10 steps closer to selling your house

The real estate market, ugh...if you are trying to sell.

Here's a suggestion from a real estate stager (me): If your house is on the market, take advantage of the slow-down in showings to do some extra prep.

Here are 10 ideas to get you going:

• Pack away your collections. Buyers want to see your house, not your hobbies. Give them a clear view by visually editing your space.
  
• While you're at it, pack away all personal photos. That's right, all of them. Buyers need to imagine themselves living in your house - not you and your family.
  
• Declutter your kitchen cabinets by packing away pots, pans and dishes you do not use often. Cluttered cabinets will give buyers the impression your kitchen is too small.
  
• Clean areas we overlook on a day-to-day basis, like under the kitchen sink. It's amazing how quickly we can accumulate dirt and spills. Leave this area clean and decluttered so buyers know they are looking at a well-cared for home.
  
• Tackle the linen closet by packing away items you don't absolutely need. Buyers need to know there's plenty of room for their blankets, towels and sheets. If your closet is overflowing, they will imagine theirs will be, too.
  
• Give the laundry room, including the washer and dryer, a good scrubbing. It's easy to overlook clutter and dirt in areas we are used to seeing every day.
  
• Now's the time to look at your bedroom closets and weed out items you aren't using and pack away out-of-season clothes to show the closets to their best advantage.
  
• Tackle the basement - or garage - or attic - or shed - or all of them! Pack, give away or sell what you don't need daily. And once you are done, don't allow anyone to refill them before the house goes on the market.
  
• Clean litter and debris from around the yard that might have accumulated over the winter.
  
• What to do with all you've decluttered? Hold a yard sale, sell items on craigslist, give away usable items to charitable organizations and toss what is no longer usable.

Real Estate Staging: Fireplace for sale; comes with house

Here's the thing about fireplaces when you're trying to sell your house. If you've got one, you've got to get it to jump up and down and scream: "I'm here!"

Cause everyone, and I mean everyone, loves a fireplace.

Here are a few tricks that I used to get a fireplace hopping at a home I staged for sale.

Notice how in the before photo, the print on the mantel blends in with the paint... but the darker star jumps out. The green plant in the corner draws your eye to that part of the room as well.

But, perhaps most importantly: the chaise portion of this sectional sofa, which stuck out in front of the fireplace is gone. (It's a little tougher to see in the top two photos, but look at the photo below and imagine the chaise jutting out in front of the fireplace.)

I moved the chaise to the master bedroom, where it helped create a luxurious feel in there. And the family room now looks bigger and you've got a clear view to that fireplace.... that fireplace that's going to help sell that house...

P.S.: Remember to enter my contest for a fun art project by leaving a comment on Saturday's post!

Real Estate Staging: Making room for family

Sounds like a few of you are planning to put your houses on the market soon, given the responses to a before-and-after of a real estate staging that I posted earlier this week.

So I thought I'd offer up another example. This time it's a family room in a house that I staged.

You can see in the before shot of one side of this family room, there were too many knickknacks displayed for a house that is for sale and there really was no focus.

In the after, the knickknacks are largely gone and the sofa takes center stage. The pillows add some visual warmth and the furniture arrangement really illustrates how this room is great for family time.

On the other side of the room, a bar was the focal point, basically breaking two rules for house staging: Put away your collections and don't feature alcohol.

Alcohol-related items, along with family photos and religious items, fall into the category of the personal and are better off packed away while your house is on the market.

Besides, this end of the room looks better with the table and chairs. It's a perfect place to sit to play a game of chess... or to write up an offer.

P.S.: Remember to enter my contest for a fun art project by leaving a comment on Saturday's post!

Real Estate Staging: Keep the kids; sell the house

Before you know it, summer will be over, kids will be back in school (where did that confetti come from? Did you throw that?) and the real estate market will start to wake up.

As a professional real estate stager, one question I get a lot is: How important is it to stage (rearrange furniture, accessories etc. to make a room more attractive to a buyer) children's bedrooms?

Here's my take on that. They are not the most important rooms in the house when it comes to staging, but there are some simple things you can do to make a good impression with buyers.

Put away (or get rid of) as many toys, clothes and kid stuff as possible. That way you give potential homebuyers an idea of how large the room is, what sort of shape the floor and walls are in, and how much closet space there is.

It's also a good idea to arrange the room to show off its best features.

Check out these two examples of children's rooms that I staged:

In this case, I placed the bed kitty corner. That takes up a bit more room, but it highlights the two windows. Who knows what the new homeowner will use the room for? Could be an office; could be a guest room. But hopefully the potential buyers will remember the nice windows when mulling over the house.

I also removed some of the furniture, leaving only what was absolutely necessary while the home was on the market.

I did much the same thing in the next child's room. Aren't you more drawn to the windows in the after photo?

And I recommended the homeowner stash the giant gorilla that is under the windows in the before photo... You want potential buyers to remember a bright and airy room...not a giant primate, you know, when you can help it.

P.S.: Remember to enter my contest for a fun art project by leaving a comment on Saturday's post!

Real Estate Staging: I'll take the door Carol Merrill is in front of

The mom of a child in my son's preschool was asking me today for a little advice for her parents who are trying to sell their house in this tough real estate market. She showed me a few photos, and for the most part they had done a wonderful job getting ready, particularly since they've lived in the house for 40 years.

Given how much stuff I can accumulate in the back of my car in a weekend, I can appreciate just how much furniture and accessories a household can wind up with over decades.

I did, however, suggest her folks remove just a few more pieces from the house.

Take a look at the before and after shots above of a dining room I staged not too long ago. The carpet and lighting fixture were updated, but the biggest impact, I think, comes from what is not there anymore.

The decorations are now simple and there are two fewer chairs (and a corner hutch you can see reflected in the mirror in the before photo).

The impression you are left with: A tidy, pretty space where you are more apt to notice the deck and yard outside.

Paring down is definitely worth it...even if it means putting items in storage for a while. You never know what will seal the deal for a potential buyer, and the impression of a large, breezy space might just do it.

Real Estate Staging: FSBO: Cozy house, no plumbing

Sold my house today. Yea, that's right, even in this market. Got multiple offers, too.

And it was a pretty small house, say 6 square feet, tops.

Ok...actually it was a Little Tikes firehouse, bought two years ago for my son, Jude. It had all sorts of cool features, a basketball hoop, soccer net, gas hose, cell phone. But, mostly what I liked about it: It was a house. It was something to decorate....at Halloween, a haunted house; at Christmas, with a wreath; in the summer, with a little flower garden.

My husband had his doubts from the start:

"Think he'll play with it?"
"Of course I will! I mean, he will."

So we plunked down cold hard credit card and brought it home.

Jude liked throwing mud at it. And climbing on the roof. (A recent exchange: "Off the roof, you'll break your neck." Jude: "Can I do it when you aren't looking?")

So I sold it, to make way for a swing set. No problem. Woman with twin 20-month-old boys is going to pick it up. She said the kids need fresh air. But I saw that look in her eye...

As you can tell, I'm an expert at selling homes (OK, I also stage real homes for a living), so here's a tip for making your house seem bigger.

Expand your living space by creating outdoor rooms. If you’ve got a deck, add a table and chairs, pillows, lemonade and glasses. If you’ve got a garden, tuck in a bench with a throw blanket on it.

If you’ve got a patio, add a few chaise lounges and magazines.

The message: Come on in. Have a seat. There’s plenty of room.