Andrea Santmyer, Room Revisions

It’s time to sell your home. What home improvements should you invest in to get your home market ready? Should you try to sell your home vacant or furnished? Here is something to consider:

If you think that a clean, vacant home shows just as well as a home that has been properly prepared and professionally staged, stop right there. Think a coat of paint and scrubbed floors make everything look fresh and inviting? Think again. There are telltale signs left behind in an empty home that can instantly make it look and feel dated. Since there is nothing else to look at in an empty home, these sore thumbs stand out like… well, sore thumbs. Obviously, outdated kitchen appliances and cabinets and outdated bathroom fixtures would be hard to miss. But there are other things lurking that homeowners and real estate agents might overlook or dismiss as unimportant to the buyer’s eye. All it takes is an afternoon browsing through listing photos and virtual tours to confirm this thinking. Here are five things that scream “outdated” in no particular order:

• Popcorn Ceilings - and even worse, textured ceilings with sparkles. Unless you’re three years old and passing through the fairy princess phase, sparkly ceilings are just not cute. The blown-on popcorn texture can easily be removed by a do-it-yourselfer, but you need to make sure there’s no asbestos in it. If the home was built prior to 1980, check for asbestos first before scraping. Visit this site for great step-by-step instructions on how to remove a popcorn ceiling.
  

• Dated light fixtures. If your light fixtures are older than your middle-schooler and/or are builder grade, chances are they’re not going to be on a buyer’s must-have list. Shiny gold or brass tones are not in vogue anymore. There are exceptions, of course, but the trend now is chrome or brushed nickel for a contemporary look; oil-rubbed bronze or wrought iron for an old-world look; and various faux metal finishes that mimic aged or weathered metal. If you don’t know what’s in style, browse through the lighting department at Lowe’s or Home Depot, visit your local lighting showroom, or start your search for inspiration online.
  

• Old window treatments. If the seller didn’t deem them worthy of taking, the buyer probably won’t deem them worthy of keeping. Ruffled curtains, plastic one-inch mini blinds, and dusty jabots that have been hanging since 1993 should be treated with the same reverence as parachute pants. Maybe they were stylish at one time, but let’s not make them a focal point now – which is exactly what they are in an otherwise empty room. A bare window that lets the sunshine in is preferable to a window ensconced in a worn, cheap-looking or outdated window treatments. A room professionally staged with stylish, on-trend window treatments is even better!

• Worn carpet/vinyl tile. You thought your carpet was in great condition. Now that the room is empty, look again. Some areas have been faded by the sun. Other areas show traffic and maybe a few stains. It’s like turning on the lights after last call. Yikes! An empty room will call attention to every flaw in whatever is left in the room to look at. And the floor is a very large space to look at. In case you haven’t heard, vinyl flooring gets no respect anymore. It used to be standard and quite acceptable in bathrooms and kitchens in mid-priced homes. But today’s buyers have developed a savvy and discriminating palate and expect upgraded materials. If you can’t change out the vinyl, at least make sure it shows well. It should be new or relatively new, neutral in color, preferably mimic a natural element such as slate or bamboo, and be in great condition.

• Wallpaper/paneling. My parents built a brand new home in a new-construction community in 1974. I remember helping my mother select wallpaper from sample books for every (and I mean EVERY) room in the house. There was a wild floral theme in my room; red, white and blue stars and stripes in my brother’s room; and the foyer had that gold foil paper with velvet flocking. But nothing topped the bathroom that my brother and I shared. We had wallpaper sporting olive green, yellow and orange “Mod Squad” teenagers wearing bell-bottoms and wide belts. Yummy. It’s not that wallpaper itself is outdated; it’s just that most people select wallpaper that is thematic or very taste-specific, and therein lies the problem. Thematic wallpaper quickly becomes outdated, such as the once-popular celestial theme or seashell borders in the bathroom. Or how about that abstract “brush stroke” wallpaper in mauve and powder blue? Wallpaper is like a page from a calendar pasted on your walls and preserved for all time – or at least until the new owner changes the date and scrapes it off. As for plywood paneling, it’s about as desirable as white-wall tires on your SUV.

A professional home stager can help guide you in making the right decisions about which smart home improvements to invest in when getting your home ready to sell. Many of these improvements are inexpensive fixes and require little more than time and elbow grease. The payoff comes in having a market-ready home that looks updated, sophisticated and much more appealing to buyers.

