Showcase Your New Jersey Home With a Professional Stager...for FREE
 Now more than ever the importance of staging is a key element in marketing your home, putting you ahead of the competition and obtaining the highest price for your house. Following are just a few simple changes you can do to make your home more appealing.
In addition, with a degree in Interior Design, I can provide additional ideas from picture placements to furniture rearrangement, all geared towards making your house standout to potential buyers. I offer these services free of charge to my clients.
Exterior
- Curb Appeal – The exterior of your home is the first thing a prospective buyer sees. Keep it neat and clean. Trim away any overgrown bushes, especially those which conceal part of the house. Remove any debris laying about. Wrap up loose garden hoses and put away household items, such as children's' toys, etc.
- Clean Windows – Keep your windows clean and trim them with your best curtains or drapes. Sparkling windows add significantly to the overall clean impression of a home.
Interior
- Declutter – An over cluttered home limits the buyer from seeing how the space can be used. Use decorative boxes to control clutter. Put them wherever clutter tends to gather. Remove furniture that crowds the room. In larger spaces, group furniture around a focal point, such as a fireplace, large window or built-in bookcase instead of against the walls. If necessary, rearrange existing furniture that blocks the flow between rooms. For example, you shouldn't encounter the back of a couch when you enter a room – this blocks traffic flow and makes the room seem smaller and less inviting.
- Depersonalize – Remove excess photos and personal objects. A staged home is not necessarily a home that is lived in. Buyers need to imagine they're own things in a space. It's more difficult to do that when, for example, someone has too many family photos about or other personal objects.
- Neat Bedrooms help sales! Use your best spreads, and have the dresser and table tops neatly arranged. In overcrowded bedrooms, give the illusion of more space by taking everything out of a guest bedroom except the bed, one chair and a small dresser.
- Neat Closets look larger and give a good impression. If closets are overcrowded. Buyers may feel that they are too small. Clean them and store out of season clothes in the attic or storage room.
- Sparkling, Neat Bathrooms give a favorable impression.
- Light is imperative. Bright rooms are cheerful rooms to a prospective buyer. If a room is dark, try to keep it as light as possible by using light curtains or pulling them back where possible. Keep bright bulbs in poorly lighted rooms, especially the basement.
During the Showing
- Introductions can be distracting. Have as few people as possible in the house when it is shown. This puts the buyer at ease and helps them concentrate on the advantages of your property. Even better, leave your home whenever possible, during showings.
- Keep the lights on. A bright home is more cheerful than a home with all the lights out.
- Music adds ambience. If possible, have soft music playing in the background. Turn off all televisions.
- Most people like dogs, but they distract attention. If you have a pet keep it out of the way and, preferably, out of the house.
- Let the Salesperson Show The Property. Stay on the sidelines. Many sales have been lost due to the over-enthusiasm of the owner trying to “sell” a buyer who is inspecting a house with a salesperson.
- Never Apologize for the appearance or condition of your home. It will only call the buyer's attention to something that would probably never have been considered a problem.
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