Selling house - need staging advice

KKCARLS · October 2013

Okay, so we're putting our house on the market for-sale-by-owner. I've read some internet articles on what to do for staging - lots of cleaning, decluttering and taking down personal pictures. But I'm looking for advice on even more detailed things that you've done that seemed to make a difference, or if you've looked at houses something that was overlooked that became a turnoff or something that you saw that you thought was a nice touch. We already have neutral paint and have updated lighting and bathroom fixtures. Thanks in advance!

ccam · October 2013

You sound like you have the basic stuff covered. But there were a few things that we always did before showings and open houses - take the garbage out, run the dishwasher (so there wasn't stinky dishes in there), put the toilet seats down and turn on every light in the house for night showings. I know they probably sound dumb, but I think they make a difference. Having showings can be so annoying because they can happen at any time so I had a list of things we'd run through the house and do real quick before we had to be out. We sold our house in only a few weeks. Good luck!!

jf198400 · October 2013

Something I always hear about staging is that every room should have a single purpose in your house. Example, extra bedrooms should be shown as a guest room, or an office, not both. Also our realtor told me that we should put a small table in our kitchen (we only use the dining room) so that it shows that it can be an eat-in-kitchen. Remove any unnecessary furniture as well to make the rooms look more spacious.

simbaroo27 · October 2013

I would agree with everything above. We listed out house and it sold in less than a week and every single person that came in said "you have a 3 year old?!?!? your house is so clean!" It really makes a difference having all of the toys picked up and put away.

The big things that were turn offs for me while looking at other houses were patched walls (and not painted), some walls had holes in them and were not fixed prior to selling and bathrooms that had mold growing (GROSS...we did NOT put an offer on that house).

aeh72 · October 2013

How are your floors/carpets? I realize this is not a quick or necessarily cheap fix, but gross carpeting will turn me off. The house we bought had older, but not gross, carpets yet I'm still kind of kicking myself for not trying to get some kind of credit to replace the carpets.

Also, right now, our dining room is DS's play room. If we were to sell this house now, I would convert it back to a dining room since I know that's how most people would use it. Like pp said, make sure each room looks like it has a functional use.

Iblamethebeer · October 2013

Another vote for the single purpose room idea. Our agent also told us that meant no kid stuff/toys in main living room, to show the house had room for adult space.

SaraTF · October 2013

Wipe down your baseboards and trim and possibly add a new coat of paint. Also, I might be the only one who notices this, but light switch and outlet covers get really dingy over time. They're cheap and quick to replace. Also, expect people to open closets, drawers, cabinets, and showers. Make sure everything is nice and tidy.

jf198400 · October 2013

Oh also our real estate agent said to make a good first impression with the front entrance to the house- fix cracks in the pavement, clean up the landscaping, maybe some nice flower pots, new door mat, power wash the house.

And consider steam cleaning carpets in your house.

Karla CS · October 2013

When we were houseshopping, we spent a lot of time looking in closets - if the existing owners had to cram clothes and they were overflowing, it just seemed like there wouldn't be enough room for my things.

Take a look at furniture also, if you've got a lot of furniture in your room, it may make it look overcrowded or smaller than it is.

blushingbride_08 · October 2013

We recently bought a house. We saw over 50. So we saw lots. The houses they felt "homey" appealed to us most. And the house we bought had cinnamon roll air freshner. I found it while looking through the house. That aroma makes me feel like home.

lujain · October 2013

We packed up a ton of stuff and stored it at my mother-in-law's house. Our housecleaners did a deep clean. We planted some flowers outside. Our agent uses a professional photographer, and the pictures look beautiful. We priced our home competitively, so it was the lowest priced unit on the market in our community. Our MLS listing went live last Friday, we had 25 showings over the weekend, and we had 6 offers by Monday. One was a lowball offer, one was at asking, and four offers were over asking. Woot! Hopefully this deal will close smoothly.

MamaAllison · October 2013

First off, good luck! I would never try to sell a house without a realtor, but I know in some markets it is easily done!

All the PP advice is spot on. The only thing I would add is don't lock closets. Closets are a huge deal to most people, and so it would piss me off when I couldn't see them. They don't HAVE to be perfectly organized, but at least let me stick my head in!

gr8t2bamom · October 2013

Remove as much personal decoration as possible (family photos). Hide excessive bathing products to make shower and bathroom appear bigger. If you have a pet - get rid of all of the evidence. Grind up a citrus fruit in the disposal. Turn lights on. Leave a marketing flyer on the kitchen counter. Consider making/adding to marketing flyer with any great neighborhood info. Showings are such a drag, but remind yourself that this could be the one! Good luck!

jlaOK · October 2013

I'd try to de-clutter as much as possible and maybe even rent a storage unit to empty out some items in your house. I think it's true when realtor say that it's not "your house" when you are trying to sell. This means making the house appeal to buyers, even when it may be more of an inconvenience to you.

Strunella · October 2013

We're right in the middle of showing madness and it's exhausting. We bought some boxes & bins and keep them in the garage to throw DS' toys in quickly. There are no toys visible in the living room. I have a few mums and pumpkins outside by our front door and some decorative gourds inside to give it a homey, seasonal feel. We do have a cat, so her litter box is visible, but we always make sure it's clean and doesn't smell. We've put the majority of our kitchen stuff in boxes in the garage to show clean, spacious counters.

A few negative comments we received include dead flowers in the front (I meant to get rid of them, my bad!); cobwebs outside (we're in kind of a wooded area, so it requires constant sweeping and we missed it one weekend); and an old front door. I thought the door needed to be painted, but it really just needed a good scrub and that made the difference. We also had a comment about the windows needing to be replaced, but a friend suggested replacing the glass rather than the whole window which is a heck of a lot cheaper.

Good luck! So far, I've found this process annoying, exhausting, and stressful.

KKCARLS · October 2013

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. Luckily our city is a major seller's market so we aren't worried about doing for-sale-by-owner for a few weeks at least. It's daunting to think of cleaning out the closets. One of the reasons we're looking to move is because there isn't enough closet/storage space and now I need to convince someone there is tons of space

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