Potential buyers come to see how a house could be their home, not how they can fit into someone else’s home.
A house very quickly becomes your home. You add an armchair here and a plant and picture there and before you know it, your house has become a cosy place you call home.
When the time comes for you to sell, it’ll be difficult for you to see your home as anything else. This means it will also be difficult for potential buyers to see it as a place they can call home, unless you turn your home back into a house.
HERE’S A QUICK GUIDELINE FOR TURNING YOUR HOME INTO A HOUSE:
Clean everything up
Pack up all the itty-bitty things, ornaments, photos etc. Go around the house and pack anything that seems personal.
That family portrait you’ve had hanging by the fireplace for years and that flamboyant clock that was given to you as a gift, all the things that are flashy and has made this house your home will have to go.
Less is more
Think of display homes when you are staging the house. Something elegant and simple will make the house appear neutral and spacious rather than having it look overly personalised and cramped.
Take everything off tables and counter tops, except for one or two simple decorative items, such as a small pot plant and a book. Do some research online, looking at pictures of well styled houses for inspiration.
Of course, you could present the house completely empty, but the goal is to help potential buyers picture themselves living in it and statistics show that a well styled house sells better than an empty house.
Make it easier for potential buyers
On the day the house is opened for inspection, potential buyers are coming to see how this house could be their home and not how they could fit into someone else’s home.
This means the more neutral the décor is, the more the potential buyers can imagine how they could turn the house into their home. Avoid too many busy prints and opt for plain colours with a decorative throw, cushion or wall art.
The all-important first impression
Invest in professional photography once your house is prepared for sale. The marketing images will be where potential buyers first see the house and great photos are what brings people to the open inspection.
The exterior of your house is the first thing prospective buyers will see on the day of the open inspection. That first impression may determine whether they come in to explore your property further or move on to the next listing on their schedule.
Don’t forget to make sure you’ve got everything outside neat and tidy before photography and before the open inspections. There is no point improving the interior if no one comes in to see it.
If you would like some advice on preparing your property for sale, or referrals to great staging businesses, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Kathryn Dean
Dean Family Real Estate
RLA290388
CONNECT WITH KATHRYN:
Facebook:
Dean Family Real Estate
Instagram:
@dean_family_real_estate
Website:
www.dfre.com.au
Phone: 0414 838 405
Email: kathryn@dfre.com.au
ABOUT KATHRYN DEAN
Kathryn Dean is the owner and Registered Land Agent of Dean Family Real Estate, a local, boutique agency in the north eastern suburbs of Adelaide. Kathryn works from her home office to keep overheads down, as she is on a mission to provide exceptional real estate services at a reasonable price.
A country girl at heart, Kathryn comes from a family of farmers, and although she didn’t live on a farm herself, she spent nearly all her school holidays at family farms when growing up. Originally from the western suburbs of Adelaide, she moved to the north east after meeting her now husband, thirteen years ago.
When not hard at work, you will find her enjoying time with her husband and two daughters, maybe at the beach, or out in nature somewhere, or cooking up a storm in the kitchen.