Proven tips for a less stressful experience as you prepare to sell your home and plan your move...
- Simplicity is the key. A smart, clean, and edited look is the way to go.
- Pack everything that you can live without while your home is on the market. Attacking one room at a time simplifies the process, and you are much less likely to get overwhelmed.
- Remember, everyone at some point in their lives has to deal with packing up their possessions. Do your best to approach the challenge with a good frame of mind.
- Larger accessories and mirrors can help a room feel more spacious.
- Address major repair needs first: Painting, repairing, plumbing, repairing areas with damaged wood around windows and doors. Failing to fix these problems will result in a lower asking price.
- Plan for storage and be creative with your options. Perhaps a family member or a neighbor could loan you a small area in their basement, attic, or garage for a short period of time in return for a dinner out, etc. Make sure that you use all of the empty spaces in drawers in your furniture pieces and the areas under beds.
- Create a little drama to help the prospective buyers remember your home – a painted accent wall, interesting light fixture in the home or beautiful planter at the front entrance to your home.
- Remove tablecloths and most rugs; these decorative pieces can actually close in a space and make rooms look smaller than they actually are.
- In small rooms, paint the moldings the same color as the walls for an enlarging effect.
- To help tackle the storage issue for children’s toys, it is well worth investing in at least one furniture piece that offers storage in every room. During the time that the home is on the market empty a cabinet or drawer in a room to provide the additional storage for the toys so that the space is tidy when prospective buyers visit. Keep a backup storage box in the attic or basement and replace and update toys as needed. This keeps everyone happy.
- Use paint to highlight certain areas of your home. Use a simplified neutral palette selecting various depths of one basic color to add interest. Contrary to the comment you often hear about neutralizing every room, you should create a few areas in your home that add the punch it needs to make a prospective buyer remember it. Do though, neutralize most bedroom walls getting rid of purples, bright greens, pinks….
- Pay attention to scale; pack up all of the small collectibles in your home. You’re going to have to pack them anyway so get a head start.
- Incorporate a mixture of textures to add interest………wicker, soft fabrics, fabric with bold stripes or larger checks.
- Never underestimate the importance of lighting. Mirrors can be placed in a darker room to help bounce light off of another area into a room.
- Check to see that the bones of the house, ie., baseboards, doors, ceilings, moldings around doors are in pristine condition.
- Use fewer, bigger furniture pieces and one or two smaller scale pieces to avoid visual congestion.
- Limit items in china cabinets to small groupings.
- Don’t underestimate the value of replacing out of date lighting fixtures. Choose interesting pieces to draw attention to rooms. Try using an exterior fixture in an interior room to mix things up a bit and add the interest needed.
- Swap out cabinet pulls to add that updated look.