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Room Revisions Home Staging and Redesign can help you get your home ready to sell. We service all of Stafford County, Virginia, including Fredericksburg City, Spotsylvania County, and surrounding areas.

If you're thinking that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you may be contemplating a move, which means selling your current home. While money isn't everything, getting top dollar and a speedy sale is what most sellers hope to accomplish when they put their homes on the market. In today's market, that is easier said than done unless you properly prepare your home for sale. Here is a look at how some common proverbs might be adapted to useful tips when preparing your home for sale.

Proverb #1 - As you sow, so shall you reap

Translation: The more effort you put into preparing your house for sale, the more it will pay off in time and money. Home staging is a vital part of preparing your house for sale because it focuses on showcasing its best features and attributes.

Proverb #2 - An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

Translation: If you take the time to properly prepare your house before putting it on the market, it will save you in the long run. A buyer’s perception of how much it will cost for needed repairs and upgrades is often much higher than the actual cost. That perception will cost you a bundle at the closing table. Make the repairs and upgrades before putting your house on the market so that you’re in a position to negotiate for the best price.

Proverb #3 - First things first

Translation: Stage it, list it, sell it. While it is still beneficial to have your house professionally staged after it’s been listed and shown, the best results happen when you stage first, then list and show.

Proverb #4 - Strike while the iron is hot

Translation: When a house is listed for sale, it receives the most buyer traffic and interest within the first 30 days. Your house needs to be showplace ready on day one, not on day 31.

Proverb #5 - Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face

Translation: Many people wrongly assume that they can’t afford to spend money on a house they’re selling. They wonder how home staging can be cost-effective. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you’re saving money by not investing in professional home staging. In reality, neglecting to properly prepare your house for sale, which includes professional home staging, will cost you extra in both time and money - extra time on the market and extra money in the buyer's pocket.

Proverb #6 - If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well

Translation: If your house is worth selling, it’s worth having it professionally staged.

Proverb #7 - Better to be safe than sorry

Translation: Better to have your house professionally staged and know that you’ve done everything within your power to get a quicker and more profitable sale than to be sorry that you didn’t give yourself that competitive edge. You’ll always wonder if you could have sold for more – or more quickly - if you had staged.

Proverb #8 - Procrastination is the thief of time

Translation: And in the case of selling a house, procrastination can also be the thief of profit. To sell your house as quickly and as profitably as possible, price it right, address needed repairs and upgrades, and have it professionally staged.

Proverb #9 - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Translation: Never assume that buyers are going to love your house “just the way it is” as much as you do. Professional home stagers are practiced in the art of neutralizing taste-specific décor so that it appeals to a broad range of buyers. You must remember that once you make the decision to sell your house, it becomes a product. Packaging that product for market appeal is the specialty of a professional home stager.

Proverb #10 - Never judge a book by its cover

Translation: What your home looks like on the outside is not necessarily a reflection of what it looks like on the inside. It would be nice if all buyers lived by those words. But why leave that to chance? Curb appeal is an important part of the total home staging package. Don’t neglect the exterior of your house when you’re preparing it for the market, and remember that the first impression starts at the curb!!!

Proverb #11 - The end justifies the means

Translation: The price you’ll get for your professionally staged house makes the cost of staging worth the investment. Statistics show that sellers who spend up to $1,000 on home staging recoup almost 200% of the cost in the sale of their house.

Proverb #12 - Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness

Translation: If your house isn’t selling, and you can’t honestly say you’ve done everything within your power to properly prepare your house for sale, then do something to change that TODAY. Call a professional home stager!!

Proverb # 13 - A single conversation with a wise man is worth a month’s study of books

Translation: Hobby decorators and armchair stagers are not well-equipped to stage their own homes. While books and TV shows can be fun and informative for do-it-yourselfers, remember that selling a house is not a hobby. It is serious business that can cost you tens of thousands of dollars if you make a mistake in how you present your house. A professional home stager has the training and expertise to properly showcase your home’s architectural features, focal points, square footage and intended use and purpose of space. Professional home stagers know how to package your home to appeal to potential buyers on an emotional level, and are knowledgeable about current home trends as relates to color, home features, and what buyers are looking for.

Room Revisions Home Staging and Redesign can help you prepare your home for sale. We work with vacant and owner-occupied homes serving Fredericksburg, Virginia; Stafford County, Virginia, and surrounding areas. Visit our website at www.room-revisions.com.