Getting your Home Show Ready

Getting your home ready to be sold can be a daunting task with a lot of question marks.  Let us move past all the questions of what to paint or replace and move on to how to stage your home to get the most out of each future showing.  

A lot of agents are going to tell you "less is more" and "get rid of this" or "just pay for one of these".  At the end of the day you need to think of your home as a sales floor at a high end retail store.  The people coming to view your home should walk away with a couple of subliminal thoughts.  The home should be so organized that they think this is going to be an easy place to live in.  Keeping this home clean is going to be a breeze and this solves a lot of problems at my current home.  They will think because your home is so organized that you have taken extra special care of your home from the minute you purchased the place.  Above all they should remember your home before thinking of the other 6 homes they looked at that day. 

The truth is most buyers bite off more than they can chew when it comes to how many homes they want to look at.  So we need to do what we can to stand out.  This does not mean go spend a small fortune on staging furniture and wall art.  Now do not get me wrong, these are great things to do but they do not necessarily sell your home any faster or for a better price.  I say spend your time, energy and money on projects that will help your potential buyers see themselves living in your home.  Make sure the most important spaces are immaculate and organized.

In the master bedroom your bed should be made up as if your home is a 5 star hotel.  Your closet should look like that retail store, so what does that mean?  Everything on a hanger should be hung straight with like items next to each other.  Within those like items you should keep them in order of light to bright to dark.  Try and keep an even amount of spacing between each hanger.  If you have shoes on the floor they should be straight and have their laces tucked.  The bathroom should have a minimal amount of items out on the countertop.  All mirrors and countertops should be cleaned and sparkling.  Now I can not believe I have to say this, but yes you need to close all toilet lids.  If you have a glass shower door hit it up with some windex.

In the kitchen make It look like a William Sonoma catalog photo.  This is a definite "less is more" situation.  The pantry should be organized, and most of the reason for this is to make it easy to show that you have plenty of room in your pantry.  The cook of the family potentially purchasing your home should look in here and see just how easy finding ingredients is going to be at their new dream kitchen.  Next step is clear off that refrigerator of all clutter.  The last thing you want them thinking of is the chaos that we all have in life.  Keep in mind you are selling a dream not a home.

In the Living Room fluff some pillows.  Strategically place a throw blanket and do not leave anything unnecessary laying out.  Ok maybe a well thought about coffee table book, and make it something that sells that dream.  Examples are a Robb Report, book on traveling, or a cook book.  Sorry dudes you need to put away your Sports Illustrated, Fantasy Football guide, and automobile magazine.

At the end of the showing you want these people to see their lives and dreams coming to life in the home you are selling.  Disorganization is a great way for people to see themselves having a chaotic life in the home you are selling.  If you are in the Kansas City area hiring cleaning company and an organizer is a great way to do this if you are not sure where to start.  Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or want to know more about the process.

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