LA Digs - Northeast LA Real Estate Blog

3 tips for staging your home to sell Source: lowes.inman.com Today's buyers are looking for turnkey homes. That is, they want to move right in without having to do a lot of work. Buyers with busy lifestyles pay a premium for listings that are in prime condition. Staging can make the difference between a listing selling or not, the time it takes to sell, and the ultimate sale price.

Here is an interesting home staging tip from Barb Schwarz, www.stagedhomes.com:

Notwithstanding that all personal items should be removed, sometimes sellers overlook the obvious and leave diplomas on the wall. People form biases and can carry a bias too far. For example, the seller might be a lawyer, and there are buyers who might not feel comfortable buying a home from a lawyer. For whatever reason. Diplomas also give away a seller's age or a close estimate. If a buyer sees a recent medical diploma, for example, the buyer might assume the seller is saddled with student loans and needs to sell to pay them off.

We had never really though about this one before, but have observed that potential home buyers do pay attention to these things.

We’ve talked in the past about the popularity of staging a home for sale, whether done with a professional stager or by the homeowner. This time, let’s just talk about basics that set the stage for whatever staging (or not) comes next.

I visited another agent’s open house today and found myself being rather critical (what, me, a Virgo, being critical?) But we learn our lessons where we can. Mind you, I can tell you absolutely hair-raising stories about homes that I have sold that were way negative on the pristine show-quality staging effort:

* There was the one where the cats had been using the kitchen counter for a bathroom for a long time...really!  We sold that for $175,000 over asking with 43 offers.
* The one that the tenant had used to express himself whenever he got upset by either spraying graffiti or chopping holes in the walls. That one sold for $180,000 over asking with 80 offers! But that's a true “event price” strategy. Would these houses have sold for more if they had been clean and well-maintained? Most assuredly.
* Another had a note on the refrigerator that said “Dave, please remember, NO DRUGS! We really want to sell the house!” I'm not kidding. And the price was too high just at the time that the market started its downward trek. Sigh, I'm afraid that one never sold and eventually ended up in foreclosure.

But even the regular homeseller may overlook some simple dos and don'ts that will help sell the home. They don't necessarily cost any money, either.

Dos:
* Clean your house
* De-clutter your house

Here are some don'ts:

* Don't leave the toilet lid up
* Don't leave dirty dishes anywhere
* Don't leave anything in the path from the car to the door.

These are just a few things to start with when preparing your home for sale.  For more, see our feature on Vern Yip's Design Tips to Sell Homes.