If you're thinking about moving, your focus is probably on your new house. But spending a little time and money to spruce up your current home before you list it has been proven to reduce your home's days on market and increase its marketability, all of which translate to higher overall profit.
Prepping your home to sell isn't just about putting things in closets and running the vacuum. We asked Sara Jabbari, Founder & Certified Stager of Staged To Sell HTX (as well as a Realtor here at DMR) to give us some of her top tips and tricks for making your home market-ready.
1) Edit - Look around your space and try to see it from the viewpoint of a stranger envisioning their own belongings there. Anything that makes the room look small, cluttered, outdated or messy should be removed.
"Just because you've had something for a long time doesn't mean it's timeless," Jabbari says. "When I'm staging a home, I need to be able to appeal to large variety of clientele who would walk in. Staging isn't trendy--it's updated, clean and timeless."
2) Curb Appeal - Never judge a book by its cover...but buyers always initially judge a home by its exterior! Jabbari believes there is great value in curb appeal and spending a few dollars on the outside of your home will entice buyers to come inside. To up your curb appeal, Jabbari suggests:
Plant fresh flowers.
Replace light bulbs - getting the lighting right is very important. Ditch the bright, fluorescent lights and switch to an amber lightbulb to set the right tone. (She uses these.)
Use black mulch instead of brown or red for better exterior photos.
Cut your grass diagonally to make your lawn look bigger.
Hide trash cans, hoses, lawn art and statues - the cleaner and more minimal, the better!
If you have multiple security signs in your yard, get rid of all but one. Lots of security signs send the signal that your home isn't safe and can cause suspicion among buyers.
3) Paint - The white wall is timeless for a reason--it provides the perfect blank canvas for anyone trying to imagine their possessions inside your home.
"White paint is neutral and you just can’t go wrong," Jabbari says. "Anyone can imagine their own style on a white wall. If you’re trying to appease a wide variety of people, going neutral is always the safest bet. Spendng money on paint is the biggest bang for your buck."
Jabbari says your goal should not be to make your home look sterile, but to make it look appealing to the largest number of people possible.
"My approach is to keep a space neutral, but not sterile or bland," she says. "There really is an art and a science to staging. You need to be able to appeal to a wide range of buyers. You don’t want to shut any doors."
If you find yourself needing a little more help, hop on over to the Staged to Sell HTX website for a list of their services!