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HOUSE APPEAL A LITTLE DECLUTTERING, REARRANGING AND SPRUCING CAN HELP WIN OVER BUYERS March 17, 2001 REAL ESTATE WEEKLY Houses are filled with objects we love and treasure. Look in just about every home and you'll find a shelf stuffed with favorite books, a mantel loaded with trinkets or a wall covered in family photos. But when it comes time to sell a house, those items we cherish may look like just plain clutter to prospective buyers. In today's market, curb appeal goes a long way. Creating an ideal home for buyers can be as simple as painting the walls, rearranging furniture or clearing the countertops. Setting up your house to sell, or home staging, is not about remodeling or making your home look sterile. Home staging is the process of preparing a home for sale, regardless of price or location. Staging focuses on simple steps to make your home show like a model without spending a lot of money. "Staging your house to sell is like entering a beauty contest," said Brenda Rawls of Rose &Womble Realty. "And you want to look good and win the contest." Even though it's your home and you have to live there, it's a good idea to get used to the fact that your house is now a product. It has pluses and minuses, as well as competition. To be competitive, your house should be priced right and look better than the others. It's essential to present your house in the best possible light. Remember how you felt when looking for a home and how many you passed over because they didn't look good. "You have to look at your home with a buyers' eyes," Rawls said. "The house needs to be as perfect as you can afford it to be." Rawls said she knows fixing worn out items in a home, such as replacing carpet, can be costly, but repairing them before trying to sell a house will bring back more money in return and make for a faster sale. Jane and Matt Cicchinelli staged their Chesapeake house and it sold in five days. "I was surprised at the huge transformation in our house with only a few minor changes," Jane Cicchinelli said. "Everything looked great. It was like a brand new house." The Cicchinellis installed new carpet, steam-cleaned their upholstery, removed old wallpaper and painted some of the interior walls. Outside they spruced up their yard with a few more flowers and re-mulched. The total cost of their redecorating was around $2,000. In addition to freshening up the looks of their house, they decluttered by removing a shoe rack from the entryway, took out some overloaded bookshelves and put an extra love seat in storage. They also went through the house and packed up items they were not using and put them in storage as well. "Most people buy a house with their emotions," said Cam Templeton of Prudential Decker Realty. "Having a house that looks nice and feels inviting helps the buyer make a decision they feel more comfortable with." Templeton helped the Cicchinellis stage their home. Jane Cicchinelli said the tips she gave them helped in selling their house for their asking price, $180,000. Daniel and Elizabeth Hebert also staged their Chesapeake home with the help of Templeton. The family did not have to do much more than clean and paint to get their house in top condition. "We did some major decluttering," Elizabeth Hebert said. "And I took down a lot of extra decorations on the walls." The Hebert's also removed objects off the cabinets, packed away excess toys and took down some of the wall decorations. Outside, they painted the trim, pulled out flower beds and mulched. They also shined all the brass fixtures, including the doorknobs and kickplate. "We cleaned like crazy," Hebert said. "And it paid off." |
