ver Cleaned Before

I can’t stress this enough. We all think we keep a pretty clean house… but cleaning for home staging and for putting your home on the market goes way beyond your usual house cleaning routine. Really concentrate on making everything shine. Windows inside and out, blinds, door knobs, ceiling fan blades, light switch plates, cabinetry, tile grout--basically every nook and cranny needs to be cleaned. It’s amazing what people walking through the home can spot. Your efforts are worth it: to potential buyers, an extremely clean home reflects a well maintained home, which means fewer problems. This will set your house apart from the house down the street that is not as “move-in ready.” On the flip side, a less-clean, dingy home draws attention to any flaws it may have. It can send the message to potential buyers that the house is not well maintained and therefore c

Most of us don’t actually live our lives like a page torn from a favorite home and garden magazine. What most homeowners need to understand is that the way a home should be presented for sale and the way you live in your home are two completely different things. You’re selling your home, not its contents. It’s all about flow. If you remove area rugs, eliminate clutter and cut down on furniture and accessories, the room will appear to be more spacious and airy. Your eye will be able to move easily from room to room. Using things like furniture placement, you want to draw attention to the best features of your home and not have them covered up or hidden amongst all your treasurers and belongings. It can be hard, but you need to temporarily detach yourself from your possessions and look at your home like you’re seeing it for the first time. Look through the eyes of the buyer.

This means. . .

Pre-Packing and Depersonalizing

Since you have to pack anyway, why not get a head start now? Borrow a friend’s garage or rent a storage unit temporarily to store all the boxes of your pre-packed items. Start with the things you’re not using on a daily basis, such as your DVD collection, extra kids' toys, extra blankets, seasonal and extra clothing, off-season sporting equipment, photo albums, extra furnishings, craft supplies, holiday items, and items pulled from storage areas such as the basement and attic. Next--and this can be difficult for some of us--depersonalize the home by carefully wrapping and packing family photos, trophies, awards, refrigerator art and religious items. A buyer needs to be able to visualize themselves living in the home, and that can be very difficult if the things that make your house your home are evident everywhere.

If you just can’t see through all your things to the core of your home, consider hiring a professional real estate stager. A professional stager can advise you on what needs to be pre-packed, what can stay, and what can be used to enhance the home for viewing. In addition to advising you on what to pre-pack, a professional stager can advise you about small improvements that can add value to your home’s sale price. So often we overlook things like incomplete projects, dingy paint or worn carpeting because we’ve lived in the home for years and we get use to them that way, so much so that we don’t even notice them any longer.

One last note on pre-packing: because everyone from inspectors and handymen to groups of realtors and prospective buyers will be walking through your home, be sure to properly pre-pack your valuables, such as your jewelry, silver, crystal and special art pieces. You may want to consider placing these items in a safe deposit box or asking a relative or trusted friend to store them if you’re not comfortable putting them in with all your other pre-packed belongings in someone’s garage or a storage unit.

Organizing

After you’ve pre-packed everything that you can, you need to organize what is left. As much as you may not like it, people looking at your home will open your pantry, cupboards and closets. They will look more spacious if they’re organized and not packed to the point of overflow. For example, if your closet is stuffed full with your entire wardrobe, that can send a message to the potential buyer that the closet must be too small and they may not be able to fit all their items in there. Every storage area in your home, including display shelves, should be organized and clutter-free.

And Cleaning Like You’ve Never Cleaned Before

I can’t stress this enough. We all think we keep a pretty clean house… but cleaning for home staging and for putting your home on the market goes way beyond your usual house cleaning routine. Really concentrate on making everything shine. Windows inside and out, blinds, door knobs, ceiling fan blades, light switch plates, cabinetry, tile grout--basically every nook and cranny needs to be cleaned. It’s amazing what people walking through the home can spot. Your efforts are worth it: to potential buyers, an extremely clean home reflects a well maintained home, which means fewer problems. This will set your house apart from the house down the street that is not as “move-in ready.” On the flip side, a less-clean, dingy home draws attention to any flaws it may have. It can send the message to potential buyers that the house is not well maintained and therefore c

eans. . .

