Chances are the words “seller’s market” aren’t uttered in reference to this year’s real estate market. But you may be in a position where you HAVE to sell your house now. In today’s real estate market, to say that the competition is tough is an understatement. You only get one chance to make a great first impression on your prospective homebuyer.
We were lucky enough to have an interior decorator stop by our house and give us some very good (free) advice on home staging as a gift to us. Here are eight tips on how to prepare your home for sale.
1. Clean up the clutter. Yes, clear out the clutter in every room, every closet, and even the basement (aka the dump). The prospective homebuyer can’t see through your clutter and shouldn’t have to imagine what your home would look like without the clutter.
To clean up our mess, we rented a 15-yard dumpster for a couple of weeks spending around $300. It’s a great freeing feeling to throw away all that stuff, trust me!
If you have items you need to keep, but space is an issue, check with your local store for rates. We are currently renting a 10 ft. x 10 ft storage unit for $75/mo. This has allowed us to clear our base. Our plan is to finish our basement and convert our two-bedroom house to a four-bedroom house before putting it on the market.
2. Paint with a neutral color. Whether it’s for an unusual color choice or just to cover up your kids’ scuff marks and artwork, paint will really help clean up your home. We have an open concept home where the kitchen, living room, and dining room are completely open.
Decorator recommended neutral paint color: Benjamin Moore, Powell Buff. Benjamin Moore paint is expensive, but you can save some money by buying a sample and having Home Depot or Lowes match the color to a cheaper paint.
Painted throughout most of our home, this neutral color has given the home a clean, rich appearance. We also use this color in the hallway and in our child’s room.
3. Clean carpets and re-grout tiles. While cleaning the carpets will obviously improve the appearance of your home, getting the grout back on the tiles was something we wouldn’t have thought to do.
We have ivory tile in our front entry and bathroom. The grout was a gray-brown color. The decorator suggests going over the existing grout with a lighter colored grout. This job is easy, but it is time consuming and complicated. Visit Lowes for a large selection of grout colors and grout tools. We chose a lighter taupe and the results are stunning, giving the tile a fresh look.
4. Replace carpet if necessary. The carpet in our great room was a little over ten years old. I was in a room with a wood stove, and it was also the room where the kids hung out and made a lot of trouble. That rug was so stained it was a shame. We had a long time to start it. We easily got rid of the old carpet right off the slider and into the dumpster.
The room is pretty big at 20 feet. x 20 feet, and we agreed that wood-look laminate would be the best option. We bought the laminate at Lowes for about $300 (less than the price of the carpet) and installed it ourselves. It was hard work all weekend, but the result is a nice clean “wood” floor.
5. Evaluate furniture and replace if necessary. Our furnishings were fine with the exception of the informal dining table and chairs, and a couch we had in our great room. This sofa was almost as old as I am (we are the 3rd owner) and had been covered so many times. It was shabby, but it had worked great for our two messy kids! The decorator said it was time for the sofa to go. That’s where the dumpster really came in handy!
The table and chairs were also outdated and we sold them on Craig’s List. These were stored in the storage unit and the neutral location worked perfectly for the sale.
The decorator was kind enough to go furniture shopping with me. Knowing that we have to stay within a certain budget, he suggested that we meet at Jordan’s Furniture Outlet Store in Avon, MA. We bought our sofa here for a great price. Jordan’s is where our decorator shops regularly (for the budget minded clients whose homes he arranges) for great deals. Items are overstocked or have some minor defects. Turnaround is fast, because there are many repeat customers looking for great deals.
We spent $700 on a couch and loveseat, and the couches were immaculate surplus. This purchase qualified (then) for entry into his Monster Sweep of the Red Sox, who are promoting again this year. If you buy from them and the Boston Red Sox win the World Series, Jordan will give you a refund for the full amount of the eligible item. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Using last year’s “stimulus check” and tax refund, we purchased the couches ($700), an antique white and cherry table ($167), six antique white side chairs ($57 each). Please see the photos below. We are very happy with the furniture and of course they will come with us to our new house.
6. Move your furniture. The new capes were placed in our living room and the “old” leather capes from the living room were moved to the great room.
I’m not a decorator so this is where your advice was really helpful. To make the room look 100 times better, she pulled the sofa away from the wall to create the “L” shape seen in both the living room and great room photos. This change gave the room a more intimate seating area. The room immediately felt cozy and more inviting. She suggested adding a sofa table behind the sofa, displaying a lamp and ivy plant, neither of which we’ve purchased yet.
In the great room photo, you’ll see that each sofa is flanked by a side table. On each side table is a 36″ tall lamp. The coffee table is centered and displays a pretty bowl. Also in this great room photo, the TV is flanked by shelves on either side. This was the decorator’s suggestion to move the shelves around the TV, and make a focal “entertainment center” out of the shelves we had.
Bedroom furniture was moved in the orientation shown. The decorator suggests floor-length curtains for the window treatment. She suggests 24″ table lamps for each nightstand and matching paintings to hang above each nightstand. The sleigh bed is now the focal point upon entering the room.
7. Decorate at a discount. The decorator took me to another of her favorite stores, Home Goods. I think I had only been to Home Goods one other time in my life, but this particular trip was certainly worth it.
Based on the color and layering of the living room wall, I chose two similar paintings, which we hung together behind our coach. These images have green, orange/red and brown colors. With the images in my cart, I was able to match the colors with glass candle holders, bowls, and other “chatskies” (as the decorator calls them). She suggested adding some fake grasses and (believe it or not) plastic artichoke decoration. It looks really good!
8. Keep the house warm and smelling fresh. Our great room has a propane stove for heating. During the winter months we normally keep the heating off unless we are in the room. The decorator advised us to keep the room warm if showing the house during the winter months. Also, using furniture cleaner before a showing will leave the house smelling clean and fresh.
Home staging is hard work and can seem overwhelming, but take it one step at a time and you’ll get there. For the short time you stay in your home, you will enjoy the fruits of your labor. Good luck!
