In the current slow Orange County real estate market, staging a home for sale is now more important then it has been for many years. For a relatively small budget of $500 or less, some creativity, a little bit of reorganization, a dash of elbow grease, and ruthless paring down, one can make a property stand out from the crowd in today’s soft market. This is important not just for when the home is shown to a potential buyer, but for photos that are shown on the Internet, for many buyers today increasingly rely on photos they see on the Web to narrow their choices of which homes to preview. Some nationwide studies have shown that staging a home could increase the sales price by 1% to 3%.
One of the keys to keep the cost and work to a minimum is to look around the house and try to use items you already own for staging props, and only stage the key rooms, such as the main entry way, and any room visible from the main entry, and the main rooms such as the Kitchen, Living room and Family room. Following are some examples from the many possible techniques and tips that one can use. Well will move up the scale from free and then to low cost techniques.
De-cluttering a home is the least expensive and one of the most important staging techniques one can use. Remove the numerous framed photos of the kids, family and relatives from the walls, and replace with just a picture or two of some neutral theme. If appropriate, remove the many books from shelves, trinkets, nic-nacs, and remove excess cabinets, desks, etc, from the house and store in the garage or is short term rental storage. This is especially useful when selling a smaller home.
Let the light in… show off extensive windows and let in light by taking down curtains. On the other hand, if there is an industrial plant, or water tank just outside a window, you may want to put up blinds to screen out this view.
The next best thing to do that is free, is to re-orientate the furniture to create better flow. Due to land costs, many homes and condos here in Orange County are small, so this tip can be important. For example move a bookshelf from behind a desk and into the closet – Create additional floor space by backing up the sofa to the wall and removing an exercise bike – Angle a desk towards the patio doors and place a bouquet of red roses a the corner of the desk to draw buyers eyes into the room and toward the patio.
Nic-Nacs and accents make a big impact, but first look around the house, garage and attic and try to use what you already own. Add some light by replacing a dark painting over a couch with a mirror… Brighten a dark colored coffee table with a bouquet of white roses… Ad potted plants outside of French or sliding doors to draw a buyers attention there.
Accent painting, caulking and deep cleaning make a big impact. If you have a kids room painted purple, and if it;s in your budget, have the room repainted a softer and mroe neutral color. patch over wall cracks and nail holes left over from removing the many pictures that used to be on the wall. Over the years, bath tubs and showers will develop that black moldy look in the corners and crevasses. Use bleach and other such cleaners to remove much of the dark discoloration and then apply a new fresh application of bath and tub caulking. Also use caulk to fix or cover gaps and cosmetic cracks in the walls, floor trim, ceiling corners, etc. Cleaning Windows, removing carpet stains and removing cob webs from the front door and inside the house are probably the most important cleaning items to do for major impact.
If your Orange County home for sale is vacant, you may want to consider renting some furniture for the living room, family room, and master bedroom. Keep the furniture small and just the basics. We want the home to look bigger and we’re selling the home not the furniture. There are literally hundreds of other techniques and tips that are used in any situation, and also limited by budget constraints.
If you are thinking about selling your Orange County home, and would like to look further into the details and benefits of staging your home for sale, please feel free to contact us and ask for the best selling book called: “Top Dollar for Your Home… a Step-by-Step Guide and Checklist on Preparing your Home for Sale”… the book is FREE to you.. If you have any questions, please feel free to caontacgt us at: 949-388-3396 or by email at: Info@SearchOCHomes.com