Pre-Packing and Depersonalizing

Since you have to pack anyway, why not get a head start now? Borrow a friend’s garage or rent a storage unit temporarily to store all the boxes of your pre-packed items. Start with the things you’re not using on a daily basis, such as your DVD collection, extra kids' toys, extra blankets, seasonal and extra clothing, off-season sporting equipment, photo albums, extra furnishings, craft supplies, holiday items, and items pulled from storage areas such as the basement and attic. Next--and this can be difficult for some of us--depersonalize the home by carefully wrapping and packing family photos, trophies, awards, refrigerator art and religious items. A buyer needs to be able to visualize themselves living in the home, and that can be very difficult if the things that make your house your home are evident everywhere.

If you just can’t see through all your things to the core of your home, consider hiring a professional real estate stager. A professional stager can advise you on what needs to be pre-packed, what can stay, and what can be used to enhance the home for viewing. In addition to advising you on what to pre-pack, a professional stager can advise you about small improvements that can add value to your home’s sale price. So often we overlook things like incomplete projects, dingy paint or worn carpeting because we’ve lived in the home for years and we get use to them that way, so much so that we don’t even notice them any longer.

One last note on pre-packing: because everyone from inspectors and handymen to groups of realtors and prospective buyers will be walking through your home, be sure to properly pre-pack your valuables, such as your jewelry, silver, crystal and special art pieces. You may want to consider placing these items in a safe deposit box or asking a relative or trusted friend to store them if you’re not comfortable putting them in with all your other pre-packed belongings in someone’s garage or a storage unit.

Organizing

After you’ve pre-packed everything that you can, you need to organize what is left. As much as you may not like it, people looking at your home will open your pantry, cupboards and closets. They will look more spacious if they’re organized and not packed to the point of overflow. For example, if your closet is stuffed full with your entire wardrobe, that can send a message to the potential buyer that the closet must be too small and they may not be able to fit all their items in there. Every storage area in your home, including display shelves, should be organized and clutter-free.

And Cleaning Like You’ve Never Cleaned Before

I can’t stress this enough. We all think we keep a pretty clean house… but cleaning for home staging and for putting your home on the market goes way beyond your usual house cleaning routine. Really concentrate on making everything shine. Windows inside and out, blinds, door knobs, ceiling fan blades, light switch plates, cabinetry, tile grout--basically every nook and cranny needs to be cleaned. It’s amazing what people walking through the home can spot. Your efforts are worth it: to potential buyers, an extremely clean home reflects a well maintained home, which means fewer problems. This will set your house apart from the house down the street that is not as “move-in ready.” On the flip side, a less-clean, dingy home draws attention to any flaws it may have. It can send the message to potential buyers that the house is not well maintained and therefore c

you just can’t see through all your things to the core of your home, consider hiring a professional real estate stager. A professional stager can advise you on what needs to be pre-packed, what can stay, and what can be used to enhance the home for viewing. In addition to advising you on what to pre-pack, a professional stager can advise you about small improvements that can add value to your home’s sale price. So often we overlook things like incomplete projects, dingy paint or worn carpeting because we’ve lived in the home for years and we get use to them that way, so much so that we don’t even notice them any longer.

One last note on pre-packing: because everyone from inspectors and handymen to groups of realtors and prospective buyers will be walking through your home, be sure to properly pre-pack your valuables, such as your jewelry, silver, crystal and special art pieces. You may want to consider placing these items in a safe deposit box or asking a relative or trusted friend to store them if you’re not comfortable putting them in with all your other pre-packed belongings in someone’s garage or a storage unit.

Organizing

After you’ve pre-packed everything that you can, you need to organize what is left. As much as you may not like it, people looking at your home will open your pantry, cupboards and closets. They will look more spacious if they’re organized and not packed to the point of overflow. For example, if your closet is stuffed full with your entire wardrobe, that can send a message to the potential buyer that the closet must be too small and they may not be able to fit all their items in there. Every storage area in your home, including display shelves, should be organized and clutter-free.

