This morning we received a message from a client who found her dream home and is ready to list her home ASAP. She asked how long it would take to stage her home. The answer all depends on the home’s current condition, but we’ve outlined some steps below that can help you get your home ready lickety-split.
Paint and maintenance
Before you do anything else, walk through your home and look for items that you’ll need a contractor for. Since some contractors need a week or more of notice, it’s good to get on their calendars right away. You might need a fresh coat of paint, your carpets steam-cleaned, your yard mowed and shrubs trimmed, a professional, deep clean (including appliances), your gutters cleaned, an out-dated lighting fixture replaced, a shower regrouted, or a deck power-washed.
De-personalize
You won’t need a contractor for this next step. Go through your home and take down items that a buyer may not relate to. This includes family photos, school projects on the fridge, bulletin board mementos, knick-knacks, shoes by the back door, stuffed animals, and more. Do this before you paint, so any photo holes can be patched.
De-clutter
Next, it’s time to remove the clutter. Here, you really have two choices. You can either begin to pack the belongings that you won’t need in the short-term and move those to off-site storage, or you can sort items and donate the ones that you don’t want to carry with you to your next home. If time is of the essence, it might be faster to put everything in storage now and sort through items when you unpack.
Take photos
Now that you’re home is clean, uncluttered and freshly painted, walk through your rooms and take photos. A smartphone camera works just fine. Look at the photos as though they were posted online. How do they look?
Does your home appear:
- Updated
- Light and bright
- Spacious
- Inviting
How does it compare to other listings in your area?
If you’re not sure how to get there, Zesty Spaces can help. We can turn around a complete staging plan in less than 3 business days with detailed, room-by-room instructions. If you need to buy or rent furniture or accessories, we can recommend pieces with quick-ship options.
It’s entirely possible to get ready for those professional real estate photos in less than a week yourself if you have the hours available to do the work. A professional stager can also do the work for you or with you to speed up the process francepharmacie.fr.
It’s not always fun getting a home ready to sell, but it will be well worth it in the end when you sell your home quickly and for top dollar. If you’re ready to get started, check out Zesty’s 56 simple staging strategies checklist.
Leave a Reply