Most parts of the real estate process of buying or selling have gone virtual, from showings to closings. A lot of folks have reach out wanting to know how to prepare their homes to sell in the current real estate environment in the Washington DC metro area. It’s a good question, because showings online are a bit different than showings in person. Whether we are showing a property with a Matterport on-line interactive 3-D virtual tour with floor plans, or doing a Facetime or Facebook Live video, there are tips you should be aware of as a seller with regard to staging your home.
Getting the interior ready for its close-up
The prep work that was required in the past still holds true: clean and declutter the home. If you have any doubts about whether an item should remain in the home or get boxed up, go with the latter.
The idea is to create a somewhat clean slate, an attractive but depersonalized space so that potential buyers can see themselves living in the home. Here are some of the items to consider removing:
- Collectibles
- Family photos
- Diplomas and certificates
- Mementos
- Stacks of magazines and newspapers
- Oversized furniture (it makes rooms look smaller)
Clear the bathroom and kitchen counters of anything that isn’t decorative. Less is more in these cases. Need inspiration? Find decluttering advice online at GoodHousekeeping.com, ProfessionalStaging.com and ApartmentTherapy.com.
Now it’s time to get to the cleaning. We spoke with our favorite cleaning professional who suggests taking it a room at a time. Then, clean from top to bottom as you work your way around the room. From ceilings (and ceiling fixtures like ceiling fans) to baseboards, clean every surface. You will be amazed at how much dust has collected.
As you clean, check that the room’s lighting is sufficient. You want the rooms to appear as bright as possible. Make sure every fixture has working bulbs in all sockets. Consider brighter bulbs or adding additional lighting. This is one of the lease expensive things you can do to make a space feel bigger. Lighting is so inexpensive. In fact you may even want to update what you have to give a more contemporary feel.
Finally, take some of your own videos of each room and then scrutinize them. How’s the furniture placement? Ensure that the rooms don’t look cluttered with furniture. Experiment with different arrangements to find the one that makes each room look its best. As a general rule of thumb, small rooms should only have around 3 pieces of furniture. Larger rooms up to 5. It will not feel right at first, because that is not how you are used to living. But when you sell, you are turning your home into a product for sale.
Get furniture placement tips online from Let’s Revamp, Savvy for Life and Jsquared-Richmond-Home-Staging.
Don’t forget about curb appeal
An effective on-line tour will start at the curb and follow the route a homebuyer and his or her agent would take to enter and tour the home.
This means that how your home appears from the curb, the experience offered as the potential buyer navigates to the front door, is critical.
Clean up and spruce up the landscaping between the curb and the front door. Get rid of debris and kid and pet toys (and poop). Then turn your attention to what’s planted in the landscape. Yank dead or dying plants and then prune and fertilize what’s left.
Consider purchasing flowering plants or those with colorful foliage, such as caladium. The color will pop when it’s photographed. Finally, spread fresh mulch in the planting beds.
How’s the porch looking? The front door is an often-overlooked aspect of a home’s curb appeal (or lack thereof) so consider giving it a fresh coat of paint. Don’t shy away from using a bold color, if it coordinates with the home’s color. Consider a vibrant red or better yet, black. Plus don’t forget to replace that outside light fixture.
Back to painting the door, a recent study conducted by online listing portal Zillow.com, found that “houses with black or charcoal gray front doors sold for as much as $6,271 more than expected,” according to Julia Glum at Money.com.
If there is room on the porch, consider adding pots of colorful flowers or stately potted evergreens.
When you’re finished, take an experimental photo or video tour of the home. Start at the curb, go up to the front door, open it, enter the home and then tour it, with the camera operating. Pretend you are an interested buyer.
When it’s complete, watch the video, with an eye toward anything that may look out of place, any areas that appear cluttered or any other changes you can make to wow a potential buyer.
We’d love to view your video with you and offer tips for making your home the belle of the video-tour world. So send us a link at info@SaengerGroup.com.
