Whenever you are selling a home, whether one you have lived in, or one that you bought to make a profit, it is important that you present the residence in the best possible manner, so that it sells the quickest. You want potential buyers to feel come in and feel comfortable, invited, and be able to have immediate ideas of why they want the home they are looking at. Cold empty rooms, echoing hallways, and dull colors often deter people away. Because these homes are harder to sell, many real estate agents shy away from showing these homes.
Ironically, instead of lowering a listing price, spending some extra cash on the home can make a bigger difference in selling it. Planning ahead is the key to this. If you know when the next open house will be, something as simple as renting furniture can give your house some energy.
If you are a property flipper, you may want to consider buying furniture from a second hand store or yard sale that can be used over and over. This saves money over renting, and there is no search to find the right things. Try to purchase matching furniture whenever possible, and don’t buy things that don’t fit the home you are selling.
A helpful and easy to access resource for information about staging homes is your real estate agent. Another resource would be professional home staging services. They will come out and access your home and give you pointers on what furniture to rent, colors to paint rooms, how to arrange things, etc. Apart from that they also offer to do all the work for you. If you are someone who is busy, or someone who does not have a designer touch, this may be the option for you.
Do not fool yourself into thinking the inside of a house is the only area staging can be done or is important. The very first thing people see when they walk up the driveway is the yard and exterior of the home, and first impressions can be vital to selling the property. Simple things such as keeping the lawn cut and watering the landscaping can make the yard look surprisingly better, and other things like painting garage doors and replacing front doors can do the same thing, but can also raise the value of the home.
If the property is presented as a family dwelling, then it may be a good idea to stage the exterior to look more child or pet friendly. Setting up a small cheap playground, a few well placed toys, are all good ideas. Buying a cheap kennel or a dog house could make pet owners say things like; “look, even Fluffy will have his own home.” This will draw people in, and make them feel themselves living there.
You can find other advice and tips online, or talking to a local real estate agent may be helpful also. They will be able to suggest improvement you can do yourself and will also be able to point you towards professional services. A little effort with staging your home will make it feel warm and give it life, which will help you sell it quicker and at the price you want.