Barbara O'Neill

1. Walk your home with buyer’s eyes. Would you notice your crumbling grout in the bathroom tile or that broken door?  You probably would and today’s buyers are more knowledgeable and aware than ever before so they definitely will see those things and more.  Make a list of repair items and get them fixed. Even if you have not maintained your home as you would have liked all these years, the buyer would never suspect provided he sees it clean and everything is repaired now.
2. Touch-up paint where necessary or repaint entire rooms if needed.  Repaint dark colored walls. Light colors help to make rooms appear larger and brighter.
3. Pack away most of the décor items around your home that make your home look cluttered. That goes for family pictures too. Many times prospective buyers get hung up looking at your stuff and forget the reason they are in your home.
4. Clean out & organize your closets and cabinets. You are going to have to do it when you move anyway, might as well get a head start now and it will make your move easier. Call your favorite charity to pick up unwanted items.
5. Now it is time to give your home a good cleaning.   Give special attention to bathrooms & your kitchen. Shampoo carpets and wash or wax all floors even behind furniture.
6. Clean up your yard, get ride of dead plants and replace as necessary. Planting a few colorful flowers in strategic areas will do wonders for the overall appearance of your yard.

Here are just a few ideas to activate your imagination to think of your own personal touches that will create a welcoming atmosphere for the prospective buyer.

Key Areas to Stage

Make the front entry look inviting. First impressions are lasting. Make it a good one. Colored pots with real or artificial plants, a bench, a welcome mat, a dried or silk door wreath to set the stage for what the prospective buyer is going to see and feel inside your home.

Kitchen

• Set a decorative bowl or basket filled with fresh or artificial fruit on the counter.
• Real plants & dried flower arrangements are always a good idea.
• Use Vanilla, Cinnamon or Apple Scented wall plugs to make kitchens smell like something good is baking in the oven.
• Neatly place cookbooks near the stove.
• Set the table with place mats & cloth napkins.

Guest Bathroom

• Prepare a guest ready bathroom with toilet paper, hand soap, hand towels & waste  
  basket.        
• Decorative items
• Scented wall plug

Master Bedroom/Bath

• Make bed daily. Buy a new  comforter, pillows and shams if needed
• Place a few books on the night stands 
•  Bath – make it spa-like with lots of towels, great smelling soaps, robes & candles.

Family Room

• Place only one or two books or magazines on coffee table.
• Put CDS, DVDs & TV clickers out of site
• Arrange furniture to make the room look larger. 

First impressions are so important that staging your home should be done prior to your home going on the market

If you like the idea of staging but do not want to tackle it alone, call Kelly Bain a professional Home Stager at 702-258-8955 or I will be happy to help you. I enjoy helping my clients get their home prepared for sale because I know that the results are worth the effort.

General Tips:

Make all beds, tidy up kitchen & straighten out every room daily. Although this may be a bit of a chore, it is important to always be ready for the showing that may result in selling your home.

Keep indoor plants watered and looking healthy.

In a buyer’s market, where there are so many choices, the home that looks the best, feels the best and shows the best is going to get sold faster! If you are ready to sell your home, call me to start working with you to get your home sold!