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Get Your Home Sold with these Summer Staging Tips
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When it comes to selling your home, there are countless steps one must take to ensure a quick and hassle-free closing. An important measure to take in selling your home includes staging, something many often forget to prioritize. However, placing staging at the top of your 'to-do' list is a way to draw buyers in, heighten their interest in your home, and ideally - lead to an offer. Staging establishes a good first impression on homebuyers and acts as a mechanism in showing off your home's greatest assets. The idea is to help people envision themselves in a home that one day, hopefully soon - could be their very own.
With the market on the rise (as well as the temperatures), it’s crucial to take the time to stage your home in a way that makes it look straight out of a magazine. So how do you stage your home during some of New England’s hottest months? Read on to find out!
1. Focus on the outside as much as the inside.
Sellers often assume that staging their home means they'll have to clean from top to bottom. And while cleaning your home is part of the deal, it's important to remember that staging the exterior of your home is just as crucial as staging the interior. Maximizing the curb appeal of your home serves as a way to draw homebuyers in, and keeps them wanting more. If they don’t like what they see on the outside, chances are their excitement to see the rest of your home could potentially be fading away.
In order to get the outside of your home in tip-top shape, here are some steps you can take:
- Mow the lawn
- Wash the windows
- Sweep the porch & entryway
- Add hanging baskets or potted plants for pops of color
- Add a welcome mat
After some TLC, landscaping, and a simple welcome mat to spruce things up, you’ll be nothing short of amazed with the transformation of your home. And we promise, homebuyers will appreciate the polished and refined look too!
2. Keep it cool for the summer.
As the day progresses, the temperature rises, and beads of perspiration start to build up on your forehead, there's nothing more soothing than walking into a building with air conditioning. With any home that's placed on the market during summer months, it's important to take temperature into consideration when preparing your home for showings. You'll want your guests to feel comfortable as they begin exploring your home, and if it's too hot, they might not take the time they need to properly examine your home. For maximum comfort, Sacramento Bee states that, “72 degrees is considered an optimum ‘comfortable’ indoor temperature”.
Although an ideal temperature varies for everyone, remember that you want homebuyers to focus on the visuals of the home - not the heat. It’s a simple step that many people forget, but certainly not one you’d want to forget on a sunny day in July!
3. Declutter.
The main idea behind decluttering is to make your home appear as spacious, roomy, and comfortable as possible. This means getting rid of any excess “stuff” by moving it into storage before homebuyers step foot into your home.
The “stuff” that we’re talking about? Anything that serves as a distraction and takes away from the main features of your home. For example, rather than noticing all of your kitchen appliances, you'll want homebuyers to take note of the granite countertops underneath your appliances. And the walk-in closet you have? Be sure to show off your storage space, rather than your shoe collection. A cluttered area could inhibit potential buyers from seeing a home’s most picturesque qualities and take away from its overall value. Instead of masking a property’s potential with extra knick-knacks, be sure to pack it all up and move it into storage for the time being.
What are some things that could be considered ‘clutter’?
- Excess kitchen appliances
- Jewelry, perfume, and toiletries
- Family photos - a couple are alright, but don’t go overboard. De- personalize as much as you can.
- Toys, Lawn Games
Getting rid of extra “stuff” lying around will help homebuyers envision the home with their things inside of it, which can often times assist in making a sale.
4. Let the light shine through!
On a bright and sunny day, one of the most refreshing feelings is opening the shades and letting natural light pour into your home. Natural light helps in making your house glow, as well as giving the appearance of larger rooms and a more enticing aura. When potential homebuyers are walking through your home, it’s a good idea to combine natural with artificial light as a way to visually stimulate people and create an overall alluring appeal to the property. For those of you who live in a quiet neighborhood, a subtle, yet efficient way to boast this feature is by opening your windows and letting the sound of nature roam throughout the house.
Pro tip? Make sure your windows have screens! You don’t want any bugs, or worse, birds - making their way in! Once people hear the sounds of nature outdoors, they’ll fall in love with the serene setting and hopefully, the house as a whole.
5. Offer refreshments
Although this isn’t a requirement for staging by any means, offering refreshments to guests is a great way to help them feel welcome while touring your home. It can be as simple as offering water and juice by the entrance, or as elaborate as creating your favorite baked goodies, which offers the additional bonus of creating a delicious aroma that will float throughout your home.
Refreshments are a simple way to say ‘welcome to our home’, while respecting your guests’ space and letting them browse at their own convenience. It’s an extra touch that your guests are sure to appreciate!
After completing all of these steps, it’s time to sit back, relax, and let your hard work and professional staging skills do the rest of the work.
Ready to take the next step?
If you’re thinking of selling but aren’t sure what steps to take first, contact a Red Post Realty agent today. The process isn’t as scary as you think - we promise!