Martha Stanton-Smith

The speed dating process involves meeting eligible mates for a fleeting three to five minutes. First impressions are key. Participants hope to make some kind of emotional connection leading to bigger things.

Emotional connection is key in the home selling process too. Research has proven that emotion plays a huge part in important buying decisions. As with speed dating, viewers tour your house for only a few minutes. The difference is nine times out of ten a first impression has already been made from an internet search.

You probably have a strong connection to your home and the items in it. That makes prepping it for sale as emotionally charged as seeing your beloved daughter beginning to date. We let go of our children so they can lead their own lives. And sometimes we have to let go of our home or some belongings so we can enjoy new opportunities.

The process by which a girl gets ready for an important occasion - perhaps the speed date - has many other similarities to preparing a house for the market. She may agonize over her weight. Too fat, too thin? When we start to get our home ready to sell, we usually need to put it on a 'diet' and de-clutter. We may even slim down the furnishings, putting some into storage to make the home look more spacious.

Perhaps your daughter will worry about appearance of her teeth. If your daughter`s teeth were crooked it might serve no purpose to get braces just two weeks before the big day. Likewise, when staging a house for immediate sale, it`s probably not effective to do a complete kitchen renovation. But, recognizing that a big shiny white smile is popular, our dating daughter might get a whitening treatment. Similarly a tired kitchen could be given a facelift with hardware and paint. The wise home owner tries to meet the beauty norm for houses to attract the widest group of potential buyers. This de-personalizing would involve removing family pictures and pre-packing collections. It would require stripping wallpaper and taking down very personalized draperies. It might mean toning down theme rooms or highly personalized decor choices.

Most girls love new shoes and jewellry. These finishing pieces can make an outfit look more expensive and in style. Hardware and light fixtures are often called the jewellry of the home. Changing them is a quick update and upgrade. New shoes could be compared to flooring updates.

A trip to the hairdresser is often part of the little lady`s preparations. She knows changing her hair will dramatically change her whole look instantly and inexpensively. In the home being prepared for sale, painting the walls and trim makes the big change quickly and economically. The difference is that the home seller should choose neutral and widely appealing colours rather than a unique expression of personality.

Then our little girl will typically engage in some personal scrubbing and polishing. For the home sale, one of the most cost effective things we can do is clean, clean and clean some more. It`s so important to be meticulous because it sends a message that you have taken good care of things. Home buyers find other peoples` grime a turn-off -- just like greasy hair and dirty fingernails would be a turn off on your first date.

As the hour approaches for the big date (or the open house) it`s time to get dressed (or staged). Our daughter might choose a dress in her best colour. The dress that gets the most attention could show a little skin. When dressing the house, it`s time to add colour for focal points and to tie the rooms together. As for showing some skin, with a house we should show some windows. Lighten and brighten. Draw back the window coverings and turn on the lights. It`s time to meet the boys, or the buyers, as the case may be.

And the analogy continues. If you make a connection at the speed dating party the person could ask to meet you again. That`s like viewers asking to arrange for a second look at your house. It`s a good sign. But it`s still no guarantee that there will be a proposal (offer), a pre-nuptial agreement (negotiations) or marriage (a sale.) Just like your dating daughter, the homeowner needs to keep everything looking good until the keys are handed over.

As a home stager, it's my difficult job to discuss with home sellers how the smell of their home can be detrimental to it's saleability - and it's price. That includes the smell of tobacco smoke. But, after doing a bit of research, I realize that the lingering odour of tobacco smoke is an increasingly serious buyer concern, especially for young families.

As of 2008, only 16% of Ontario residents over 25 were smokers. Who is going to buy a house here in Kingston? Odds are they will be over 25 and will live in Ontario. Believe me non-smokers' noses pick up that whiff of tobacco a lot faster than smokers. If you don't want to put off more than 4 out of 5 potential buyers when you put your home on the market, you'd better resolve this issue.

Ridding your home of the smell completely is not an easy task. It sticks to and soaks into every surface. It can seem to be gone but heat and humidity will cause it to release again. If you've been in the habit of smoking in your bathroom, the new owner will know it as soon as he goes in for a hot shower. There are some things you can do but you have your work cut out for you.

What makes this issue even more serious than a mere smell turnoff is the fact that we now have many studies showing our health can be seriously harmed by smoking and by breathing in second hand smoke. The most recent news is that we can also be harmed by breathing or touching the smoke residue called "third hand smoke."

Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term "third-hand smoke" to describe these chemicals in a study that focused on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in the January, 2009 issue of journal Pediatrics.

In February, 2010, a study sponsored by the University of California's Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program was released. Lara Gundel, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California and one of the authors of the study, says of the findings:

"We have considered that nicotine on surfaces has been pretty benign up to this point. It turns out we shouldn't say that now. People can be exposed to toxins in tobacco smoke in a way that's never been recognized before." "The burning of tobacco releases nicotine in the form of a vapor that adsorbs strongly onto indoor surfaces, such as walls, floors, carpeting, drapes and furniture. Nicotine can persist on those materials for days, weeks and even months," said Hugo Destaillats, a chemist with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in San Francisco, co-author of the study.

"Our study shows that when this residual nicotine reacts with ambient nitrous acid it forms carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines or TSNAs," Destaillats said. "TSNAs are among the most broadly acting and potent carcinogens present in unburned tobacco and tobacco smoke."

This is pretty scary stuff. Furthermore, these studies indicate that infants and children are the most susceptible group to these cancer causing chemicals. Now it becomes not only a comfort issue for home buyers, but a true health and safety issue. For young family homebuyers, providing a safe home for their children is a huge priority. Their concern will make them pass completely on the smokey home or, at the least, lower their offer substantially to cover the cost of dealing with the stubborn residue.

If you re-publish please credit Martha Stanton-Smith, Rearrangements home staging.

A home is a much more important purchase than a few apples, but the buying process isn't all that different. When buyers shop for apples, they first search for available choices with the charcteristics they want. If they want to make apple pie, they might decide to look for Granny Smiths. When they find a bin of them at the store they will start looking closely at individual apples to make sure they select the best. They usually pick them up and turn them over to see all sides and maybe even give them a sniff. Which ones go in the shopping bag? Of course. It's the ones that look, feel and smell the best. Those with a bruise or blemish will be left behind.

When home buyers start shopping, instead of Granny Smiths they might be looking for three bedroom bungalows in a particular suburb. But then, we really start to see similarities in the buying process. They look at pictures, go to see the houses, touch things and experience the smells. The shopping list of desired features becomes secondary to having a nice look and feel.

The better your house compares to the competition when you are selling, the more success you will have. In fact, if there is lots of competition, you have to beat at least some of them in order to sell at all. There are always nice houses coming onto the market, so you can't simply wait til yours is the only one available. In the end, apples or houses, it's still the best looking ones with the nicest feel and smell which are sold first and get the highest prices.

Making your house look better than the competition is one of the many benefits of staging before you sell.