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FLATHEADBEACON.COM
JUNE 4, 2014 | 35

REAL ESTATE

MONTANA LIFESTYLES
The Beneits of Home Staging

By DIANE BENSON HARRINGTON
Cleaning is an
important part of
Maybe you’ve seen the shows. A house languishes staging your home
on the market and a crew of home stagers descends for sale.

on the place and before you know it, they whip it into SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTO
shape fast. And then what? It sells. An investment of
a few hundred or maybe a few thousand dollars in a
home headed for the market, a sprucing up the pros call
“home staging,” can yield nice returns. If done well,
staging makes a remarkable diference.
Regardless of the numbers, the National Associa-
tion of Realtors has touted the beneits of staging and

it’s a given that real estate agents on commissions are
just as eager as home sellers to boost a home’s selling
price and lessen its time on the market. Whether you
want to spruce up your home for your own pleasure
or boost its bottom line, stagers’ advice can give your
house an amazing new look.
“Curb appeal” isn’t just a fancy phrase created to

boost landscapers’ income. It’s a crucial irst impres-
sion that can make buyers either wary of stopping
to look or eager to step inside. Be sure your lawn and
gardens look great, trash cans and bikes are put away,
house numbers are attractive and easy to see, the front
door is spectacular, and that you have some attractive
potted plants by the door.
side and out), behind the toilet, bathroom grout, under fashioned carpeting will turn buyers of. Replace it
The second irst impression comes the minute a po- sinks. Actually move your furniture to vacuum behind if you can; clean it if you can’t. Update a tired kitch-

tential buyer steps inside your home. Coats on a rack, and under it.
en with an inexpensive new countertop, new cabinet
shoes underneath and keys and other doodads in a dish Use rooms as they were intended. Take the exercise doors, or even just new cabinet hardware.
on a console table may mean you’re a fabulous organiz- equipment out of the guest room and put a bed back Love Hummels? Bummer. Collect ishing lures?
er, but it’s not the way to sell a home. Put the coats and in. Put a table and chairs in an eat-in kitchen. Get the Too bad. Think that colorful painting is quirky and
shoes in a closet, the keys in your purse and a vase of home oice equipment and iling cabinets out of your fun? At least half the people who see it won’t. Box up
lowers on the table.
little-used dining room and set the table for company, your collections, your personal photos, and anything
While a few homes out there have too little furni- or just put a nice vase of lowers on top.
you wouldn’t expect to see on the loor of a furniture
ture and too few accessories, the vast majority have Buyers look for laws to help lower the sales price
showroom. And put away blow dryers, makeup and
way too much. You don’t just want to straighten up your in negotiations. That wobbly stair rail may still sup- toothbrushes. Buyers need to imagine themselves in
clutter, you want to remove it. Consider putting at least port you and the crack in the ceiling plaster may not be your home, not wonder what its current inhabitants
one-quarter of your furniture in storage, one-third of structural, but it’ll leave buyers wondering what else is are like.
your books in boxes and at least one-half of your knick- not quite right. No matter how minor the problem, take It’s tempting to shove all the boxes of extras into the
knacks away. Use the same rule with cabinets, closets your toolbox around and start ixing them.
basement or garage, but buyers will be looking there –
and counters. If they’re stufed full, buyers will think A tired home is often thanks to tired paint or fur- judging how big they are. Make them as empty as possi-
they’re too small. Keep them tidy and one-third to one- nishings. A new coat of neutral-toned paint is a buyer- ble by renting a storage space or borrowing a neighbor’s

half empty. Don’t forget to pare down your outside fur- pleasing backdrop. Remove outdated furniture; trade or relative’s garage for a while. (For last-minute things
nishings and accessories, too.
sofas with a friend or relative while your house is on – a stack of papers, a handful of dirty clothes – you need
Clean ‘til you drop, or hire a cleaning crew to come the market, ditch yours and buy new, or store yours and to put away before a showing, stash them in the washer
regularly while your home is on the market, or at least rent or borrow a more contemporary style. Tired area or dryer or under beds; most buyers never look there.
for a one-time super-cleaning. Don’t skip windows (in-
rugs detract from nice wood loors. Shag or other old-
Submitted by NMAR PR Committee

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