Author: Shirley Martin
So the time has come to stage your property for open houses. If you’re new to the process, you might be wondering where to begin – there are all kinds of decluttering, depersonalizing, decorating, and deliberating ahead of you. Here are a few tips for getting started.
Organizing
Good organizational sense is key to the process of staging a home. If you’re starting from scratch, it’s important to know exactly what needs to go, what needs to stay, when, how, and where. The more organized you can be, the easier and more efficient the undertaking. Start by dividing your home into individual rooms and, if possible, itemize your possessions digitally so you can track which boxes went into storage, remained, etc. If you have a large home and many possessions, it may even be worth looking into professional home staging agencies to help bring some order to the process.
There are now plenty of apps and software for home organization, cleaning, and decluttering. It’s often worth downloading one of these ahead of time to help give you a clearer overview when things get messy.
Decluttering
Decluttering is the process of creating as much space as possible to help create an attractive aesthetic and help buyers envisage themselves living in the property. This step often involves cleaning out closets, wardrobes, shelves, countertops, and the storage of any luxury items including (but not limited to) kids’ toys, TV remotes and electronics, family heirlooms, cooking utensils, and more.
Decluttering isn’t just about putting items away, though. You should also take the time to clean surfaces, hoover thoroughly, replace bulbs, and put sheets/fabrics through a wash cycle.
Depersonalizing
Depersonalizing refers to the measures we take to neutralize and remove all personal tastes from the property to improve its appeal to buyers. As well as removing personal items like photos and other possessions, this can also involve some more extensive courses of action – if you need to replace ugly wall patterns, for example, you might want to consider peel-and-stick wallpaper, which has adhesive backing for easy application. This peel and stick wallpaper is removable and repositionable, meaning there won’t be any leftover residue. It’s even possible to choose from a huge variety of unique designs or upload your own custom request in order to guarantee total neutrality.
As well as visuals, you should also consider scents. Sometimes, the residual smells of a life spent in the property are invisible to the seller – open windows, air out cushions (especially if you smoked cigarettes in the area), and invest in a few neutral-looking flowers to help give the place a fresher, cleaner aroma.
Refining
Once you’ve decluttered and depersonalized, there’s almost always some extra work required. Make sure you’ve gone around the house and assessed any areas that could be letting the image down – often, simple tasks such as sweeping leaves, painting window frames, or cleaning ovens can make a huge difference to the overall appeal of the property and will only take you an afternoon to fix.
Preparing your home for open houses and showings can be quick and easy or long-winded and stressful depending on the size of the property and the magnitude of the undertaking. To ensure the easiest process, make sure you plan carefully and don’t be afraid to bring in professionals whenever they’re needed.
Whether you are looking to buy, sell or rent, Caribhomes, in collaboration with our partners, gives you access to proficient and reliable services to ensure that you can find the support and professional advice for all your Real Estate needs in one place. Learn more about our services, at: www.carib-homes.com
