Wasilla Real Estate News, Valley Market Real Estate

The Three Laws Of Staging January 12th, 2007

Categories: For Sellers, Getting Ready For The Sale

Getting the price right is the most important issue in determining the sales time of a home.  If it isn’t priced right it will not sell, period.  But even if the price is right there is a final step to take that will put you a notch above the competition.  We call it staging your home.  You are setting your house up so that potential buyers can feel themselves moving in. 

Most people in Wasilla and Palmer do not stage their homes, so this will help put you over the top. 

You need to de-clutter mercilessly.  You are no longer making the home comfortable for yourself or for anyone, for that matter.  You are setting the home up like a model home.  If you’ve gone into a model home that is staged well, you will notice that it has furniture, but not too much furniture.  The table may be set but there aren’t any dishes on the counter or in the sink. There may be a book on an end table but only one book.  So get rid of all the extra furniture, all the extra dishes, all the extra clothes, all the extra books.  Pack them nicely in boxes and stack them in the garage, or better yet, put them in storage.  You are going to be moving anyway.

De-personalizing allows someone else to feel at home.  Even though we all have photos of loved ones on the walls, momentos of adventurous hunts hanging over the fireplace, small pictures of all the cousins, aunts, and babies stuck to the fridge with magnets, they now need to go.  Anything that reminds buyers that this is YOUR  home and not THEIRS needs to be taken down.  Pack it up, you are going to be moving anyway.

Neutralize.  I think I have shown close to 6,000 homes since I have been in real estate.  I have yet to show a home with wall paper without a buyer commenting on it.  And the comment is never positive.  Wall paper is so personal  that it will almost never please the next buyer.  Take it down and paint the wall.  And while you are painting, repaint the green and purple bedroom that your pre-teen insisted upon.  It is best to repaint the whole interior some neutral color. 

If you have anything else in the home that is not a very neutral color replace it.  Most sellers say they would rather allow the buyer to pick their own colors and replace at closing but that is a mistake. 

Most buyers will not even buy your home if the colors cause them to have an emotional reaction. Choosing a home to purchase is first and foremost an emotional decision.  If a home doesn’t feel right the buyer will walk away.  They will usually name something about the home that wasn’t right but the real reason is that they could not feel at home in the house. 

It is much easier to mentally move in to a home that is staged well.  The buyers will sit on the sofa and just try to imagine themselves living there if you have obeyed the three laws of staging.  

Written by Marty Van Diest 3 Comments »