What Not to do When Selling Your Home

The "Uninvited Stager" Saturday Series

This morning I happened upon a home for sale where with every picture a potential buyer would be increasingly turned off - and would not have even gone through the entire set.  I could have swooped in and changed the entire look of the home in 4 hours.  But, sadly, I was not consulted!

Same old story - remove the clutter! This is actually a nice kitchen but it's so uninviting. I always tell realtors that if they want to sell a homeseller on the concept of staging and how it improves the saleability and the look of the home - I tell them to 1) Take a picture of the kitchen "as is" and then 2) bring a box (or 2 or 3!) and, with the owners permission, remove the magnets and the clutter. 3) Take a picture of the kitchen uncluttered.  Show the seller both pics on your laptop and ask them which one looks better.  It really works - try it.

To add insult to injury, there is another picture of the kitchen!  More clutter. You can also see the realtor's camera case on the table.  Oh boy.

Nothing appealing here.  Love the mini moose heads! And that light fixture!  Looks like it is coming to attack the photographer!

In case you didn't see the mini moose heads and the light fixture...here's another view! Oh - and take your shoes off.  We may have clutter, but we keep our floors clean - except for maybe the dog hair.

We're so busy praying for a buyer that we didn't have enough time to make the bed.  Oh - and there's no room for nightstands...sorry.



We're really praying - two crosses. What day is today?  Oh maybe the day to put the old sofa on craigslist to make the Master bedroom seem a lot roomier.

No - we did't make any of beds...why should we? We're too busy watching TV on our "too big for the room" plasma television.

In case you didn't get the whole view of the room - here it is.  What day is today?  The day to get a new window treatment.

Yes - we have 3 bedrooms in this house. But we don't even bother to center the bed or put bedding on.  And - we are still praying (but shorter prayers) for a buyer!

No - the person doesn't come with the house.

Neither does the realtor! But for a few extra bucks we'll throw in the hair curler, toiletries and the lovely hair band where the towel should be! Oh - the vanity cabinets don't close all the way - sorry.

We don't have enough room for a home gym, but you can do pull-ups on this shelf!

So...this is obviously extreme, but with some minor changes and decluttering this house would have shown so much better. You can tell that the house is nice - but a potential buyer would have given up after the first few photos.  Don't let that happen to your home or listing.  Hire a competant home stager - or put in a day or two of work and declutter, make the beds, put the toiletries away, close the toilet lids and consider hiring a photographer to take professional photos.

If you would like some help selling your home, please give me a call at 631 793-1315.  If you are in the NYC or Long Island area and you would like to have me do a Free Staging Presentation at your real estate office, just email me at Linda.Leyble@gmail.com or call!