Staging Your Home to Sell

I once showed a home that had 35 candles sitting on the tables and mantle, and 4 deer heads hanging on the living room walls. The prospective buyers couldn’t get past that to see the floorplan, the large windows or the wonderful hardwood floors. Some things we love and are comfortable with just don’t work for the larger audience.

For the past 3 years the whole country including the Asheville/Hendersonville market, has experienced an unprecedented imbalance in Supply and Demand. We have over 5000 homes on the market in just the Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood & Transylvania county areas. Never before has it been so important for the homeowner to put their best foot forward.

Even the banks have caught on and are cleaning up and staging their foreclosures.

Staging your home simply means putting it in the best light for the buyer to imagine themselves living there. Here’s how to get started.

• Unclutter and Depersonalize. Pack what you don’t need and store. Ask your broker to look at your home with fresh eyes and proceed to pack up for storage. You’re one step ahead in being ready to move and the home will show larger.
• Clean. Now that the clutter is gone, look at light fixtures, glass and mirrors, baseboards, tub and shower caulking. Make it sparkle. Clean baseboard and no spiderwebs make the home look well maintained and loved, it sets the mood. Go room to room giving special attention to kitchens and baths, re-caulk, polish faucets, and clean grout.
• Assess furniture placement, accessories, pictures, plaques and window treatments. For this use your brokers eye or hire a professional homestager. Our company offers this service for free. My college major was interior design. I’ll be happy to offer suggestions to get the most bang for the least investment.
• If paint is very tired or even more important, extremely strong or vivid, consider neutralizing.

Do all of this before your broker has the pictures made of your home. 87% of buyers start shopping on the web and we only have 1 time to make a first impression!!