FSBO Jane

Want to know how you can market your home aggressively?

(Before you say something about lowering the price, stop. Your home should be priced competitively to begin with. That goes without saying.)

No, what I’m talking about is something crucial to sell your home for the right price. Something that could make the difference between your home and the one next door, that’s priced exactly the same way.

In a word, it all goes back to staging.

Selling your home in a buyers’ market means getting your property in mint condition. Make the inside as close to perfection as is possible, and you have a lure for buyers that can’t be beat. Here are some tips, grouped according to areas in your property.

1. OUTSIDE/CURB APPEAL
From the curb of your home, evaluate the exterior appeal, from the perspective of a buyer. The lawn should be perfectly manicured, the driveway and walkways should be freshly washed, the paint should be in like-new condition. Hang flower pots in front and plant perennials along the exterior. Clean out the gutters. Repair any damags. If it’s winter, shovel. If it’s fall, rake the leaves. And if you live somewhere that’s beautiful year-round, take advantage of it, for heaven’s sake! Do every single thing you can to make the front yard POP at people who drive up. They should be WOWed. Blown away. Emotionally imagining themselves making it their own home. If it helps, pretend you’re about to be photographed for a magazine or featured on your local news. This is the time to pull out all the stops.

2. ENTRYWAY
The entry to your home, right after curb appeal, makes a first impression you only get one shot at. Put an attractive welcome mat in front of the door. Polish the doorknob. By all means, make sure the doorbell works. If you have a sitting area or a porch in front, clean everything and make it look showcase-new.

3. OVERALL CLEAN FEELING
I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but your home needs to be spotless. Like, you should be able to eat off the floor, that’s how spotless I’m talking. If I were helping you sell your home, I would come through with my glasses on and a white glove. If that glove gets anything on it, your home isn’t clean enough. The floors, the walls, the counters, the cabinets: everything.

4. NO CLUTTER
While we’re on the subject of cleaning, get rid of clutter. All of it. Get everything that you don’t need (you’re moving soon anyway, right? think of this as getting ahead of schedule) and put it away somewhere. No more knicknacks. No personal photos. Get your college degrees off the wall. This is not your home anymore. It’s a showcase in a magazine, and you’re in charge of getting it ready.

5. FURNITURE
Whether you’re moving immediately or waiting until the home sells, one principle remains: every room in the home should only have furniture that emphasizes its use. What I mean is this—the bedroom should have a bed, a dresser, maybe twin nightstands. Don’t keep your desk/office in there anymore. Put away the playroom you created in the corner. Would you see those out-of-place things in a magazine?

Likewise, if you have already moved, you have two options in terms of furnishings: either leave just enough to stage the home, or rent furniture. Either way, you’ll want to make the interior look like a home catalog, no more, no less.

6. KITCHEN
The general principles above should help you with all your bedrooms and living areas, and, actually, it should be enough for the kitchen, too. But because the kitchen is such an important selling point in a home—many buyers consider it in the top five of importance level—I feel it must be emphasized. Put everything away. Organize the pantry. Clean the refrigerator. If you can put away your additional appliances (blender, toaster, mixer, etc.), do so. Buyers should notice the hardware of the kitchen, the amount of counterspace, the easiness of being able to use it. This will be best accomplished by your keeping it in mint condition.

OH, and if you have those happy little plugins that smell warm and comforting, you might like those throughout, too. Just be sensitive to overpowering smells and potential allergies of buyers.