Tips On Staging Your Kamloops Home To Get It Ready For Sale
Tips On Staging Your Kamloops Home To Get It Ready For Sale. It can be a very daunting task to start the process of staging your home to prepare to put it up for sale. In our experience, there are a number of simple and inexpensive things you can do to help make your home more appealing than other homes for sale in your area of Kamloops. We have compiled a list of simple things you can do to help make the sale process easier and get the most money for your home. Contact us anytime if you have questions or you would like a free, no obligation home evaluation.
1. Start with a open mind and new perspective
Often times home owners become very emotionally attached to a home and the decor. It is important to detach from the property and try to see your home through buyers’ eyes. Think minimalist and the ‘hotel room’ look. This will help make your home shine.
2. De-clutter!!!
I can’t emphasize this one enough. It is important to go through all common areas of your home first as these areas are the first rooms buyers see. You want your home and have the feeling of space. Here are simple decluttering ideas for your home:
- Make the entry way as spacious as possible. Large furniture and decor can get in the way of buyers entering your home.
- Remove all items off of your counters in the kitchen and bathrooms.
- Remove all magnets and cluttery bulletin boards from common space.
- Remove all heavy drapery or window headers exposing the windows which will allow for more natural light to fill your home.
- Remove all items that are not needed from closets and storage space. Get storage containers to pack items away that are not needed for the time you are listed for sale. If you can afford a storage locker remove all items from your home that are not needed.
- Eliminate excessive knick knacks and personal items from the home. Plain homes show best!
3. Freshen up & brighten up
Paint colours are a huge component of the way a home presents. Choose a neutral colour palette. Presently neutral, spa-like colours are very popular. They give buyers an inviting feeling when walking into a home. Light paint colours also make a home appear more bright and feel more fresh. You want Buyers to see themselves living in your home. Fresh neutral colours will help them with this vision.
4. Curb appeal
During some seasons of the year it is hard to have beautiful curb appeal in Kamloops due to the weather. Here are a couple ideas for each time of the year:
- All Year: Freshly paint your outside doors especially the front door. Put up a new mailbox if you have a tired looking one and new modern house numbers are easy ways to create a fresh look. This is also a way to keep the cost down.
- Summer: Trim shrubs and bushes, tidy up all the flower beds, keep the lawn cut and plant some fresh flowers to give the home some colour. If you don’t have a garden placing planters outside the main entry way and on a patio makes the home feel more pleasant.
- Fall: Clean up the leaves and dead plants in the garden. Put out fall flowers and plants that add colour to your home. There are always beautiful planters available in the fall that liven up a front entry way or porch.
- Winter: Don’t go crazy with the decorations! Tasteful holiday decor is acceptable but don’t put up so much that it draws a crowd. Don’t leave your decor up until the end of January. Clean up your Holiday decorations as soon as possible. Keep the pathways clear and well maintained.
- Spring: Clean up the gardens after the winter melt. Plant some spring flowers and plants that will bring some colour to your garden. Check over the outside of your home and touch up any areas that are looking worn from over the winter (ie trim paint, outside doors).
5. Make sure your home is in top condition
Easy updates that are inexpensive will help with the sale of your home.
- Replace faucets that drip or are outdated.
- Take out old bathroom mirrors that date a bathroom and replace with a nice modern framed mirror.
- Replace hardware on cabinets (ie dated gold pulls to brushed nickle is a good choice)
- Replace worn or damaged counter tops.
- Replace or professionally clean worn flooring. Carpet cleaning goes a long way.
- Replace burnt out light bulbs and change out dated or broken light fixtures.
- Replace torn screens.
- Touch up knicks and damaged walls.
- Place fresh towels in the bathroom and eliminate any used or old looking towels.
- Replace furnace filter regularly and before putting your home up for sale.
6. Make the master bedroom gender neutral.
A clean, tidy master bedroom is important. It is also important to pick colours that are neutral and not geared to only one gender. Stage the master bedroom with nice throw pillows and ensure that the linens are made up nicely on the bed. Remove any extra furniture to give the illusion of a large room with lots of space. Many people have multiple dressers in a bedroom, eliminate at least one.
7. Clean, Clean, Clean and Clean!
Homes that are clean make buyers feel like the property has been well cared for and in turn well maintained. Make sure you clean the following:
- Nooks and crannies of the kitchen where crumbs collect.
- Tops of baseboards often get very dusty.
- Window coverings, especially horizontal blinds tend to collect dust and dirt.
- Scrub that bathroom!
- Clean windows and screens.
- Wipe down walls, doors, door frames and light switches.
- Vacuum the carpets…twice
8. Beware of scale
Large furniture is popular and can be very comfortable however it takes up a lot of space. Remove furniture that is large and re-arrange the furniture to fit in a way that makes the home feel more spacious.
9. A great smell makes your home more memorable
If you have time before a showing bake some cookies or something that will spread a tasty smell throughout your home. Leave a couple samples out for the buyers coming through your home. It will make it more memorable.
10. Invest some money
If you can afford to do so updates to flooring can go a long way. Old carpeting can turn a buyer off. Changing the flooring out to something more modern will give you a very good return on investment. If flooring is looking old and worn it will make buyers feel like the home is old and worn even if the home is in great condition. Buyers have trouble seeing past simple things like flooring.
Kitchens and bathrooms are one of the best investments you can make in your home. If you are trying to decide where to invest your money you will get the best return from kitchens and bathrooms.
If you are thinking about getting your home ready for sale and don’t know where to start give us a call. We would be happy to come to your home and get you moving in the right direction. Contact Us!
OTTAWA – The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says it expects housing starts in 2015 to be about the same as they were this year, and in line with economic and demographic trends.
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