<p>Our 4Br3Ba house in suburban NJ is going to be on the market starting next week. We just signed our listing agreement with a local real estate agent. She has given us some advice on how to get the house ready for showing. She wants to rearrange some furniture and generally de-clutter, nothing drastic. </p>
<p>But then I started looking on the internet and found a lot of tips on how to ‘stage’ a house for sale. For example, it is recommended for the sellers to take down all family photographs and any other signs that ‘personalize’ the house. We are also supposed to hide all useful appliances that live on our kitchen countertop, such as toaster oven, coffee-maker, etc. </p>
<p>I’m wondering how far one needs to go with these tricks and whether they really work. Frankly we are in the midst of a busy time, with the end of the school year, and it is going to be hard enough to let people into the house at short notice. I realize it is a buyer’s market, but are the buyers really so unsophisticated as to not be able to see through these superficial aspects of a house? </p>
<p>I am soliciting any and all advice and opinions from people who have successfully sold their homes, especially in this slow market.</p>
<p>I have friends who have had houses languish on the market until they took the advice of “stagers,” at which point the house sold right away. And WITHOUT the price cut that their former realtor was advocating. The advice re the kitchen is spot on. Family photographs, well, it probably depends how many and where. Generally, if they are on the wall and you can replace them with a framed print, do it.</p>
<p>Our large old house has 4 reception rooms: a double parlor with pocket doors, a dining room, and a study. I’ve had a realtor walk in, look around, and say, “There isn’t a family room.” The rational response is “Pick one of the three and call it that, dummy!” But since we don’t have the room arranged with a modular sofa facing a huge TV, it apparently can’t qualify as a “family room.” Yes, unfortunately most buyers have absolutely NO imagination.</p>
<p>I “staged” a house and a townhouse, and I think it made a world of difference in how well they showed. People need to be able to imagine themselves in these spaces, and they can’t do that if your stuff intrudes too much on their attention. Remember, it’s a buyer’s market; they are seeing lots of other places, and it doesn’t take much to make some other property seem preferable. </p>
<p>Decluttering is hugely important, because it removes distractions and also makes the rooms look larger. What I’d recommend is packing up non-essential items and even some of the furniture and put it into the garage. Just removing a couple of pieces can make a room look bigger. And whatever is the best feature of a particular room, make sure the eye is drawn to it.</p>
<p>I didn’t spend a huge amount on it. I decluttered, cleaned everything top to bottom, and got brand new kitchen & bath towels, bedspreads, and rugs (which I could use in my new place anyway). I also repainted a couple of rooms that were in the decorator colors of yesteryear, so that they were in today’s decorator neutrals. Both places sold faster than comparable properties on the market at the time.</p>
<p>Ask your listing agent about offering a cash incentive, over and above the agent’s fee, to the agent who finds a buyer. Your listing agent should be able to tell you whether many other sellers are offering them. If not, consider offering at least $1K additional; this gives agents with buyers (assuming such animals still exist! ) a financial incentive to show your house over others. </p>
<p>I essentially moved out of my house while it was on the market. I moved some furniture and the cats out and repainted and recarpeted, and also replaced kitchen, hall, and bathroom floors. Completely decluttered (the only experience I have with such! Soooooo necessary in my case!). House (a small 2BD1BA townhouse) was in move-in condition. This was some years ago just after another house bubble burst, and was in November and December, not a great time for selling, and there were a bunch of other houses on my street for sale, including my next-door neighbor’s!</p>
<p>Got one contract, and from hearing the agent who was working with the buyer go on and on and on about the incentive, I think the incentive really helped. Contract was full-price, too.</p>
<p>Parents just sold their home very quickly. It was in beautiful condition, but lots of grandparent things. I insisted (as did their realtor) that they make the house more neutral. I really think it worked. A younger couple (who wouldn’t have wanted to think of themselves as old) snapped it up.</p>
<p>I also think pricing it right is so important. Now is not the time to be greedy. Good luck and hope you get through this stressful time.</p>