And Cleaning Like You’ve Never Cleaned Before

I can’t stress this enough. We all think we keep a pretty clean house… but cleaning for home staging and for putting your home on the market goes way beyond your usual house cleaning routine. Really concentrate on making everything shine. Windows inside and out, blinds, door knobs, ceiling fan blades, light switch plates, cabinetry, tile grout--basically every nook and cranny needs to be cleaned. It’s amazing what people walking through the home can spot. Your efforts are worth it: to potential buyers, an extremely clean home reflects a well maintained home, which means fewer problems. This will set your house apart from the house down the street that is not as “move-in ready.” On the flip side, a less-clean, dingy home draws attention to any flaws it may have. It can send the message to potential buyers that the house is not well maintained and therefore c

You may want to consider placing these items in a safe deposit box or asking a relative or trusted friend to store them if you’re not comfortable putting them in with all your other pre-packed belongings in someone’s garage or a storage unit.

Organizing

After you’ve pre-packed everything that you can, you need to organize what is left. As much as you may not like it, people looking at your home will open your pantry, cupboards and closets. They will look more spacious if they’re organized and not packed to the point of overflow. For example, if your closet is stuffed full with your entire wardrobe, that can send a message to the potential buyer that the closet must be too small and they may not be able to fit all their items in there. Every storage area in your home, including display shelves, should be organized and clutter-free.

And Cleaning Like You’ve Never Cleaned Before

I can’t stress this enough. We all think we keep a pretty clean house… but cleaning for home staging and for putting your home on the market goes way beyond your usual house cleaning routine. Really concentrate on making everything shine. Windows inside and out, blinds, door knobs, ceiling fan blades, light switch plates, cabinetry, tile grout--basically every nook and cranny needs to be cleaned. It’s amazing what people walking through the home can spot. Your efforts are worth it: to potential buyers, an extremely clean home reflects a well maintained home, which means fewer problems. This will set your house apart from the house down the street that is not as “move-in ready.” On the flip side, a less-clean, dingy home draws attention to any flaws it may have. It can send the message to potential buyers that the house is not well maintained and therefore c

ver Cleaned Before

I can’t stress this enough. We all think we keep a pretty clean house… but cleaning for home staging and for putting your home on the market goes way beyond your usual house cleaning routine. Really concentrate on making everything shine. Windows inside and out, blinds, door knobs, ceiling fan blades, light switch plates, cabinetry, tile grout--basically every nook and cranny needs to be cleaned. It’s amazing what people walking through the home can spot. Your efforts are worth it: to potential buyers, an extremely clean home reflects a well maintained home, which means fewer problems. This will set your house apart from the house down the street that is not as “move-in ready.” On the flip side, a less-clean, dingy home draws attention to any flaws it may have. It can send the message to potential buyers that the house is not well maintained and therefore could have more problems. Again, this is where a professional real estate stager can come to the rescue with their trained eye for what the potential buyers walking through the home may notice.

If you’re still not convinced of investing in the concept of home staging, spend a couple of hours touring a few homes. First visit a model home. They’re typically professionally staged, the furniture is placed to enhance the floor plan and draw attention to the home’s features, the paint is fresh, appliances shiny, bathrooms spotless, mirrors sparkling, and towels are new and perfectly displayed. There aren’t toys all about the house, the refrigerator isn’t covered with children’s artwork and magnets, and nothing is cluttered (including the garage). Everything is polished, spotless and smells fresh. It looks spacious, open and airy. Now, after viewing the model home, tour a home similar in size that is only a few years older but is occupied. What you typically will find is a home where most of the day-to-day clutter has been picked up and put away, but there are many areas of the home that create negative impressions: clutter in the garage, boxes in the spare room, toys stacked in the corner of the family room, closets filled to maximum capacity--including a stuffed messy storage unit otherwise known as the entry closet, toothpaste splattered mirrors and faucets in the bathroom, newspapers and magazines tossed under the end table in the family room, and last year’s Christmas wreath greets you at the entry (even though it’s now March). If the homes were both in the same location, same size, etc… which house do you think would be more appealing to potential buyers?