Staging your Southern Maryland home for sale may seem like an easy project, but we see several common mistakes when homeowners attempt to go the DIY route. Staging your home is more than rearranging furniture or redecorating!
In fact, the most important aspect of staging your home is knowing who your most likely buyer is and then appealing to his or her emotions.
These are the five most common staging mistakes we see, so you can avoid them if you plan to stage your Southern Maryland home yourself.
Mistake No. 1: Not cleaning before you stage
Routine house cleaning is different than cleaning for staging. The latter is deep clean that serves as the background for your staging. Professional housecleaners recommend that you move around your home, cleaning from the ceiling to the floor so that you don’t miss any spots.
“Dust and wipe down the baseboards, clean the vents, bleach the grout in your shower, and polish the hardware in your kitchen and bathrooms,” suggest the experts at MHM Professional Staging in Orlando, Florida.
A deep clean also sends a subliminal message to potential buyers that the home is well-cared for and helps them imagine living in the space.
Mistake No. 2: Leaving the wrong furniture in place
If there’s too much furniture – or it’s too big – the room can appear cluttered.
“Trying to put too much furniture in one space makes it look smaller than it really is,” Fixer Upper’s Joanna Gaines tells HGTV’s Judy Dutton. “Try to stick with three large pieces at most per room to keep the house feeling big and open.”
What you leave in the room should advertise the room’s purpose. This means no baby changing table in the home office and ridding the master bedroom of the treadmill.
Mistake No. 3: Neglecting to stage storage areas
While your Southern Maryland home is on the market, you want to highlight its storage spaces. Take bulky winter clothes and blankets from closets and cupboards, organize the pantry, and store extra linens somewhere else to make the linen closet look roomy.
“Potential buyers will definitely want to know how much storage space your home has, so no closet will be safe for concealing messes,” Gaines says. “If you’re in a pinch, make a last-ditch effort to hide a mess is under a bed.”
Mistake No. 4: Ignoring the garage
A National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) study found that more than half of the homebuyers they surveyed find a home with a garage “essential” or “desirable.”
Similarly, a 2017 National Association of Realtors survey resulted in learning that more than 30 percent of homebuyers think the garage is the most important room in the home. Baby boomers, in fact, care more about the garage than the living room.
Get ideas for your garage at realtor.com
Mistake No. 5: Assuming buyers won’t notice your lack of curb appeal
The outside of your Southern Maryland home can make or break your bottom line. It’s your home’s first impression, and believe me, if potential buyers don’t like what they see from the curb, they’ll drive on to the next home on their lists.
Start with the exterior walls. Sometimes power-washing is all it takes to make them sparkle. If the home needs new paint, however, you can look forward to an average 43 percent return on your financial investment in the process, according to homegain.com.
Then, turn your attention to the landscaping. “Simple touches like making sure the lawn is freshly cut, power-washing the driveway, or putting a few freshly potted plants on the front porch can make a big impact,” Gaines says.
Staging your Southern Maryland home for sale, inside and out, is a wise move. But don’t make common mistakes that might negate all your hard work.
La Plata MD Homes for Sale and Real Estate Services in Southern Maryland. You now have a search engine to help you with your Southern Maryland home search! And I’m ready to provide you with a custom home valuation if you’re considering selling your home. Let’s connect to discuss how I can help you. Contact Kimberly Bean at 301-440-1309
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