Dressing Up Your Home for Sale

If you’re looking to sell quickly, you must have the better-looking home in the bunch.  Your home must have curb appeal to the widest clientele. When that first potential buyer drives up and parks at your curb it won’t take long for them to form an opinion and you’d better hope it’s favorable.

Realtors know that a buy or don’t buy decision is frequently made with that first impression; If the initial opinion of your home is favorable, potential buyers will continue their walk through thinking positive thoughts.  They will be looking for reasons to reinforce their positive feelings – reasons to purchase your home.  It will take something really negative to knock them off this track.

The rationale for this is simple.  The buyer comes into the house, sees the beautiful design setup of the décor and thinks “WOW! This house looks beautiful!  I must have it” It doesn’t matter how the new owner will change things around and it will  probably never look that way again, but that doesn’t matter.  The buyer believes it will look that way forever and that’s what counts.

If however the first impression is negative, the buyer goes through your house with a mind-set that says, “Nope, Not Me, Next!”

Buyers will universally see only what’s in front of them.  For example, your home may boast the best show stopping entry with hardwood floors, wood trim, solid oak doors, marble columns and more, but if the floor, walls and doors are all painted over with dreary paint, that’s what the buyers will see, the dreary dull paint, not the quality beneath.

Dressing your home is adaptable to the particular property as well as the budget of the owner.  It can be as simple as de-cluttering a house or as extensive as a partial remodel and custom staging.  It all depends on the condition of your home and what you’re trying to portray.

What Do Your Want Your Home To Say?

Concentrate on clean lines, open space and what costs less but makes the greatest impression. You can dramatically improve any buyer’s first impression of your property with simplicity.  By doing so, you will automatically increase your chances of selling quicker and attaining a higher price.

Remember don’t rely on the buyer’s imagination.  You have to transform what the buyer views first from something that’s poor or mediocre to something that looks great.  When that buyer walks in, he or she won’t have to imagine what your house could look like if this were landscaped or that were painted.  It will be spelled out for him or her – no imagination required.  Instead of what all it could be, you’ll be showing what it is.

How to Dress Your Home for Sale?

Here are the least expensive ways to dress your home At-A-Glance.

1. De-clutter all rooms.  Clutter becomes a visual headache.  It becomes the centerpiece for everyone who walks through your home and detracts from the purpose potential buyers came there.  Streamline kitchen counters, remove personal mail from table, discard old newspapers and arrange the rest in a nice little pile where no one can see it.
2. Remove personal collections.  Family photos, religious collections, and the rock collection should be packed away for your next home.  You never know what could turn potential buyers off; your home must appeal to everyone.
3. Let the light inside.  Remove dark curtains and drapes and open all blinds.  You want as much sunlight streaming throughout the house to appear open and friendly.

Assuming you don’t have to rehab anything, just stick with the basics.  Paint, flowers, and landscaping; do these simple things and it will make a world of difference to every potential buyer.