Staging Your Home

Staging is the art of enhancing the appeal of a property to increase its market value and attract a larger pool of potential buyers.

Many clients fear that staging will be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. It begins by understanding the home buying experience from the buyer’s perspective, then working together to make your home as attractive as possible. If you watch HGTV or other home shows, you may be familiar with some of these suggestions.

Curb appeal

Trim bushes, weed the flower beds, and depending on the time of year, plant annuals. Pressure wash the exterior of your home, the walk ways, and the drive way. If it’s been a long time, you may want to consider having the exterior re-painted.

Odors

You may not be aware of odors from pets, cooking, cigarette smoke or diapers, but prospective buyers will notice it right away. Take whatever steps you can to eliminate these problems. Masking odors with floral scents often does not work and can even make the problem worse. You may need the help of cleaning experts, like Stanley Steamer or ServiceMaster, to address these problems, but it is an investment worth making.

De-clutter

Most people are natural gatherers; they store things in their closets, the garage, under the bed, in cabinets, and on flat surfaces. The most common problem areas for home sellers are kitchen and bathrooms countertops, closets, bookshelves, and bedrooms. Kitchen and bathroom countertops should be clear with a few necessary or decorative items. Take off most, if not all, of the family post-its on the refrigerator. Formal entertainment rooms should have surfaces that are mostly clear with a few appropriately placed decorative objects on tables. Bedrooms should be neat with beds made and clothes put away. Children’s rooms should have toys that are neatly stored or put away.

Recent Listings

Remove excess furnishings

Too much furniture can make your home look smaller than it is. There are many offsite storage facilities in Baton Rouge for furnishings or other items that take up too much space. Rental rates are very reasonable, or if there are items you don’t need you may want to consider a donation to a local charity.

Fix items in need of repair

Does the tub faucet leak? Do you have broken window panes or double pane windows with broken seals? Does the ceiling fan wobble? Is one of the burners on the cooktop broken? Does the doorbell work? If there are items in your home that you know need repair and the cost is not prohibitive, you should get these taken care of before your home is seen by prospective buyers.

Low-cost cosmetic change

Your daughter may love that hot pink room, your son may love the camouflage green, you may really like the deep red in the kitchen or dining room, but you may want to consider a more neutral color palette. Today’s buyers want today’s colors. It can make all the difference in how a buyer responds to your home.

As your agent, I can help you identify things we can do to increase your home’s market value and improve its appeal to most buyers. If some are beyond the scope of do-it-yourself projects, I can recommend people I’ve worked with that can help you. Together we can identify those projects that can bring you the biggest return on your investment and help you get your home sold.