Staging Austin Real Estate to Sell….on a budget

I can not emphasize enough how important it is to have your house staged to sell. According to a StagedHomes.com 2007 survey done across United States and Canada , the average days on market for a non-staged home before selling was 160 days…for a professionally staged home it was 32 days. Their stats showed that 93% of the professionally staged homes sold on average in a month or less.

Now I am the first to admit that there are other factors in selling a home that go beyond staging. Staged or not the price of the home has to be set competitively. While it is definitely true a staged home will sell for more money than a non-staged home, you still have to be in the right price range. So as you read my suggestions for staging on a budget, keep that in mind. Sometimes it may appear we Realtors are miracle workers…but we can only do so much. I don’t care how beautifully packaged a carton of milk is…if all of the others are selling it at $2.50/gallon then no matter how pretty you package it and how much you advertise it, you are not going to get someone to pay $6/gallon for it.

So back to staging….yes redoing your house from top to bottom will help sell it faster…but is that always realistic when you are still living in it….NO. Would it be nice for my clients to spend a few thousand dollars on their homes to prepare them to sell…yes…is that realistic to expect ….NO.

Yet if you are wanting to sell quickly and for top dollar, (which by the way go hand in hand as your best time to get the most money for your home is when you are new on the market), there are things you can do as a seller that don’t have to cost a lot of money.

LOW COST STAGING ITEMS	COMMENT
Lighten/Brighten your home FREE	Most agree when a home has lights on, curtains and blinds opened (strategically based on view) the home shows better and lifts the buyer’s energy. Replace light bulbs as needed.
Clean your home FREE	Make your home shine. A dirty home turns off a buyer more than almost anything. It brings to mind the question…if they don’t clean their home chances are the home is not well maintained in other ways.
Declutter your home FREE	Box up all of the collections you have, take down the millions of personal photos leaving only a few to give the home warmth. Take off the kids drawings from the refrigerator etc
Cleanup your yard and landscaping, add mulch VERY MINIMAL COST	Weed the beds and lay a thin layer of fresh mulch, especially in front…save and reapply every couple of weeks so it looks fresh and cheerful.
Remove any dead plants FREE	Inside or not…nothing looks more depressing than a dead plant.
Wash the windows FREE	At least do so in the front and main rooms of the home like kitchen, living, dining and master. They will be looking out of them…so make them shine. Yes it’s a pain…but it’s cheap and it makes a difference.
Declutter…again STILL FREE	Yes I know I said it before but chances are if you are honest and you walk into the home as a prospective buyer you will see you still have too much stuff…think model home. If it would help, go to a model home and see how they add the touch of personalization for warmth, but keep the clutter down.
Remove loose throw rugs FREE	Let your clean floors shine. Area rugs are nice but little rugs thrown everywhere disrupt the eye. So for now keep them only where absolutely needed.
Clean Closets FREE	Yes they will be looking in your closets. So ideally remove as much as you can, out of season clothes etc and organize what’s left. It gives the closet a more spacious feeling to them.
Remove any controversial items FREE	This one is an emotional one…but look around, if you have a knife collection, gun collection, an animal head or two…or a poster with some controversial opinion…remove them. You don’t want the prospective buyers mind to go to anything but your lovely home.
Remove some furniture FREE	Nine times out of ten we have a room or two where we have a lot more furniture than the room can comfortably hold. You want the rooms to have an open feel with clear walk ways . Ideally get a storage pod if you can, but worst case, put the stuff in the garage if you have to…it will open the room up and make it appear larger.
Declutter…yes one more time IT’S STILL FREE AND OH SO IMPORTANT	Honestly it takes several passes before you get the amount of nick nacks, stuff on kitchen counters, tops of cabinets etc to the place where it ADDs to the look of the room rather than DETRACTS…so walk it again.
Play soft music FREE	Sounds silly but honestly it helps relax the buyers. keep in mind they are looking at your house on several levels and some are subconscious. Sometimes I’ll hear comments from clients about how a house ‘feels’.
Scent FREE	Ever heard the smell of newly baked cookies, or fresh bread, or a hint of clove helps a house feel warm and cozy. It does. Granted it doesn’t help if the house is cluttered and dirty, but if you have done the rest, why not add to the buyer’s experience in your home by adding some subtle (key is subtle) scent to your home.
Repair anything you have been postponing DEPENDS…USUALLY MINIMAL	If you are aware the back door sticks, the handrail is loose, the water in the toilet is constantly running…now is the time to fix it. The buyers will have you fix it later anyway at a much higher cost, so might as well fix it now. You want them to see your house is well maintained.
Clean the carpet, repair flooring	Repair any flooring. If you have carpet likely it needs cleaned. It may need stretched. Sometimes however it isn’t worth cleaning…discuss with your realtor, he/she will likely have contacts with carpet companies that allow payment due at closing.
Paint…Paint…Paint MINIMAL	Bang for the buck is paint. The difference in a home that has been repainted, especially in some warm, popular, current colors is HUGE. Call some friends, buy some pizza and go at it. The payoff can be big.
Attend to the front porch MINIMAL	Restain/repaint the front door, replace the front door handle if needed, add a wreath and a welcome mat (gives the home warmth). The buyer will be standing on the front porch longer than most as the agent gets the door open. Keep that in mind. If there is room for a cute bench, potted plant with flowers…add it.
Move the pet stuff FREE	On showing day, ideally you won’t have pets in the house. But in any case, remove evidence, cat box (and smell), dog and cat bowls etc. You want the house to take center stage.
Pay attention to curb appeal	Keep in mind you want your home to have a great curb appeal. Go into the street and look at your home. Can you see the trash container? Do the bushes need trimmed. Do the shutters need a fresh coat of paint. Maybe a power washing would brighten it up (it’s amazing what a good power washing can do sometimes.)
Oh and did I say De Clutter??????????????

These are just a few of the things that can be done to make sure your home is 'staged to sell'. When you are looking to buy or sell your next home, call us at 512-449-6070. Find out why Adkor Realty is truly A Different Kind Of Realty.