The Uninvited Stager Series

I found some interesting homes for sale this morning that will illustrate some common problems that sellers have when showing their homes for sale.  Very easy to fix...don't know why they still persist!  Always consult a home stager in your area when starting to market your home.  They will give you an unbiased opinion of your home because they don't have to tell you nice things that a potential realtor might say...because they are not making money from your listing!

Clutter: So easy to remedy this.  It would take me about a half hour to fix this room.

De-Clutter and Paint:  It would take 15 minutes to de-clutter this dining room and about a day to re-paint with a neutral color that will appeal to more buyers and will make the room look more spacious, light and airy. I would probably have chosen Carrington Beige (HC-93) from Benjamin Moore for this dining room.  It would help update it and make it a brighter room.  Here's a link to more suggestions from Benjamin Moore on great colors for home staging.

Cluttered and Too much Furniture in the Room:  This is a very spacious room but it looks smaller because of all the stuff in it.  There's no appeal at all in this photo. No care was taken to make this room warm and welcoming.  It says - "This is how we live...take it or leave it!"

Clutter, Clutter and more Clutter: This is a nice kitchen but you don't notice it...you notice "the stuff."

Below is a Competing Home's Kitchen:  Which would you prefer??

However...Once you looked around a bit in the above home, you'd find this...

So...this takes a few points off the house in terms of buyer magnetism. Always remove items that are just a bit too personal.  Deer heads are a big "No-No."

And along this line are decorating no-no's such as this: A different kind of clutter...

Below - I edited the amount of blue and white dishes (not perfectly!) but I think you can see that this would give you an impression that the kitchen is much larger and less cluttered!

These rooms (as seen on the online listing) feature just a little bit too much "blue and white."  Maybe some people will disagree with me (Do You?), but this type of decor in a house might put some people off.  It's a bit too cluttered - not like the kitchen clutter in the first grouping, but cluttered all the same.  This is decorative and very personalized clutter that will prevent the buyer from seeing the actual room.  They will only remember the blue and white items and NOT how clean and spacious the rooms were.

And...you should know that blue is one of those colors that people either love or hate.  So, you may be putting off half of the people who come to look (online or in person).  Try to tame your use of this color - or other very personalized color schemes. Also - this blue and white home might be saying to the buyers "Grandma lives here." That can be a nice, homey thing to some - but younger buyers (and even empty nesters) are looking for more modern decor in homes.

To recap...make sure that you clear your rooms of clutter (the ugly kind of day-to-day stuff and the decorative kind)...re-paint your rooms in lighter, neutral colors to make them brighter and more spacious.  And - reduce the use of very personalized colors and decorating schemes and...get rid of your deer heads!!

If you are having some difficulty selling you home and if you don't know if your home has any of the above issues, Contact Me, Linda

Happy Selling!!

The Uninvited Stager Series

Another "what's wrong with these photos" of homes for sale!

My friend and Arizona realtor, Leif Swanson, may have coined a new term...not sure.  He calls what disease sellers have who market their homes with no regard to the mess that they are displaying - Clutter Blindness!  I think that is a great term.  Leif has a great blog called Ugly House Photos, where he shows some funny but real homes for sale.  It's a veritable "what not do do" for home sellers.

It's one thing not to clean up and organize your home when family or friends are coming over - but to display a cluttered mess when your home is being marketed for sale...is just crazy.  Take a look at these photos - it would take maybe an hour or so to remove the items...and the cost $0.00!

And how about closing the cabinet doors!  Source, Ugly House Photos

Uncluttering might take 15 minutes to do?  Why didn't they do this? And, the photographer's flash should be off and should be taken from another angle.  Source, Ugly House Photos

Another no-no that I see all the time is "Taste Specific Decorating."  What is this?  It's when the seller has a decorating style that is highly personal.  It could be a color choice that is a bit bold or unusual - like blue or mauve colored cabinets (that I have just recently seen in two homes on Long Island) or the use of highly stylized fabrics, motifs, tile or furniture etc. This is fine when you are living in a home and enjoying it.  But when you are selling, you should play this down.  The photo below would look so much better with a colorful shower curtain - pulled back to reveal the shower (thereby increasing the perceived size of the room)...and some nice towels and a bath mat. And this angle?  What was the realtor/photographer thinking?

Welcome to the Bat Cave!  Source, Lovely Listing

The photo below shows the "Clutter Blindness" with "Taste Specific Decorating." I know - I am being a very cruel stager saying that this little girl's room should be neutralized.  But even if the clutter was at least corraled - it would look so much better.  Buyers can't always see that a room like this could be spacious.  All they see is the clutter. Clutter eats equity!

Here's another home for sale that is the victim of "Clutter Blindness" and "Taste Specific Decorating." How hard would it be to remove the mess and to buy a nice bedspread.  Not hard at all - and worth every penny.

Hog Heaven, courtesy of Ugly House Photos

So, don't fall victim to clutter.  Do something about it.  It's not hard, really.  It takes time, a few boxes and a magic marker to label what's in the boxes.  And if you don't know if you have a "Taste Specific Home," please call me at 631 793-1315 and I can tell you honestly if you do.  I will tell you what your realtor may be afraid to tell you!