The 7 Deadly Home Staging Sins
You May Be Committing Right Now!
What if you just had five seconds to sell a house but you couldn’t say a word? You are not allowed to say anything - no sales pitch, no comments, nothing. You must step aside and let the house sell itself.
Now…how would go about setting up the house? How do set the stage to impress people and make them fall in love with your listing?
How do you make a potential buyer say “Wow…this is a really nice house!”?
Home staging is the answer. It’s the crucial step needed to help a buyer connect with a listing and visualize themselves living
in the home. Staging showcases the house in the best possible light. After all, we never get a second chance to create a great
first impression so it is imperative that the house is “dressed to impress.”
Unfortunately most listings suffer from one or more of the 7 deadly home staging sins. These are often made by agents and
home sellers unfamiliar with home staging. Are you guilty of any of these potential deal breakers?
FAILURE TO THOROUGHLY DEEP CLEAN THE HOME
ESPECIALLY THE KITCHEN AND BATHROOMS.
A dirty house an immediate buyer turn-off. The two most important areas are the kitchen
and the bathrooms. If you have not deep cleaned all counter and tile surfaces to a spotless
condition, you stand the chance of having the buyers walk right back out the door. Another
critical area is the fl oors - all carpets and rugs. Without question, they must be either
replaced or steam cleaned as a dirty carpet is the number one buyer turn-off.
FAILURE TO DE-CLUTTER THE ENTIRE HOME
Clutter, both inside and outside your home makes it extremely hard for the buyers to visualize
moving into your home. The disorganization will directly affect the buyer’s ability to focus on
your home and they will most likely overlook your key selling features. In addition, clutter has
the affect of making your home appear smaller than it is as the “open” feeling is gone.
FAILURE TO DE-PERSONALIZE YOUR ENTIRE HOME.
Your home is your comfort zone and it is fi lled with all of your personal memorabilia, but to
the buyers it represents a huge distraction. People are generally curious and when you want
them to notice the beautiful entryway they may be focused on all the family pictures on the
piano or all the “stuff” stuck to the front of your refrigerator. Your objective is to change the
view of your home from “lived in” to “ready to move in.”
FAILURE TO USE NEUTRAL COLORS WHEN PAINTING
BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE.
While your favorite colors may be the exact complement to your living style, the shades and
hues may be a complete distraction and turn-off to the buyers. Your favorite wall paper may
not be on the buyer’s “best” list. The best way to present a home is for the wall colors to be
painted a neutral color. This goes for the outside as well – a loud or non-neutral color may
just keep the buyers from even stopping to see the inside.
FAILURE TO SPOTLESSLY CLEAN THE WINDOWS AND
WINDOW COVERINGS.
Nothing is more distracting to a buyer than to be looking at a view through a dirty window.
This area, as in cleaning the carpets is best left up to the experts. The same can be said for
the kitchen and bathroom counters and tile. A little investment here will pay big dividends
… what you don’t see is often more important that what you do see.
FAILURE TO MAKE YOUR PETS DISAPPEAR.
While your pets are a loving member of your family, for the buyers their presence, food and
boxes are generally a turn-off. Every trace of their presence should be removed so, once
again, the buyers are not distracted from the prime objective – viewing your home in the best
possible light.
FAILURE TO SPRUCE UP YOUR CALLING CARD – YOUR
LANDSCAPING.
A healthy, neat, trimmed and well maintained yard and fl ower beds are the keys to getting
the buyers up to the front door. The last thing they want to see is your “stuff” all around an
uncut and untrimmed lawn. A little effort in this area with perhaps the help of a professional
gardener will pay big dividends. A well maintained exterior plants the seed of a well
maintained home in the mind of the buyer.
www.AHSDesignation.com
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