<p>When we sold our first house ten years ago (in a very different market), our realtors paid for a stager to come and arrange the house using our own things. I think this person’s fee was about $250. We had already taken a lot of things to a friend’s garage as part of de-cluttering, and they left a big stack of additional things in the hall for me to temporarily get rid of. It was fascinating to see how artfully the stager set up what remained. </p>
<p>It took me awhile to understand that they didn’t want me around when she did her thing - I kept offering to be there and they kept politely telling me that they would be just fine without me. When I came home, I could see why. They had dug around in the back of linen closets and looked in cupboards and drawers to find things I didn’t even remember I had - a pretty bowl that they filled with pomegranates, some candle holders, things like that. It looked terrific. It would have been hard to live with all that perfection, but it was only on the market for a weekend.</p>
Buyers are paying for your “bricks and mortar”, your square footage and your location, also your condition. Further, buyers are “buying” what they imagine their lives will be like in your home - organized, clutter-free, beautifully decorated or… in the alternative… short on counter space, well-decorated if they do the work… you get the idea.</p>
<p>My house is for sale in this market and I did it all. My son thinks I’m crazy using the same logic as yours - they can “see through it.” Some of them can, and the ones who can see what it “will be like” will pay less for it. Or they will buy the house where they didn’t have to “see through it” that are on the market for the same price as yours.</p>
<p>A few years ago, when our house was on the market, I had a spreadsheet task list for each family member whenever there was going to a showing: who had to pick up what, vacuum what, turn on which lights etc. Maybe that can lighten your load.</p>
<p>I once read that if you put a small pot with vanilla in it on the stove on low it makes the house smell like fresh baking. Smell is a very strong but sort-of subconscious scent - and fresh baking is a very home-y smell.</p>
<p>Frankly, in a market like this, I’d look for any possible advantage. If a stager can help, why not? The cost is tiny compared to the price of the house.</p>
<p>I read or heard somewhere that there is a new book, “Staging for Dummies,” that is part of the “For Dummies…” series. I intend to look at it when I go to the book store. Other books in that series have been helpful to me.</p>
<p>Paint - neutral colors. My agent told me that the trendy neutral is what real estate agents are calling “Renovation Hardware blue”. I keep meaning to stop by the store to see exactly what hue that is!</p>
<p>Go with neutral, and take appliances off the counters. Lose all of your old TVs (only flat screens allowed). Don’t have a kitchen garbage pail in view. No family photos. New soaps and gels are good (don’t use them). They are for looking at only. Some nice flowers near the front door is great. Just a few suggestions.</p>
<p>I think it’s Restoration Hardware’s Blue Atmosphere.</p>
<p>I used a stager and it made a world of difference. NJ is a tough market right now. I’ve actually done the vanilla thing. In a buyers market, I might store some frozen break-apart Toll House Cookies in the fridge, bake 'em and put them out for your prospective buyers. 9/10 buyers love Toll House cookies (I made that last part up).</p>
<p>I think every detail counts in a buyers market. Definitely pack up loads of stuff and put it in storage. Make all of your closets and drawers look roomy and clutter-free. You need to pack anyway, right? A stager will take care of this stuff, but I’d get a bunch of cheap wooden hangers at a superstore and replace your wire ones. Add some shopping bags from expensive stores (my stager actually did this - she even staged closets).</p>
<p>You can find great staging items at a Marshall’s, Ross, Tuesday Morning, and the like (for throw pillows and hings like that which can make your house look like a model). This would be for things needed to make a room pop, but that you maybe wouldn’t want for your next home.</p>
<p>The first impression is the most important thing, so make sure your front door area is spotless and freshly painted. THe house should smell clean (not like Glade or Spot) when people walk in. The street appeal is also important, so cleaning up the yard and even planting some pretty flowers can make a big impact as well.</p>
<p>Stagers are really a bargain. You spend hundreds, but make way more in the end.</p>
<p>Would cinnamon do the same trick? I’m envisioning prospective home buyers touring several properties before making an offer, and everywhere they go they smell vanilla…</p>
