If you are trying to sell your home, it
really pays off
to make the extra
effort to impress
your buyers.
There have been
studies that show it takes
buyers only seven
seconds to decide whether
or not they are
going to buy a home once they
set foot in a
house. That it is why it so crucial
to make a good
impression and also why
“staging” a home
for sale is such a fine art.
However not all
of us have the cash on hand,
or the time and
energy, to do things that are
really going to
flip your home over to the
next buyer
quickly. For instance, not everybody
has the cash on
hand to install a brand
new flashy
Jacuzzi complete with freestanding
brass towel
warmers and new stone tile
floors. However
you might have the money
on hand to
install designer faucets, paint the
walls and replace
the old iron door handles
with trendy new
crystal knobs.
Here are some
quick and easy ways to make
your home show
like a model home for
under $200. These
are easy-to-do tips and
the type of thing
an interior decorator would
advise you to do
to help “stage" a property so
it is more
attractive to buyers. The goal of
this top ten
list: is to give you hints on how to
make your home
show better than your
competitor’s home
on the real estate market!
1. Clear All
Clutter
You can get rid
of all of the junk in your
home for free.
Simply get rid of anything
you don’t need
and haul it away in your car
to the nearest
dump or Goodwill. This means
getting rid of
“stuff” in the front yard, back
yard, hallway and
basement. Studies have
shown that people
perceive clutter as being
indicative of a
property that is decrepit or not
worth much money.
They also associate it
with decay and
the presence of vermin or
bugs.
One thing in
particular you need to get rid of
is ashtrays.
People consider houses that have
been smoked in to
be less desirable and also
smelly.
You should also
get rid of all junk in your
yard. This
includes things like broken garden
hoses, old
equipment and bicycles.
Even things you
are actively using should be
tucked out of
sight before a house showing.
This means
clearing your kitchen counter of
appliances like
George Forman Grills or
blenders or
anything else that takes up counter
space.
Outside you
should make sure that your
garden hoses are
coiled up, your birdbath is
clean of leaves
and that you do not have
sports equipment
or bikes laying around
your front porch.
2. Get Rid of
Evidence of Pets
If you have a dog
or cat send them away for
the day. Hide the
litter box and any evidence
of it’s aroma.
Make sure there is no dog feces
in the front
yard. These types of things,
along with their
smells can convince a buyer
that there are
allergens, mites and pet urea in
the house. Houses
with more pets are also
considered to be
less desirable than ones
with no pets at
all.
3. Get Rid of
Evidence of Kids
Get rid of
strollers on the porch, inflatable
kiddie pools in
the back yard and any toys
that may be lying
around in the hallway. Get
rid of baby gates
and make sure there are no
handprints or
crayon drawings on the wall.
Studies have also
shown that homes that
have kid’s stuff
strewn about are considered
to be less hygienic
or valuable than those
that don’t.
4. Clean Up the
Front Yard and Porches
The front yard
and porch are very important
as that is what
your buyer will first see when
they approach the
home. Make sure that the
grass is cut and
that the garden is nicely
tended.
If you have to,
reseed the lawn and plant a
few decorative
bushes. It also does not hurt
to spruce up the
front door with a coat of
paint and replace
the house number plates
and the door
knocker with new versions.
It also helps a
lot to get rid of dead trees or
bushes that may
be on the property. Many
people associate
that with bad luck or a lack
of caring for the
property.
5. Get Rid of
Sunken Paving Stones
The path to your
front door and the driveway
are also very
important. Sunken paving
stones or missing
rocks make your home
look ratty and
cheap. It is quite easy to buy
new stones, level
them and redo these
pathways. Curved
path ways look more
contemporary than
ones that are at right
angles.
6. Paint Rooms
That Need It
If you have a
wall that looks scratched up,
beaten or damaged
you are well advised to
paint it. This
can go a long way towards
making a home
look less shabby. You
should also make
an attempt to plaster any
holes or crumbled
parts of walls in your
home as well. If
paint is out of the question
then you
certainly could make a better
impression by
covering up flawed walls with
wall paper.
7. Replace Some
Fixtures
If your
chandelier or light fixtures look
dated, then go to
some trouble to replace
them. You can
also make a home look more
contemporary and
like it is worth more
money simply by
making a few cosmetic
changes like
changing the light switch plates
or electrical
plates to designer versions.
8. Change the
Faucets and Spouts
Sometimes you can
make a kitchen or
bathroom look
really glamorous simply by
changing out your
old faucets and spouts for
glamorous new
ones. There are lots of different
styles on the
market that can instantly
transform a sink
into a contemporary silver
masterpiece of
design and many of these
fixtures also
cost less than $200. Furthermore
it can be quite
easy to install these
fixtures all by
yourself.
A tall spigot on
a kitchen sink can make it
look suddenly
very European and modern.
Replacing the
shower head in the bathroom
with something
quite snaky, long and silver
with several
water flow options can also help
it seem more
luxurious and expensive.
9. Provide Flowers
and Greenery
If you have
cleared all the clutter, then you
should have a
home that looks more simple
and kind of Zen
in nature. One way to
augment this air
of designer sophistication is
to put flowers or
vases of tall grasses in
every room.
For instance if
you have a dining room table
it is quite a
good idea to put a display of fruit
or flowers on the
center table to make it seem
more glamorous or
traditional. It is also quite
chic to place a
small display of flowers or
bamboo in the
bathroom. A rose floating in
a bowl of water
looks nice reflected in a
dresser mirror in
a bedroom.
10. Provide Some
Aromatherapy
It’s been proven
that if an item for sale
makes some kind
of impression on the nose
then people are
also more likely to buy it.
That is true for
small ticket items but it is
also true of big
things like an entire house.
One of the tricks
that professional real estate
agents use is to
simply bake some cookies in
the oven so the
scent of cinnamon and
vanilla fills the
air as potential customers
walk in the front
door. This gives a place a
more homey
effect.
It is also nice
to have aromatherapy candles
burning in places
like a downstairs bathroom
where things
might be a little dark. Soy
candles are
especially aromatic.
If you do not
want to spend your time baking
you can buy all
kinds of professional scents
for you home that
help it seem more cozy or
sophisticated.
You can even buy vanilla,
cinnamon or apple
pie scents that mimic the
smells of baking.
Tropical scents such as
pineapple and
mango are also used by
professional real
estate agents and also the
owners of
clothing stores to encourage
people to buy.
Of course if you
do have some money to
invest in preparing
your home for sale, you
can also hire a
professional to stage your
home for you. The
benefits of this are
usually a faster
sale and more money for
your property.
Many of these organizations
can rent you
furniture and accessories that
can help make
your home look better. A
home stager can
also offer you an objective
perspective on
what exactly it is that can
make your home
look fresh, appealing and
attractive to
others.
With an eye for
design and just a few
hundred bucks you
can usually fix up your
home so that it
is more appealing to buyers
all by yourself.
