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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

How to Stage Your Condo-Home When Selling

If you're thinking of selling your oceanfront condo- home, the most important thing you can do aside from selecting an experienced real estate specialist is to properly stage your home for sale.

Staging your oceanfront condo home for sale means making sure that your home's best assets 'pop' so that potential buyers see them right away.

After all, if a buyer has to search for the potential in your home, they may just pass on it. So here are a few tips to help you stage and style your home to sell quickly.

Make Sure Your Home has Curb Appeal:

You want to do all that you can to boost your home's curb appeal. You have heard this a thousand times, but do you really know it?

Curb appeal means that when people look at your home from the outside, the house is attractive and inviting.

People are most likely to drive by the home, sometimes more than once, before they ever take a look inside. This is where staging can make a difference.

Cleaning from the Outside In

We all know that first impressions are the most important. This is especially true when staging your home for sale in South Florida. First, you will want to power wash the walkways, siding, etc.

Be sure that the house numbers are visible, clean, and easy to read. Fresh greenery and flowers in bloom are always a nice touch if they match the exterior décor.
The yard should be manicured and clean.

Sod can be added as needed to keep curb appeal up. Windows should be maintained and sparkling clean for as long as the home is on the market.

Pay special attention to the front windows. Finally, the entryway must say "welcome home" to those potential buyers visiting.

Ensure that your outside lights are on in the evening if a potential buyer comes through. Illuminating lights aligning the walkway is also a good idea generally.

Declutter Your Home First

This is very important as it sets the tone for a potential buyer's visit. The goal is to maximize a feeling of openness and space so that potential buyers can see themselves living there.

Clutter needs to be thrown or packed away and moved out of the home. A storage unit may come in handy because if you are like most, you likely have at least one room with extra furniture that just doesn't match the rest of the room.

The floors should be clear of anything unnecessary, with the cabinets and walls minimally decorated. The goal is to maximize open floor space so that a potential buyer "feels" that your rooms are spacious.

While you are still living in the home, keeping a showroom appearance may be challenging, and that is ok.

A balance is healthy. Small touches like flowers, your favorite vases, and decorative (or fresh) fruits on the counter are all good rules of thumb.

While you are at it, keep that dining room table fully set. It should be as inviting as it would be for a holiday feast but not too formal.

You'll want to ensure that your bedroom's décor and colors are as neutral as possible.

One of the most demanding areas to de-clutter is the primary bedroom, as it has most of your everyday personal items and often many of your valuables.

Ideally, all valuables are moved to a safe deposit box in your bank. Another option is to move all of your valuable possessions (i.e., jewelry) and personal items to a spare suitcase.

And lock that anytime you leave home (you never know when someone will visit your house if it's listed on the MLS and your agent has put a lockbox on the front door).

Of course, you'll need to keep the linens fresh in all of your bedrooms and reduce the artwork to a few contemporary pieces.

When there is a scheduled viewing or open house, it's a good idea to keep the closets open, but you'll want to free up at least 30% of the closet space for potential buyers to really appreciate the size of the closet.

You want to be sure that you have hidden all personal accents other than new and appropriate things in the bathrooms. Even the soap should be clean and fresh. Everything should be looked at as if you were a visitor.

If you have an upper floor placing an eye-catching piece just at the top of the stairs may help entice your potential buyer to view the entire house rather than leaving after just looking at the first floor.

You do want to add a pop of color or an exciting piece of art here and there to keep visitors' interest throughout the tour.

If you have a bit awkward area, like a room under the stairs or a nook, find a unique way to showcase that area.

An office area or built-in shelves could turn that once awkward area into the home's most significant selling point.

If you have pets, an essential item is eliminating pet odors as much as possible. Numerous sprays and air fresheners do this, and you'll have to ensure it is done daily.

The goal is to remain vigilant in keeping everything picked up, odor-free, and clean.
Remember, staging your home to sell is really important, and it should not be taken lightly.

The sooner you address this, the better, as it really is time-consuming and requires planning. In addition, buyers will examine your oceanfront condo from every angle, so make sure that your home is inviting and appealing from top to bottom, inside and out.

If you're thinking of selling your oceanfront condo or your home and don't know where to start staging your home, please contact me today.

I can provide you with expert advice after visiting with you, or if you'd like the help of professionals, I can refer you to local staging experts we've worked with in the past.
Gladis Henriquez- Real Estate Agent – Optimar International Realty – 305.281.8653 – Aventura, FL 33180