Whether you’re buying or selling, entering the real estate market is always an interesting experience. If you’re looking to sell your home, there are many factors which go into valuation and ultimately the amount you’ll receive. While there are several things that are out of your control, such as nearby attractions, school ratings and climate, preparing and decorating your home is in your hands – and it can elevate your selling price or even shorten the time it takes to sell.
Think it doesn’t make a difference? Think again.
If you’re searching among home listings, there’s little doubt the clean, shiny, open look of a well-staged house grabs your attention over a run-down, cluttered home. It’s even better if the listing has pictures taken by a professional photographer. Even if the professionally staged and photographed home has less square footage than you were looking for, you’d probably still consider paying more for it. You would also be more interested in seeing it. That alone is an indicator that you could sell faster with a nicely prepped house!
Clear Out the Clutter
Clearing out the extra stuff is a great place to start. If you’re moving out anyway, you’ll have to start paring down, throwing things out, and packing stuff up. You may need a temporary storage space, but the expense certainly can be worth it. Before listing your house to sell, always make sure you have decluttered as much as possible and given your home a clean flow of space.
Scrub It, Top to Bottom
This is important for photo sessions, but it’s even more vital for showings. Once you have cleared out your living space as much as possible, be sure to give it a deep clean. Scrub and vacuum floors, cleanse the counter tops and tables, dust off the tops of wood furniture – make anything that can shine, shine.
Decorate as Nicely as Possible
Once you have a clean, spacious looking home, try to find things you can do to spruce it up. Line up the throw pillows, put a bouquet in the center of the table, place an area rug squarely in the middle of a room. If you have any signs with bubbly sayings on them stored away, now’s the time to put them on display.
Hire a Professional Home Stager
While all of these little things are doable for homeowners, it may be worth the money to hire a professional home stager (i.e. you will make it up in sale value or saved time on the market). People who stage homes for a living have an eye for aesthetics many of us lack, and likely know tricks of the trade we’re unaware of (though there are plenty of tips and tricks for home staging out there for DIYers). A professional may also have a specific way they stage things for photographs that’s proven to give your listing the look it needs to sell.
At Action Realty of Detroit Lakes, we know real estate in Detroit Lakes, MN and the wide surrounding area. We know what a house needs to sell, and we can help you get your house sold. Contact us today and see what Action can do for you!