Budget Staging Tips

As a Realtor, I’m constantly receiving emails and newsletters with information about the current real estate market.  While most of the articles have to do with not-so-exciting things like upcoming continuing education seminars, a recent article caught my attention when it claimed to have 10 different ways that a seller could update and upgrade their property for sale without parting with too many pennies.  Sounded good to me!

Here’s my two cents on what this article had to say:

To be honest, it made me a bit peeved to read that “patterned fabrics” cater to the “female taste.”  Huh?  Are they suggesting that my awesome duvet and snazzy new pillows would keep my house from selling?  I think not!

While I agree that neutral sells, that doesn’t mean that your home has to be devoid of personality – in fact, quite the opposite.  An entirely “neutralized” home lacks warmth and character, and can read as cold and uninviting.  My recommendation is that while your home is on the market you should try to limit bold colors and patterns to accessories (as opposed to a plaid wallpapered wall) so that they fulfill their function of accenting a room rather than dominating it.

I’m kind of 50-50 on this recommendation.  Neutral walls are definitely great for selling homes, and I love that this article recognizes that tan is not the only neutral.  However, I have to take issue with painting the trim and walls the same color – while we’ve all seen it look fabulous in designer rooms, most buyers are real people and not designers, and I would aim to give them what they want and expect – either white or stained trim, depending upon what the room calls for.

Yes!!  I could not agree more – heck, we even painted the paneling in our own home.  Some sellers are attached to their wood paneling and really fight against painting it – they argue that the new buyer might actually want a den that resembles a cave or, at the very least, that the new buyer will be able to envision the room with painted paneling.  Wrong and wrong.  Even though I give all of my buyers a pep talk about how easy it is to paint paneling and how amazing it will look afterwards, they almost all look at me like I’m crazy and hurry out of those homes as fast as their feet will carry them.  That’s not to say that all buyers are completely without vision – it’s just that there is a huge percentage of buyers out there that just can’t image dated paneling ever looking like anything other than dated paneling.  So go ahead and paint that paneling!

We all know that kitchens sell homes, so I couldn’t agree more that kitchens should be modernized as much as possible.  However, I would think about laminate flooring as another budget-friendly alternative to Marmoleum as it can be continued into other areas for a a seamless, flowing look.  In addition to the foregoing, I would consider offering potential buyers a specific monetary amount to buy stainless steel appliances.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.  The easiest and most affordable updates to a bathroom are with mirrors and hardware (which I wrote about here and here), simply because these changes don’t require any construction – you can make these switches in an evening, or a weekend if you’re changing out fixtures.  And if you’re going for the full enchilada and re-doing tile, it’s a great idea to repeat the same tile in varying shapes and patterns to add interest without overwhelming the eye, like we did in the master bathroom at our flip (you can check it out at the bottom of the new page).

‘Nuff said.  You can scope out some other inspiring images here and here.

Even if you ignore every other tip, please take this one to heart!  It will make a huge difference in your showings if you turn on every single light in your house before each and every showing – and it’s free!  Yes, it’s a pain, but nothing looks better than a bright and cheery house, and all the lamps add a homey and inviting feeling.  We always advise our sellers to take this step, and we practice what we preach as well – before each and every showing at the flip, we’ve made the trek over there to turn on all the lights.  And this advice isn’t limited to showings – make sure you have your home lit up like a landing strip for the listing photos!

I think it’s interesting that the article noted that dark wood floors should be avoided when a home is for sale – and I totally agree.  While dark or ebony wood floors are absolutely gorgeous and in fashion right now, it’s impractical for a home that’s on the market and will be receiving a lot of foot traffic because every speck of dust and dirt and leaves that gets tracked in will show – big time.  So unless you want to spend your life sweeping up after potential buyers, go for a medium-toned wood floor.

In addition to old calendars and magazine covers, decorative scrapbooking paper, wallpaper and fabric are great options for inexpensive DIY art.

There’s no doubt that giving the exterior of your home a face lift can have a huge impact.  While some projects like a new sidewalk or windows may be out of your budget, you can give your home some instant curb appeal by pruning back trees and hedges, filling in a patchy lawn with new sod, giving the exterior a fresh coat of paint, and adding bright spots of color with potted plants.

Have you used any of these tips when selling your home?  What do you think worked, and what didn’t?

Images and gray text courtesy of Realtor.org and Barbara Ballinger.