

Removing worn throw rugs, dingy pillows and bedspreads is a tremendously effective tool. Sometimes merely washing and ironing (yes … that word) is sufficient. A bottle of bleach and a can of my favorite “Barkeepers Friend” can make kitchens and bathrooms really shine. Remove all of those refrigerator magnets, canisters, coffee pots, grinders, toasters, etc. as they just look like clutter when photographed. (And a good listing agent should take lots of photos of your house to show off its best features.)

A seller and I often spend less than $250 when preparing a home for sale. For less than about $50, I always buy a few brand new thick fluffy towels, color-appropriate shower curtains, and candles to work wonders in bathrooms. Add a couple of ribbons around the towels for a model-home look.

A visit to the local thrift store can provide a couple of big toys (scrubbed sparkling clean, of course) to add personality to an empty bedroom. A gallon or two of mis-mixed neutral-toned paint and a couple of hours can freshen up a stale entry. Don’t forget the discount stores such as Big Lots!, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods when shopping for linens and impact art pieces. Check out the clearance aisles at Home Depot or Lowe’s if you need to replace or update light fixtures or cabinet pulls. I’ve picked up small tables and then spray painted them for entry accents.

And don’t forget the front door. My favorite is to paint the door a deep charcoal or black. Then put a couple of pots of live flowers near the front door. Not just greenery (of course it depends on the time of year), but some nice yellows, reds, or purples sitting on the clean front porch near that freshly painted front door — just does wonders.

I wish I’d have taken more “before” pictures from some of the homes I’ve sold, but did scrounge up a few before and after photos. Maybe these few photos will give you a few ideas.

Before (nice kitchen & well kept, but look at the clutter’y fridge and the stuff above the cupboards.)         Here’s the same kitchen after decluttering. Still a few necessary things on the counter … but look at the difference! Could we have removed the wallpaper border? Yes … but the owner really pushed back and I wanted to pick my battles.
Another before and after kitchen. Of course it helped tremendously to remove the spent roses from the room …but even removing the extra microwave cart and adding a little breakfast table to the end made a huge difference!
Here’s another before and after. One of those difficult young teen’s rooms where stuff gets thrown everywhere. Tied up the curtains, removed the extra dresser and held the threat of extra chores and homework over the young owner’s head should the place get cluttered again during the selling process. You can’t see the posters on that were on the wall beside the bed and taped to the closet doors. Those were taken down, with the tape residue also scrubbed off.
Even outside small organizational efforts can be amazing. Check out these before and after deck photos. It was raining during the “before” photo and sunny during the “after” photo. We trimmed up the overgrown bush in the corner, rearranged the BBQ area,  swept the roof overhang and rearranged the deck furniture so it looked tidy.
I wish I had a couple of the “before” photos of this bedroom and bathroom. Owned by a single guy (what fun it was to work with him, actually! He was SO appreciative of everything I did to help him get his little condo ready for sale!) Take it on good faith … with all of the sports posters and “stuff” that he’d carefully collected over the years, the place needed a bit of effort to get it market ready. This “blue” bedroom was a bit of a challenge, but adding a new bedspread and pictures cooled it down a bit without repainting. (By the way … we also removed the artsy “nudes” in the bathrooms. I could just envision a youngster’s pointed questions!) The place sold for list price .. and very quickly once it was ready and during a time in the down market when it was VERY difficult to sell a condo!

In almost every house, rearranging furniture and gathering all of the collectibles into a single “themed” room also goes a long ways. Prior to listing, walk through the house and notice how many things you’ve gathered that are similar — little ceramic boats, boat pictures, metal sailboats. We all tend to have things we love, but then we spread them out all over. Gather them together into a boat-themed bathroom or bedroom.

Sometimes you can Stage Without Spending — One Key to Home Selling Success!

While buyers must shop within their financial qualifications, their decision to make an offer on a home is first, and foremost, an emotional response to the appearance of your home and property. The money and negotiation side to the actual purchase comes later.

In order to maximize the appearance of your property — thus eliciting more excited Buyers about your home, follow these 16 simple preparation tips.

1. Tidy up the grounds, porches and garage.

2. Keep the lawn trimmed and edged.

3. Make sure that your yard is clean.

4. Your front door adds to that first impression—be sure it is scrubbed or repainted if necessary.

5. Wash windows, window ledges and corners, and clean/dust window coverings. Grime is your enemy!

6. If any decorating or painting is needed (especially in the kitchen), do it now! Twenty dollars worth of paint will make a much larger difference in the sales price.

7. Bathrooms help sell homes. Make this room sparkle.

8. Illumination is like a welcome sign. Replace bulbs and turn on the lights.

9. Declutter the closets — pack away the clothes that are out of season during your sale period. Donate those that haven’t been used in a year or two. And don’t forget to also weed out the shoes and purses that are out of style and sitting on shelves or floors!

10. Declutter the kitchen cabinets and pantry areas. If your cereal boxes and chips are crammed into the cupboards, the buyer may think your kitchen is too small, requiring immediate remodeling on their part.

11. Clean up areas where your pets reside — that means making sure their kennels sparkle, the litter box area is neat and tidy (and smells good!).

12. If you have exotic pets like reptiles or even gerbils, mice, or hamsters, consider boarding them with friends during your sale period. Many people are allergic or even fearful! Remember that the idea is for people to concentrate on your house, not concerned about your pets (for whatever reason).

13. Walk around the outside of your house with a critical eye for signs of neglect or decay — this could be dry rot in deck boards, trim boards that should be powerwashed and repainted, roof shingles that are loose, and so on. Once a buyer spots something that strikes them as neglect, they’ll start looking for other signs. You want them to concentrate on the good features, not looking for things to pick apart at the time of the offer.

14. Walk through the inside of your home with that same critical eye. A running toilet, dripping faucet, carpet snags or just stained spots, all lead a buyer to question your upkeep. While homes are priced very low right now for a number of reasons, buyers still want to move into a home that won’t require tedious maintenance issues.

15. Pack away valuables, store extra furniture, knick-knacks, medicines, firearms, and personal information.

16. Pretend you are seeing your home for the first time through a buyer’s eyes. Call me for recommendations on how to stage the property for presentation to prospective buyers.

Finally, although the next two points don’t directly affect the appearance of your home and property, following them will greatly increase your chances of receiving a favorable offer:

• Leave the showing to the agents. A buyer’s agent knows their client’s requirements and wants and can best emphasize the features of your home.
• Don’t discuss anything about the sale with a potential customer. Let your agent discuss price, terms, possession and other items concerning the sale.

Remember that spending a little extra time getting your home ready for sale will result in a much higher selling price. Sometimes dramatically so!!

Added 9/5/10: This morning my Lowe’s newsletter arrived with a similar article, with even more specifics. To read that article, click HERE.