Home staging is a tricky thing. It’s not just about making a good impression. It’s about helping people visualize themselves happily living in what is currently your own home. DO IT WELL… and you facilitate the sale of your home. DO IT POORLY… and you alienate potential buyers. Here are numerous errors and pitfalls to avoid in the process…
- Refusing to clean and then expecting buyers to see beyond dirt and grime.
- Assuming that de-cluttering means it is OK to over-stuff all the closets.
- Ignoring smoke and pet odors.
- Trying to cover up odors by making the house smell like a cherry orchard or a department store perfume counter.
- Thinking the run-down furniture left behind after moving out constitutes “staging”.
- Having all blinds and curtains closed making the home feel like a dungeon.
- Not having appropriate room lighting available.
- Turning off the air-conditioning or heat completely based on seasonal needs.
- Having dirty dishes, pots and pans in the sink.
- Not removing the full wall of family portraits.
- Thinking the wet-nose greetings from Fido are welcome.
- Rationalizing that “neutral” means that everything is beige and BORING!
- Pushing every piece of furniture to the walls.
- Overlooking minor flaws and needed repairs.
- Leaving unfinished DIY jobs for the buyer’s honey-do list.
- Assuming that all buyers will love the wall paper and popcorn ceilings.
- Trying to cover up major defects while being legally responsible to disclose.
- Using fake plastic flowers, inside or outside.
- Not showing a bedroom as an actual bedroom.
- Assuming buyers can look past outdated features.
- Hanging signs in every room detailing all the features in the home.
- Displaying religious, political or otherwise controversial items that might offend potential buyers.
- Over-pricing the home by ignoring local market conditions and comparable sales data.
- Ignoring the importance of exterior curb appeal.
- Having gutters SO full of debris that plants are growing in them.
- Sellers who hang around during the entire showing.
- OVER-STAGING
We hope you found this post to be informative, interesting and fun… Watch for our next BLOG POST in 2 weeks. Be sure to visit us at www.GailSellsFloridaHomes.com, for valuable tools and resources for both buyers and sellers in Spring Hill, Brooksville, Hernando Beach and Weeki Wachee.
Until then… it’s all about YOU!