Preparing Your Home for the Market – What You Need To Know
First and foremost find a quality local RI real estate agent who will market and list your home at the right price for your neighborhood.
Kristine Ginsberg- Home Stager
Just as important, listen when they tell you what your home is worth. They are market experts and have done extensive research on your neighborhood.
Next store, box, and discard anything you don’t absolutely need. This serves 2 purposes: moving day will be a whole lot easier and you’ll open up the rooms highlighting their size.
Clean, clean, clean! One thing all buyers agree on is they love clean homes with no odors. Include windows, carpets, bathrooms, hardwoods, and make the kitchen sparkle.
Paint! Painting is the best and cheapest investment you can make when selling your home and gives you a 150% return on investment. Use neutral colors like beige, tans, grays and taupes because these colors appeal to the most buyers and go with just about any decor.
Walk through each room and see if you have plenty of room to move about within the room and to and from each room. Move any furniture that hinders moving freely about the home.
Take down heavy drapery! You don’t want anything that obstructs the light from shining in. Heavy drapery reduces and changes the natural light and is outdated. Simple panels or sheers will do or none at all. Remember, we are selling your home, not your décor.
Add lighting when necessary. If you have dim, dark rooms without a lot of natural light bring in artificial lighting: lamps, ceiling fixtures, and floor lamps. Lighting is high up on buyer’s wish lists and bright homes sell over dim, dark ones.
Fix or replace leaky toilets, torn screens, doorbells, hinges and any other undone projects you’ve been putting off. You want your home to reflect a well cared for home.
Pack away anything of a personal nature like family photos and collections. You want buyers to see themselves living in your home. Don’t give them reminders that this is your home. You want them to picture their things in your home.
Don’t neglect curb appeal. It’s the first thing buyers see on MLS and when they arrive. Mow the grass, cut back overgrown bushes and blow debris from your walkway and driveway. Adding a few potted plants and flowers goes a long way to increase curb appeal.
This Guest Blog Post brought to you by….Elite Staging and Redesign offers home staging services to North Jersey homeowners, real estate agents, banks, builders, and investors in preparing homes to stand out in today’s real estate market.
Kristine Ginsberg, President/Owner
