Simple Decorating Tips Can Make All the Difference!
Simple decorating tips can help you sell your home for top dollar. Yes, it’s true. It’s the psychology of selling anything. The presentation of your home (the product) should elicit a sense of urgency, welcome and FOMO (fear of missing out.)
One super important tip I want you to take away from this article is this:
We don’t live in our home the same way we sell our home.
The process of showings and selling your home can be a breeze if we take care of some things up front. Remember, homes that are prepared for market sell faster and for more money than homes who just wing it and put out a sign!
How can simple decorating tips do that? You’d be surprised…
One Chance
You only get one chance to make a good first impression. For selling a home, this starts with the photos and/or video that will be attached to your MLS Listing.
Think of it like this: Have you ever walked through a model home in a new neighborhood? Did you notice how every room was decorated nicely (but not overdone) and for a certain purpose? How features like fireplaces, kitchen islands, vaulted ceilings and such are played up? Closets and storage areas only have a few items in them and show as super spacious?
Builders know if they can appeal to a buyers emotions about building a beautiful home like this, they will sell one.
Now, think of the last open house you attended or a friends house you visited… stuff was everywhere! Overflowing laundry baskets in a bedroom, kitchen counters loaded for takeoff and bathrooms with stuff stashed in every corner making it appear cramped and not enough storage space!
That’s more the way we live in a home but not the best way to get top dollar for a home you are selling.
Sorry! Back to the photos… The photos need to show the home’s features at their best to make the potential buyers want to come see it in person. Getting tons of showing requests is a wonderful start to the selling process!
After you’ve hooked them with the photos/video, you have to follow through with the in-person showing.
Nothing is more exasperating to buyers than to have photos look wonderful but when they show up in person, it’s nearly unrecognizable! That happens more than you think!
To me, the key is mindset.
Mindset is Everything
Once you decide to sell your home, you need a shift of mindset. You have good reason to sell and are getting ready to tackle a new adventure in your life! Set yourself up for success by adopting the right mindset.
Since you are moving, you have a product to sell – your home. The product needs to be as attractive to the largest segment of the buyer pool. There are other homes on the market, too. Your home needs to stand-out above the rest!
To solve these problems, I have a plan!
With years experience working with buyers and sellers, alike, I have come away with tried and true, pro tips you need to be ready for the market and to sell for top dollar.
But first – BREATHE! You have to start the letting go process. I know, I know. Our homes are at the center of our families and lives. Lots of great memories are tied to them. But, no one will ever take your memories away. You’ll always have them and should be EXCITED to add to them at your new home!
My best advice? Start detaching. NOW! Not only will you be in a better mental state with less anxiety during the selling process, being proactive can add money to your bank account! That’s definitely worth it, right?
Follow Through is Essential
Now that you understand you have a product to sell and you want to get the most money you can from that product, let’s talk about the “how.”
There are tips and tricks out there that help a home appeal to potential buyers. We just have to use them.
It happens all the time. A seller reads or hears a couple of good tips but somehow, the execution never happens. They think and talk a good game but don’t follow through.
That’s good new for you! You are the King/Queen of Executing on ideas. You’ll leave the competition in the dust simply because you followed through.
Ready to get started? I thought so…
Simple Decorating Tips You Can Execute
Now, these ideas aren’t rocket science and aren’t even new ideas. There are TV shows specifically around the idea of getting a home ready for the market – not decorating to live in.
They show you how to take cluttered, personalized, boring homes and turn them into a commodity everyone else wants! That’s what we want for your home: Sell Fast and for Top Dollar!
Step One – Clear it Out
Rent a storage unit or use a family member or friend’s garage for a couple of months. This will give you somewhere to store the extra stuff you just don’t need while selling your home.
You’re moving anyway! This gets you a jump start on that whole process.
Best practice, sort items into stacks: Stays, Donate, Store/Pack & Trash. Go from room to room and quickly sort! Here are some suggestions for items to store/pack, donate or trash that won’t help your home show at its best:
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Collections:
Precious Moments, Model Cars, Sports Memorabilia, Dishes collections, Art, Silver collections, jewelry, guns, whatever! This also keeps your valuables safe during the home selling process.
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Family and Friends Photos:
The less of you in the home, the easier it is for buyers to see themselves there – make an emotional connection with the home.
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Out of Season Clothing and linens:
This will allow your closets to look more spacious to potential buyers!
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Extra Furniture:
The rocking chair you only use at Christmastime, the bulky chair the dog likes to lay in, the extra dining room chairs, you get the idea. We all have more furniture than is actually needed. We have stuff that makes it easier for the way we live, however, those items are just “clutter” when selling a home. Store them!
By sorting everything, you’ll be left with the items you’ll use to stage your home for sale and already have packed some, donated items and/or trashed stuff you don’t want to take to your new home, anyway!
Step Two – Rearrange Furniture
Now that you’ve sorted and stored the extra furniture, it’s time to take a look around at what’s left and the best way to arrange the furniture so your homes’ best features are enhanced!
Traffic flow is also a consideration. With more space now, you need to strike a balance between leaving enough space for people to walk around, let their imaginations take over and not leaving the room barren looking.
Living Room or Family Rooms
For instance, if your family preferred to place the sofa to act as a barrier to entry for your living room or family room, consider placing it perpendicular to the opening to act as an invitation to enter!
Bedrooms
For bedrooms, less is more as far as furniture. The bed and a dresser is plenty. You could add a chair or some toys neatly organized, too! Again, the purpose is to appear as spacious as possible!
If you like to follow Feng Shui, don’t position the bed so that it is directly lined up with the door opening. Offset it a bit!
I love arranging furniture and would be happy to give you some suggestions!
Step Three – Simple Repairs
We all have them – repairs we have put off because we are so busy in our day to day lives.
Think about the loose doorknob on the pantry door, the dripping kitchen faucet, the gunked up shower head in the guest bathroom, the wobbling toilet in the master bath and the burnt out bulbs in the dining room light fixture…
All these things and more little items will come up on an inspection. While they aren’t huge or expensive items to repair, they will be noticed during showings and Open Houses.
The bigger problem is that if they aren’t repaired prior to going on the market to sell, buyers get the impression you didn’t take care of the home and start to wonder what other, bigger items have been neglected.
Again, it’s the psychology of selling. Take an afternoon and repair/replace these little things and your home will show as well maintained and cared for to potential buyers!
That can equal more money in your pocket!
Your Simple Decorating Tips List
The easiest thing to do is make a list for each room in the home. Don’t forget the front porch, patio/deck, garage and the closets. Potential buyers will look EVERYWHERE!
Simple Decorating Tips to Sell Your Home
I know, it sounds like a lot but it really isn’t – especially if you are just as committed as I am to sell your home fast and for the most money!
These simple decorating tips are just part of the success plan but lay the foundation for success. To appraisers, condition MUST match the price or they take off $ of value. No one wants that!
Think of it this way, if you were going to take a road trip, you’d do some planning.
- choose the destination
- choose the route (GPS to keep you on course)
- what sites to see along the way
- what cities you will stay in along the road
- what you need to pack for the trip and so on…
Selling one of the biggest assets you own shouldn’t be left to chance and you don’t have to go it alone. I specialize in guiding you in the preparation, planning and selling of your home.
The result means condition matches price!
