You managed to get
potential buyers to take time to look over your
home. How do you generate top-dollar offers?
Typical home buyers rush
through a home in three to four minutes. This
gives them little time to connect emotionally with
your home. If you can tempt home shoppers to spend
more time looking at your home, they will begin to
feel like they've invested time in your home.
Plus, they may begin to daydream about where their
possessions will go.
That's your goal when
showing your home--to get buyers to imagine living
in your home. People will pay more for a home they
fall in love with and want to live in.
To get buyers to imagine
their grandmother's clock or sofa in your living
room, you need to allow plenty of empty space.
This is where so many home stagers miss the mark;
they think they need to fill a home with
furniture.
On the other hand, many
real estate investors paint a fixer all white,
install boring beige carpeting, and show a stark
house with no accessories to spark the
imagination.
What you should do is to
stage suggestions of happy living in your
home.
Beyond Home
Staging Tips
Of course, you know to
deep clean and declutter your home. Beyond these
steps, take YOU out of the home. Pack up
accessories like family photos and anything that
doesn't speak to a buyer. You want the buyer to
imagine their possessions in the space.
Remove extra furniture
that makes the space feel crowded. This is
especially important in warm weather. Fewer
furnishings make your rooms feel cooler.
One you've lightened your
rooms, take a critical look. You might want a
friend to come in and help you evaluate the space.
If the home feels sparse instead of
"homey," add accessories that will make your
potential buyer feel at home. For instance, a game
table with a chess set for upscale buyers or a
family board game for first-time home buyers.
Adding suggested
activities to your home gives buyers something to
look at and keeps your buyers in your home longer
than four minutes. You just might get them
imagining their new home!
Copyright © 2006 Jeanette
J. Fisher
Jeanette Fisher, author of interior design
and real estate books, teaches five ways to
make more money selling your home or investment
houses. Join our FREE "Home Selling
Teleseminars."
Free
Home Staging Information and "How to
Sell Your Home Fast."
Permission granted to publish this article as
long as the bio remains intact with a live link to
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