Preparing a home to go on the market takes a lot of work! I have prepared a list of some of the things that we as stagers let our clients know BEFORE they put their home on the market. As I learned today-- it is the buyer who determines the value of the house.
1. Curb Appeal. This is the make it or break it deal. People determine within the first five minutes whether or not they are going to buy the home. Make sure the flower beds are weeded, add seasonal, colorful plants and flowers, replace address numbers or buy some if they are not obivious, make sure doorbell works, if there is a questionable screen door, get rid of it, paint mailbox, sweep front porch, clear out cobwebs, buy a new attractive welcome mat, put a wreath on the front door, paint or replace the front door, paint shutters, paint garage door, hide garbage pails, make sure all outdoor lights are working properly, make sure lamppost light is working properly; same for the front porch light, do any weeding, rake, mow the lawn.
2. Front entry. Air out the home for a few minutes. Any area rugs should be big enough to hold at least 3 people, if not, remove. Have a place for people to put wet umbrellas, boots, coats,etc. Turn on any lights in the entryway.Clean out coat closet. Get everything off the floor in the closet. Wash the floor or vacuum the entryway. Vacuum any carpeted stairs that lead to a second floor.
3. Living Room. Turn on all the lights, DECLUTTER, declutter, declutter, dust the furniture, clean the tops of any ceiling fans blades, wash the windows inside and out, vacuum, have a stager come in and rearrange the furniture and accessories in order to show the rooms at their best, air out the room for a few minutes, put away all valuables, hide the TV for the open house, close any amoire doors, entertainment center doors, etc, paint(here again a stager can be valuable. We know color and can pick out a color that should appeal to everyone and make the rooms feel light, and airy. Take down any family photographs, religious objects, weapons.
4. Kitchen. Remove any unneeded applicances from the counter, turn on all the lights, paint, remove wallpaper,clean off the outside of the refrigerator and dishwasher, wash floors, remove any area rugs, hide the fact you have pets and trash, clean out drawers and rearrange nicely, clean out under the sink, make sure the stove fan and light work, keep only 4 dining room chairs in the area and store the rest, organize pantry, remove all traces of food odors, pet odors, clean off all appliances, the top of the refrigerator, clean the inside of the refrigerator, dust, do dishes, remove and store any unnecessary extra dishes or cookware, clean off the stove hood, clean under the stovehood, play some soft music. Studies have shown that the best music to play during an open house is soft jazz.
5. Bathrooms. Wash all surfaces, close lid on toilet, turn on all lights, make sure grout is clean and caulked. Remove the medicine cabinet, add some greenery (again, this is where a stager comes in handy. We tend to all these things). Repair any broken tiles, make sure there are no leaky faucets, get rid of any lingering odors, put all stuff away on the bathtub like candles, toys, shampoos, etc. Get rid of things on the sink itself and just put some nice flowers. Replace shower curtain and liner, repaint, get rid of area rugs, vacuum the floor if there is wall to wall carpet in bathroom( a big NO NO by the way). Clean off sink stopper. You would be surprised out grungy and smelly those get.
6. Bedrooms. Turn on all the lights, hide the toys, remove any TVs, repaint, dust, vacuum, wash windows, make the bed, change the sheets, clean out the closets, get everything off the floor, turn on some soft music, clean out under the bed, get rid of dirty diaper smell if there is a nursery, clean off dresser tops, nightstands, make sure window treatment are open, remove any extra furniture, use attractive bedspreads, use fresh, clean window treatments, have stager rearrange room.
7. Basements. Brighten dull basement walls by painting and adding brighter light bulbs, paint steps, make sure handle rail is firmly secure to wall, remove any pictures on landing, remove rugs at the bottom of the stairs, use a dehumidifier if needed, open any windows and air out the basement, remove excess furniture, declutter, make space look and feel as big and bright as possible, remove cobwebs, wash floors, paint the floor if it is cement, clean out store rooms of extra stuff, arrange things neatly on shelves and keep stuff off the floor.
8. Backyard. Clean out the garage, shed, etc. Remove childrens' ride on toys, garbage pails, any recycling bins, remove any boats, cars, off the premises during the open house, clean out pool, mow the lawn, wed the garden, add any extra grass seed before the open house so that grass has a chance to grow and fill in bare spots, repaint the house, pressure wash the house, repaint the deck. have stager stage the patio or deck, put out colorful plants, remove any pets during the open house, trim any trees or bushes, clean out gutters, window wells, add mulch if needed, paint wooden swingsets, clean out birdbaths, remove traces of bird doo doo, put away any hoses, extra lawn furniture or equipment, clean off lawn furniture, sweep the deck or patio, remove any unneeded awnings, wash windows, remove wind chimes, hose off the air conditioner, remove any toys in the pool.
These are just some of the things that need to be done to get the home ready for the market. As you can see, stagers make it easier to do this job because we know how to package the home to show its best features, we can arrange the furniture and help with picking out colors for the home that will appeal to the greatest amount of people, we will give you checklists like this to make your move easier, as stagers it is our job to see that your home out sells the competition and we do this just by staging the home. It is move in ready and the sellers can relax knowing that they have done everything to ensure their house is and looks the best.