Chances are the words “seller’s market” won’t be uttered in reference to this year’s real estate market. But you may be in a position where you HAVE to sell your house now. In this current real estate market, to say that the competition is tough is an understatement. You only get one chance to make a great first impression on your prospective homebuyer.
We were lucky enough to have an interior decorator stop by our house and give us some great (free) advice on home staging as a gift to us. Here are eight tips on how to prepare your home for sale.
1. Clean up the mess. Yes, clear the clutter in every room, every closet, and even the basement (aka the dump). The prospective homebuyer can’t see through your clutter and shouldn’t have to imagine what your home would look like without the clutter.
To clean up our mess, we rented a 15-yard dumpster for a couple of weeks for about $300. It’s a great liberating feeling to throw away all that stuff, trust me!
If you have items you need to keep, but space is an issue, check your local warehouse for rates. We are currently leasing a 10 ft. x 10ft storage area for $75/mo. This has allowed us to clear our base. Our plan is to finish our basement and convert our two-bedroom house to a four-bedroom house before we put it on the market.
2. Paint with a neutral color. Whether it’s for an unusual color choice or just to cover up scuff marks and your kids’ artwork, paint will really help to clean up your house. We have an open concept home where the kitchen, living room and dining room are completely open.
Decorator recommended neutral paint color: Benjamin Moore, Powell Buff. Benjamin Moore paint is expensive, but you can save some money by buying a sample and having Home Depot or Lowes color match a cheaper paint.
This neutral color, painted throughout most of our house, has given the house a clean and rich appearance. We also use this color in the hallway and in our child’s room.
3. Clean carpets and re-grout tiles. While cleaning the carpets will obviously improve the appearance of your home, re-grouting the tiles was something we wouldn’t have thought to do.
We have an ivory tile in our front entry and bathroom. The grout was a brownish gray color. The decorator suggests going over the existing grout with a lighter colored grout. This job is easy, but it is time consuming and complicated. Visit Lowes for a large selection of grout colors and grout tools. We chose a lighter taupe and the results are impressive, giving the tile a fresh look.
4. Replace the carpet if necessary. The carpet in our great room was just over ten years old. It was in a room with a wood stove, and it was also the room where the kids hung out and made a lot of messes. That rug was so stained it was a shame. We took a long time to start it. We easily disposed of the old rug right off the slider and into the dumpster.
The room is quite large at 20 feet. x 20 ft., and we agreed that faux wood laminate would be the best option. We bought the laminate at Lowes for about $300 (less than the price of the carpet) and installed it ourselves. It was hard work all weekend, but the result is a nice clean “wood” floor.
5. Evaluate the furniture and replace it if necessary. Our furnishings were fine with the exception of the table and chairs in the casual dining room, and a couch that we had in our great room. This sofa was almost as old as I am (we are the third owners) and had been covered so many times. It was shabby, but had worked great for our two messy kids! The decorator said it was time for the sofa to go. That’s where the dumpster really came in handy!
The table and chairs were also outdated and we sold them on Craig’s List. These were stored in the storage unit and the neutral location worked perfectly for sale.
The decorator was kind enough to go furniture shopping with me. Knowing we have to stay within a certain budget, he suggested we meet at Jordan’s Furniture Outlet Store in Avon, MA. We bought our sofa here for a great price. Jordan’s is where our decorator shops regularly (for clients on a budget, whose homes he organizes) for great deals. Items are overstocked or have some minor flaws. The turnaround is fast, because there are so many repeat customers looking for great deals.
We spent $700 on a sofa and loveseat, and the sofas were spotless surplus. This purchase qualified (then) for entry into their Monster Sweep from the Red Sox, which they are promoting again this year. If you buy from them and the Boston Red Sox sweep the World Series, Jordan will give you a refund for the full amount of the eligible item. Wouldn’t that be good?
Using last year’s “stimulus check” and tax refund, we bought the sofas ($700), an antique white and cherry table ($167), six antique white side chairs ($57 each). Please see the photos below. We are very happy with the furniture and of course they will come with us to our new house.
6. Move your furniture. The new capes were placed in our living room and the “old” leather capes from the living room were moved into the great room.
I’m not a decorator, so this is where your advice was really helpful. To make the room look 100 times better, she pulled the couch away from the wall to create the “L” shape seen in both the living room and great room photos. This change gave the room a more intimate sitting area. The room immediately felt cozy and more inviting. She suggested adding a sofa table behind the sofa, displaying a lamp and ivy plant, neither of which we’ve purchased yet.
In the great room photo, you’ll see that each sofa is flanked by a side table. On each end table is a 36″ tall lamp. The coffee table is centered and showcases a pretty bowl. Also in this great photo of the living room, the TV is flanked by shelves on either side. This was the decorator’s suggestion to move the shelves around the TV, and make a focal “entertainment center” with the shelves we had.
The bedroom furniture was moved in the orientation shown. The decorator suggests floor-length curtains for the window treatment. She suggests 24″ table lamps for each nightstand and matching pictures to hang above each nightstand. The sleigh bed is now the focal point as you enter the room.
7. Decorate at a discount. The decorator took me to another of her favorite stores, Home Goods. I think I’ve only been to Home Goods one other time in my life, but this particular trip was certainly worth it.
Based on the color and layering of the living room wall, I chose two similar paintings, which we hung together behind our coach. These images have green, orange/red and brown colors. With the pictures in my cart, I was able to match the colors with glass candle holders, bowls, and other “chatskies” (as the decorator calls them). She suggested adding some fake grass and (believe it or not) plastic artichoke decorations. It looks really good!
8. Keep the house warm and smelling fresh. Our great room has a propane stove for heating. During the winter months we normally keep the heating off, unless we are in the room. The decorator advised us to keep the room warm if we show the house during the winter months. Also, using furniture cleaner before a showing will leave the house smelling clean and fresh.
Home staging is a lot of work and can seem overwhelming, but take it one step at a time and you’ll get there. For the short time you stay at home, you will enjoy the fruits of your labor. Good luck!