How To Help Your Home Look Its Best For Potential Buyers
Whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market, it’s important for your home to look its best. This can be easier said than done, though, especially if you have kids, pets, or a busy schedule. In this post, our agents have put together some quick tips on how to stage your home so that potential buyers will find it attractive and welcoming during showings.
Here’s the bottom line: if you can help them see themselves living happily in the house you’re trying to sell, then it will really help your property sell as quickly as possible and for the best price. Let that be your overarching guide when it comes to staging your home!
First Off, Curb Appeal
We tend to worry about the inside of our homes more than the outside, especially during Casper’s long winters. But the outside is the first thing a potential buyer will see, so don’t underestimate how important it is that it’s neat and appealing. Start by making sure there’s no loose trash, toys, or other items cluttering the lawn, driveway, and adjacent areas. Keep garbage cans, grills, and outdoor furniture tidy.
If it’s winter, make sure your walkways are shoveled (making a potential buyer tromp through eight inches of snow to get to the front door doesn’t give the best first impression.) During the spring and summer months, keep the lawn mowed and weeds out of the cracks in the walkways and driveway. Consider adding a splash of color by planting easy-to-keep flowers and shrubs that can add curb appeal. Doing these things can really help boost your home’s potential in the eyes of would-be buyers!
Clean And Declutter
Nothing says ‘cozy’ more than cleanliness! And if you’re trying to sell a home, ‘cozy’ is one way to describe what a lot of them are looking for, especially if it’s going to be the home they’re living in. So first and foremost, make sure your home is clean. Sweep and mop the floors, clean the counters and other surfaces, make sure your sink is clean, put the dishes away, and wipe fingerprints off of windows, cabinets, appliances, and anywhere else. Kitchens and bathrooms both really sell and can be some of the most troublesome spots in a home to keep tidy. Really concentrate on making those two areas (as well as the living spaces) look appealing.
Another important aspect of staging your home is making sure it’s decluttered. If there’s stuff you’re not using, box it up and put it away! Less is often better – less furniture, less stuff on your shelves, less stuff on top of surfaces – and it’ll help you get a jump on packing for when you’re ready to move.
Don’t Underestimate Small Upgrades
We tend not to notice signs of aging in our home because we’re too busy living in it, but potential buyers will notice things like outdated light fixtures and chipped paint right away. That’s why we recommend looking over your house with a fresh eye. Walk through the door and try to look through the eyes of a potential buyer. If anything really jumps out at you in a negative way, think about replacing it. Some easy upgrades include:
- Fresh paint (in neutral colors with wide appeal, such as tans and grays.)
- Updating light fixtures
- Updating light switches and plates
- Removing old wallpaper and painting over it
These can all be done in a few hours to days and are easy to learn and relatively inexpensive.
The Finishing Touches
Before potential home buyers arrive, there are a couple of last-minute things you can do to make the best impression possible. First, make sure your countertops are clean to give the impression of space. Next, open the curtains! Natural light will only do your home favors, making it look cleaner and more beautiful. Then, think about burning a candle with a fragrance that has wide appeal (like vanilla, for example) for about ten minutes or so before you leave. Just don’t forget to blow it out. You can also put new, clean hand towels out, as well as new towels in the bathrooms.
We wish you the best of luck in staging your house! If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call.