After much preparation you are finally here; the final steps in actually selling your house. By this point you have gathered all the paperwork, prepped the home, researched pricing and are ready to add the sign to your yard. Your realtor will be right by your side each step of the way. Within the last two weeks before you officially add your home to the market the push from the realtor will be staging.
Staging your home for sale is a whole lot easier than it sounds. Especially because your real estate agent has done this process so many times before and can truly give you sound advice on what buyers want to see when they enter a space. Staging is a three step process. You first start by eliminating clutter, then cleaning and finally staging your space.
Eliminating clutter is a difficult step in the process as you still need to live in the space as you sell your home. Many times the clutter found within the home is the stuff that also makes the home livable. When we are talking about reducing clutter we are talking about the minor stuff like school bags but mainly the stuff within the space that screams to other that this house is yours. Buyers want to enter your home and feel themselves in the space. If the only thing that they see is you and your family everywhere they turn this will turn them off.
When it comes to removing clutter the best option is to have your realtor or another outside party come in and help. They are impartial and can come in and quickly eye pieces that should be packed and put in to storage. For instance, if you are a collector of crabs within a kitchen space, when identifying you your friends probably think about crabs. When a buyer comes in those things that identify you to the space need to be removed and more neutral things put into place. The goal is to allow the buyer to visualize themselves in the space. The more of you left in the space the harder this is to accomplish.
Next comes cleaning. If this is not something that you are within your expertise hire a cleaning company to come in and hit your house hard. You will want all the windows, door walls, molding, cupboards, appliances and so forth cleaner than they would be if the buyer was looking at a brand new home. The house should appear like it is ready to move your stuff out and theirs in. Clean is important!
The staging process is next. Take out any furniture that takes away from showcasing how roomy the space is. Eliminate any pieces that bring to much focus on to them. Large furniture draws away from the space. If needed put your furniture in storage and rent more space friendly pieces. Your realtor will help you layout the furniture in a way that enhances the space and makes it buyer friendly.
The final step to selling your home is list it on the market, wait for buyers to roll in, negotiate a reasonable offer and close. Using a local realtor often leads to a quicker sale as they are experts in highlighting your home, neighborhood and community. Realtors will market your home in a variety of ways to attract the type of buyers interested in exactly what your home offers. If you are selling a home on water, you market to lake front buyers. The same can be said for homes on golf courses and farms. Your real estate team will market your home to the right buyer; your job is to ensure they can visualize themselves in your home without putting in too much sweat equity.