<p>When we bought our home it smelled like pine. The reason was because it was Christmas time, and the homeowner bought a fresh Christmas tree. That smell did not hurt.</p>
<p>I agree with everything that spideygirl posted.</p>
<p>My stager made beautifully printed 5X7 signs backed with cardstock and stuck them to walls (with non-damaging adhesive) around the house. They pointed things out that a buyer and their realtor could miss (or at least reinforce the message).</p>
<p>Some thigs worth advertising are special wiring, surround sound, washer/dryer staying, a description of high end kitchen or bath surface materials, and other things which could set your place apart from the crowd and cause the buyer to leave feeling that the home is special.</p>
<p>Remember to go through the other bedrooms as well as the master and take no prisoners when it comes to emptying out. Residents of those spaces should be enlisted to pretty much pack up most of their stuff (posters, stuffed animals, etc.). The rooms should look as big as possible, and staged so that prospective buyers can envision their kids or guests in there. You pretty much have to depersonalize, and turn your home into a warm, inviting, roomy place that folks can evision as their own.</p>
<p>If you have bigger beds in smaller rooms, consider putting them in storage and renting or borrowing twin sized beds. A queen or full sized bed in a smaller bedroom can really be a turn-off if it makes the space seem too small.</p>
<p>Ask a couple friends who have great design instincts to go through and spot things that you might not be able to. I’ve even borrowed things from neighbors to help stage a house (even furniture).</p>
<p>They were actually talking about some of these things on the Today show this morning. </p>
<p>General advice was along the lines of:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Be realistic about accepting that it’s a buyers market. Your home may not be worth what it was a year or two ago. A big mistake people make now is pricing their home too high thinking (or probably hoping) that it’s worth more. In this market people won’t even bother looking at the property unless they think it’s a bargain. With so many more sellers than buyers, the buyers aren’t short of options so they’ll go for the good deals and won’t bother with the overpriced properties. The NYTimes has some stories about the market and pricing strategies. They talk about one home in NJ that went on the market for $380k and had no interest, they cut the price to $349k and still had no interest… it wasn’t until they took it down to $325k that people started taking the sellers seriously. I don’t know the specifics of your neighborhood, but the general advice is if you’re not realistic in what you’re asking you could be sitting on that property for a while. </p></li>
<li><p>Decluttering is a good suggestion. Also make sure the outside areas are also clean and well maintained (if they’re not already). Well maintained landscaping makes a home look much more attractive.</p></li>
<li><p>Get a good agent. In bad sellers markets, 80% of the sales get made by 20% of the agents… make sure you’re with one of those in the top 20%.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We just sold our house in the Chicago area to the first buyers that looked at it. Here are my tips:</p>
<ol>
<li> Leave pets with friends or neighbors when you know you have a showing.<br></li>
<li> Clean out the floors of all closets, and pack up half your clothes. This will make your closets look bigger.<br></li>
<li> Make sure your kitchen counter has only one thing on it.</li>
<li> Don’t put anything on the front or sides of your refrigerator.</li>
<li> Change the rugs, towels and shower curtains in all the bathrooms to colors that are “in style”. You can take these to your new house.</li>
<li> De-cluttere everywhere. Remember, it’s not your house to “live in” while it’s on the market.<br></li>
<li> If your appliances are old or outdated, replace them.</li>
<li> Invest in nice wood closet systems. They sell the closetmaid brand at Lowes, and the investment is small. People raved about how great our closets were. Adding drawers was a huge selling point for many people.</li>
<li> Make sure your house is CLEAN.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>The only houses that were selling in our neighborhood were ones that were completely “done”. Buyers don’t want project houses right now. We looked at a lot of houses before choosing one, and ended up going with a builder spec home. I can’t believe how dirty some people are. I didn’t want to have to replace everything as soon as we moved in to a new house.</p>
) a financial incentive to show your house over others. </p>