Sell Your Home For Top Dollar – Part 2
If you are old enough to have sold a house before 1995, you know the game was a lot different back then. Not better, not worse, just different. Now that we are in the 21st century, the buyer of today is not the same buyer of 20 years ago. The first rule of selling a home is:
Know Who Your Target Buyer Is
Today’s home buyer is more sophisticated than they were in the past. Buyer’s of today want a high end feel, even if it comes at the cost of a smaller space. Today’s home buyer has high aspirations, and they are willing to pay for it.
Home Staging was a little known concept a couple of decades ago, and most buyers of average priced homes accepted a house for what it was, a place to raise your family and rest your head at night. It would be nice to have a bit of style, but they could work on the decor over time if need be. Enter the media age and the revolution of the internet. Information has never been so easily accessible, and people so inundated with images, television shows and media outlets to share the best of the best.
Today, we have middle class buyers wanting upper class lifestyles; the best that their money can buy. They want a home that they can be proud of. Buyers of today are moving to improve their entire lifestyle, not just because they need a bigger house. This lifestyle includes décor that reflects all the beautiful images they see in the media.
So this is why staging has become so mainstream for sellers looking to sell for TOP DOLLAR – FAST! It has proven to be the most effective method in attracting today’s buyer and getting their home sold quickly and for more money than their competition.
A good rule of thumb is to be prepared to spend 1% of the value of your home, so that you sell for 3%-4% more, on average. Do you think a 400% return is a good investment on your money?
The trick is to know where to spend that tiny 1% to get the most impact. Obtaining advice from Home Staging and Real Estate Professionals is critical for success.
Home Staging 101
The best home staging tricks are free! On average, it is recommend spending 1% on your home (focusing most of that on kitchens and baths), but often it’s much less than this. It just depends on the current condition of your home, and how much you are willing to do to get the highest offer possible.
Here are some tips that take a little time, and even less money:
1) Declutter the Décor. You know you have de-cluttered enough when your walls feel a little bare and the tables feel a little empty. A little void of personality. This is PERFECT. You have set the stage for our home stager to come in and strategically place art and accessories to give each room the right focal point and impact.
2) Create a New Floor Plan. Most people have 1-2 pieces of furniture that impede the proper traffic flow and layout of a room. Our home stager will work with what you have and remove anything necessary to ensure your floor plan makes the best use of space and feels as big as possible.
3) Get in Season. Once you are listed, it shouldn’t take longer than 1 month to sell your home, so you either need warm or cold weather gear. Lighten your closets by packing away off season items and give your home some much needed breathing room. You want to show buyers that you have AMPLE storage space that isn’t overstuffed or overflowing.
4) Clean. You’ve heard it a million times. And it’s true. SPARKLING clean homes feel like well loved, immaculately cared for homes. Buyers LOVE this. Become obsessed with cleaning because buyers will pay you for sparkle.
5) Hide Pets. Most people have them but they love the mess and smell of their own pet far more than someone else’s. Minimize their evidence in order to showcase the home, not the pet.
6) Ask for Help: Now is not the time to be a wallflower. Moving is a big deal and everyone understands this. Don’t be shy to ask for the help you need to get done what needs to get done. Maybe a neighbour knows how to change light fixtures. A friend can watch your kids for the day so you can get a project completed. A friend’s son can help move furniture. You can host a painting party. Getting your home ready for sale is not a one-person job and cannot be completed in a weekend. Take your time, plan ahead and ask for help. You will be most successful when it comes time to put it on the market for sale.
