The #1 staging tip I have for people selling their home is ….
emotionally detach from your home!
If you can emotionally detach, you can clear out the mementos and family photos. (The buyer may be distracted by looking at these things—you want them looking at the house.)
If you can emotionally detach, you can remove extra furniture and rugs. (Yes, they are beautiful but the buyers will see only that the room looks small.)
If you can emotionally detach, you can price the house fairly. (Buyers won’t pay extra for the memories of how special your home is to you.)
Of course that is much easier said than done!! This is has been your wonderful home for a long time …and the longer you have lived there the harder it will be to let go and see the house the way it will look to buyers. You can see the birthday parties, family holidays, and special memories that have taken place inside those walls; and if you have made marks on the wall from your children growing up, forget about it—you will never be able to see your home through the buyer’s eyes!!
Once you make the decision to sell your home, you need to accept the fact that it no longer your beloved home, it is no longer the place where you made so many memories. It is a piece of property that you want to sell for as much money as possible and in the shortest time possible!
It is NOT about your personal tastes. Your home can be beautifully decorated and very functional for your family; but if it does not appeal to the type of buyer that is looking for your kind of home, you will have a difficult time selling …and you most likely will end up selling for less than you could have.
You will suffer so much less if you can LET GO and emotionally come to grips with the fact that this is no longer your home the moment you decide to sell, not when escrow closes.
Staging makes this room looks much larger and highlights the fireplace
I recently spoke to a Real Estate Agent about her client that does not understand this concept. Her house was over-filled with wonderful 18th and 19th century antiques and the floor was almost completely covered with many beautiful oriental rugs. Her home has been for sale for over a year and all the feed-back from the young families looking at the house included comments about the rugs and furniture.
Because this homeowner wouldn’t let go of her vision of what her home should look like, a home where she lived for 33 years and raised her family, no one could see what a lovely house it was.
She has dropped the price several times, but she is not willing to change the way the house looks. So she is still waiting for that one buyer that either has the same taste as she does, or can see past all the furniture and rugs and see the potential in the house.
It is SO much easier to sell your house if it appeals to the demographic of the buyers looking for a home like yours! If it is a family home ...it must appeal to young families.
It is your decision- do you want to keep your home exactly the way it has looked in the past, or do you want your home to appeal to the type of buyers that are looking for a home like yours?
Staging with PITTSBURGH STAGED HOMES will help your home appeal to the targeted demographic that is right for your home..to help you sell as easily and as fast as possible!