Successful Staging for Fast Home Selling

The key to selling your home fast and at a good price is correct staging. We’ve compiled some staging tips for upgrading and styling your home to help you get the best results.

Enhance curb appeal. Often people considering having a look at your home will first do a quick drive-by. To ensure onlookers are not turned away, washing walkways and planting blooming flowers is a great idea. Cleaning front windows and repainting the porch floor can also add to curb appeal.

Make the porch appear inviting. Even if your porch is small, try to make it appear welcoming with blooming potted plants and a clean doormat. If there’s space, keep a couple of pieces of porch furniture. For the benefit of potential buyers driving by, keep the porch lights on after sunset.

Clean to a sparkle. Shining floors and gleaming windows can create a great impression. This is an easy way to help your home look its best. It’s a good idea to get pros in to do the job. The results will be well worth the expense.

Clear all clutter. It’s imperative for all clutter to go. This might involve temporarily utilizing offsite storage space but it’s worth the trouble. Potential buyers view clear surfaces, cupboards, and floors as more space, so get rid of anything unsightly or unnecessary.

Take a look at the floors. Clean the floors thoroughly and get the carpets steam cleaned. If wood floors are in poor shape, consider getting them refinished. If refinishing is beyond your budget, placing rugs strategically can save the day.

Rearrange furniture. Symmetrical arrangements usually look nice in living rooms. Move furniture away from the walls and make use of pairs of chairs, sofas, and lamps to build inviting conversation areas.

Select neutral colors. Avoid experimenting with "fun"-looking colors like lime green when you’re planning to sell. This doesn't mean an all-white appearance. Rich neutral colors like mocha create sophisticated backdrops which make everything look more integrated.

Keep the master bedroom gender-neutral. Try to create a general appeal with a neat master bedroom that’s free of clutter and personal items. With tasteful artwork, crisp, clean linens, and a neatly folded blanket on the bed, you’ll never go wrong.

Make closets appear spacious. Buyers are quite likely to peek into your closets. Often, closet space proves to be a make-or-break point for buyers, so make sure yours appear spacious by getting rid of excess stuff. Aim to have 20-30% open space within each closet.

Keep toys neatly. Even though people looking at your home might have their own kids, having toys strewn all over is not likely to sell them on the house. People who are house hunting are generally looking forward to a fresh start. Try showing them that in your house, having a well-organized kids' room is possible, and they’ll possibly be swayed.

Use "extra" rooms judiciously. It’s time to change things if you’ve been using a spare room as a dumping space. Each room must have its own clearly defined purpose. Consider what potential buyers might like to have – a study or a guest room? Converting a junk room into a real room is sure to result in a big payoff.

Remember, you can always rely on a free home valuation report from Neighborhood IQ to help you in the selling process. Also, the Home Loan Advisor can analyze your property, current market conditions, local market comps, and other variables in our proprietary algorithm, and match you with potential lenders.

How to Price Your Home to Sell

Homeowners want to get the best value for their home, and this involves strategic planning. Getting your home sold involves three things: location, condition and price. You can’t control the location, but you do have the ability to control the price by improving the condition. While it may seem easier to take the price you paid and simply add a markup, the resulting price probably won’t reflect the true market value of your home.

The first two weeks that your house is on the market are the most critical because it will be exposed to an audience of ready and active buyers. If your initial price is too high, you will lose these potential buyers. The listing price of your property will make or break you. Simply put, if you price your home right, the buyers will come. But you need to know what your home is worth—not what you think it is worth. Here are some tips to help you in pricing your home to sell:

Work with the market. Instead of focusing on where the market has been, focus on where it is going. Look at comparable house prices in your area to get an idea of where the market is and go from there.

Figure out the fair market value of your home. More than just the value of your home, the fair market value is the price a buyer will pay and the seller will accept. It is much more powerful than what your home is simply worth; it is the right price. The best way to determine the fair market value of your property is to use a comparable market analysis to compare your house to others who have just sold or are still on the market.

Think like the buyer. This is a great selling technique because it allows you to put yourself in the buyer’s position and ask “Would I buy this house?” Be rational and look at your home from an outside point of view.

Realism goes a long way. If you don’t own a mansion but price it and market it as one, you will have a problem getting serious offers. Be honest with yourself about your home’s condition and value.

Leave room for negotiation. As a seller, you want to get your money’s worth. Buyers don’t want to pay more than they should. The price you quote should have some leeway for negotiating. But be careful because if you quote unrealistically high, potential buyers will pass you by.

Act quickly. Adjust your price if you have received feedback that your price is too steep, and do it without hesitating.

If your home is in great condition and part of a marketing strategy but it still lacks offers, it is probably overpriced. Signs that prices are too high may include a lack of second showings, or many showings but no offers.

A little research can mean an easy selling experience while maximizing your money. Even though buyers have a separate and not equal opinion of our house’s worth, you need to know that value of your home outside of the fair market value. To assist you in pricing your home to sell, you can geta free home valuation report from Neighborhood IQ and find out what your home is really worth.