Are you thinking of selling your home, but worried about it being dated in its decor?
You aren’t alone, and in fact, there are ways to minimize your home’s dated appearance without spending a boatload of cash to renovate.
You want potential homebuyers to see your home’s listing, or pop in during an open house, and imagine themselves living there. Our Newbigging-Pearson real estate team has developed a technique or two for home staging that will showcase your house in its best possible light.
It starts with the photographs that accompany your listing. When you are at the photo stage, ask your realtor to suggest a photographer who is experienced in taking home staging photos to put together your home’s portfolio.
Home staging can de-personalize it, so that potential homebuyers don’t have to work too hard to imagine themselves living there.
Listen to the advice your realtor and photographer provide. If they say you need to de-clutter, go get some boxes. There is an advantage to streamlining your possessions prior to listing your home: keeping it clean for showings will be that much easier, and you’ll have fewer personal items scattered about to distract potential homebuyers from seeing themselves at home.
Even if your house is small, it’s likely you have everything you need inside your four walls for home staging, allowing you to show your house at its best in listing photos and during viewings. Be guided by your realtor and photographer in rearranging furniture, plants and artwork, so your home shows well and sells quickly.
Newbigging-Pearson’s list of home staging dos and don’ts include the following:
- Do clean inside so your home is sparkling. Don’t forget windows, both inside and out! There are lots of small Niagara companies that handle house cleaning, if you can’t get it all done yourself. Your realtor may be able to suggest one.
- Regarding your home’s exterior, do pay some attention to landscaping: trim trees, hedges and shrubs; pull weeds; add solar lights; freshen mulch and edge pathways and sidewalk. If you can’t do these things yourself, ask your realtor for some landscaping references.
- Do ask for suggestions on adding curb appeal. Depending on the season, there are lots of ways to draw a potential homebuyer’s eye to the front of your home, using colour, plantings, lighting and landscaping.
- Do remove most personal items, such as papers, toiletries and knick-knacks. Simple decluttering can really brighten up a room for photos.
- Do avoid real-life photos and displays. Make sure your photos don’t include children’s artwork, toy boxes, dirty dishes, cleaning equipment, pets and their items, piles of shoes and clothing, anything broken, or overflowing laundry baskets.
- Do consider repainting in neutral colours. If your realtor suggests a room’s colour or accent wall might keep your home from selling, give some thought to a quick cover-up in a soothing, neutral tone.
- Is carpeting dated? Got hardwood underneath? Do consider pulling up the carpeting and polishing the hardwood so it shines in your photos. Can’t get rid of the carpet? Do consider overlaying with an area rug to change the room’s atmosphere.
- Do play up the season but avoid holiday decor. If it’s winter and you have a fireplace, make sure it’s operative during photos or viewings. A welcoming, tasteful wreath on the door is OK, since it adds curb appeal that is difficult to maintain when there is snow on the ground. Decor inside should remain understated. The same applies to any seasonal or holiday decor.
- Do bake some treats to add a heavenly scent to the air for potential homebuyers. Don’t overuse home fragrances or candles, since so many people are allergic to artificial scents.
- Of all the rooms in the home, do especially keep the kitchen and bathroom sparkling. Do remove all papers and magnets from the fridge. Don’t cook anything too fragrant, such as fish or anything fried, the day before a showing. If kitchen and bathroom cabinets are dated, consider changing hardware for a fresh look.
- You love your pets, but don’t include pets in your photos. For viewing days, park pets elsewhere, and remove all signs, such as cages, kennels, beds, litter boxes and food dishes from your home. If potential homebuyers have pets, you want them to think about their own pets, not yours, while looking at the photos and during viewings.
- Do add mirrors to reflect more light into rooms, but don’t capture the photographer’s image inside a mirror when taking photos.
- Do add flowers to brighten a space, but keep them simple, for example, all the same colour. Don’t leave wilting flowers on display during viewings.
- Do ask the photographer to take a photo showing the front of your home. If lighting and your angles permit, take one with the front door open, showing welcoming light spilling out from the inside. Try to avoid long lawn shots, or shots of busy gardens.
- Do declutter your back deck or patio before outdoor photos are taken. Tidy away toys and depending on the season, do consider adding a simple vase filled with flowers (they can be artificial; in a photo, nobody will know) to the patio table. Ensure the barbecue and surrounding area has been tidied up.
- Do ask questions, and share your ideas! It’s possible you have thought of some things that we haven’t, so fire away!
Are you ready to sell, and want help getting your home staged for photos? Reach our Newbigging-Pearson team of experts at 289-686-1552, or send us a message via our website HERE, on our website’s contact page.
Before and after photos courtesy of Jill Ackerman
