Moving out before you sell? Make sure you have a good agent who understands how to stage your home to show it in its best light to get your home sold quickly and for the most money! Here are a few tips to help (if your agent isn’t already helping!)
Not many of us can easily envision the lifestyle that an empty room might provide. This is why paint stores offer clever apps that allow us to see how a new color will look in our space and why model homes and condos are staged.
No doubt about it, selling a vacant home is a bit more challenging than selling one that is occupied. Empty homes offer no promises of sanctuary or not even a hint of the simple, blissful moments one might realize under their roofs.
That lived-in, well-loved appeal left the home when you did.
It doesn’t matter why you had to move out of the house before it sold. What matters now is how you’re going to sell it — how does one market a vacant home?
You’ll need to spend some time – and some money – getting it right. Studies demonstrate that it takes significantly longer to sell an unfurnished home, the investment of your time and money will be completely worth it.
Want to know how to jazz up a vacant home? Read on.
DIY Home Staging
If you have an eye for design, consider staging at least the most important rooms in the home. Even if you aren’t particularly decorating-inclined, you’ll find brilliant DIY staging tips online at Better Homes & Gardens, HGTV’s “Designed to Sell” and A&E’s “Sell this House.”
The key to successful staging, however, happens before you decorate. Clean the home, from top-to-bottom to have a clean slate on which to work your magic.
A few well-placed pieces of furniture and accessories will help a home look lived-in.
Hire a Professional Stager
If you are short on time or aren’t confident in your staging skills, hire a professional home stager. For a fee, a designer will bring in furniture, accessories and arrange them in a manner that shows off the home’s interior for maximum appeal to homebuyers.
In El Dorado Hills, plan on spending up to $2,000 to have your home staged, according to statistics posted at ImproveNet.com. (Prices vary by region and according to the size of the home, how much staging you require and the home’s price point.)
Don’t Forget the Yard
The front yard landscaping is especially important when a home is for sale. It’s what entices (or repels) people to enter the home in the first place. Keep the lawn green and mowed, the beds free of debris and shrubs and trees trimmed. Planting a few flowers in the beds to show off a little bit of color is always a good idea, too
Studies prove that a furnished home sells 78 percent quicker, and for closer to asking price than a vacant home. Selling a home with no “life” in it is challenging, but not impossible.
