Page 36 - Flathead Beacon // 4.2.14

36 | APRIL 2, 2014
FLATHEADBEACON.COM

REAL ESTATE

MONTANA LIFESTYLES
Staging Your Home for Success

By JOYCE MITCHELL
in the process you might actually see
your own home in a new and refreshing
Here are ive “realities” to ponder: light, and that’s what will sell it!
(1) One picture is worth a thousand Here are some helpful tips in prepar-

words; (2) We live in a tech-savvy society ing your home for selling:
where nearly 90 percent of today’s buy- • Declutter, declutter, declutter.
ers have already researched properties Take things of the counters and shelves.
online long before they have physically Remove items from your refrigerator
seen your home, and usually what they and put away toiletry items.
have seen in photos is what has caused • Freshen up with a fresh coat of
the desire to see; (3) The irst impression paint, neutral colors, shampoo carpets,
is the best impression, and you only have wash windows, clean ireplace, remove

ive seconds to make an impact; (4) Only worn rugs and items.
10 percent of home buyers can visualize • Remember, less is more. Remove
the potential of a home; (5) Staging your some of the collections of books, pic-
home will result in a faster and more tures and small art pieces.
proitable sale.
• Clean and straighten up closets,
Those few moments of a irst im- kitchen pantries, oice book cases.
pression are critical whether the buyer Curb appeal is just as important, es-

is seeing it on the internet, driving by, pecially since that it is the irst sight of
or stepping in the front door with their your home. A fresh coat of paint on the
Realtor. As a homeowner, you need to be front door and mailbox, a new welcome
proactive in doing what it takes to make mat and bright lowers all make a good
that irst impression a lasting impres- impression. Trim bushes, mow the lawn,
sion for the buyer. When you decide to clear toys and tools from the garden, re-
stage or redesign your house for the re- SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO
pair and clean gutters, sweep walkways.
sale market, you gain a huge marketing When showing, remember kitch-

advantage over other homes for sale. A ous and cozy reading nook? If so, then may include setting a table, creating a ens and bathrooms need to be light and
well-staged home not only opens the we have all been the successful target of reading area complete with open book bright with clean counters – replace old
buyer’s mind to the features of the home staging.
and reading glasses, a desk with pen atop bulbs and turn on lights. Living rooms
and the buyer living in it, but also con- Efective staging maximizes those a planner and chair opened, windows need to be open and inviting so open
veys a home that is well-maintained and very feelings, creating an atmosphere opened to draw the views, even the scent blinds. Bedrooms need to be softly lit
likely not to have latent issues.
that makes people want to linger and of cookies in the oven, all these stimu- and cozy; turn on side lamps, not over-
Buying a house is largely an emo- imagine themselves living in that space, late the senses. Professional stagers can head lights. Oices need organized and
tional decision because people are not your home. People have busy lives, they neat. Garages need to be orderly.
see your house as buyers will and set the
just purchasing a house; they are buy- want to walk in, look around a home and stage accordingly. They may neutralize a Think about airing your home out,
ing a dream, a lifestyle, a place of com- say “this can be mine. I can move into too-personal color scheme or add touch- especially after winter months. NAR’s
fort called home. All human beings want this home without doing a thing.”
es of color or accessories where needed. research teams found that the best scent
comfort, excitement, prestige and love First and foremost, I would say that The rule of thumb is, “less is more.”
in the house is grapefruit. Interesting,
and all these are at work in the psychol- de-cluttering and cleaning is imperative Leaving your house in an “as is” con- yet it conveys a crisp citrus scent with-
ogy of home purchasing. How many of to gain the buyer’s critical irst impres- dition will only help sell your competi- out being overly sweet. Be very careful
us have ever walked into a beautifully sion of what the room sizes are, the op- tion. Yes, you might have to pack away of over-spraying your home with strong

decorated model home and been capti- portunity to envision their own furnish- all those familiar knick-knacks and me- room deodorizers as it makes buyers
vated by it? You ind yourself dreaming ings in it, and the conidence feeling this mentos, clear the magnets of the refrig- think you are trying to mask a more se-
of bathing in that spa-like bathroom, is a well-maintained home. Clutter eats erator, dump the old magazines, move rious problem.
cooking meals in the gourmet kitchen equity. Stagers create a neutral, harmo- the furniture around, trash old worn Joyce Mitchell is a broker with Mitch-
or curling up with a book in that luxuri-
nious, spacious environment. Staging
area rugs, straighten out book cases, but
ell and Associates Real Estate

WATER DAMAGE?
24 Hours!

• We work with All insurance
companies

IT’S YOUR HOME; • We are preferred 10:1 over
most of our competition

IT’S YOUR CHOICE!!M
• We always personally answer
our lines

PUT US TO WORK AND
YOU’LL SEE WHY:

“YOUR Job’s NOT Done Specialists in Water
110 S. Cedar Dr., Suite D, Kalispell, MT 59901
‘til it’s COMPLETE!M”
Damage of Every Kind!