You may love your home, but that doesn’t mean that everyone coming through the door will feel the same way. What may be “charming” to the seller may seem off-putting to a prospective buyer. Many sellers attempt to stage their home themselves and, in doing so, create mistakes that can actually sidetrack the sale of their homes.

Your home may be decorated is a manner that is common in the Brandywine Valley area; however, we have many relocation buyers coming from other parts of the country.  To make your home desirable to different types of buyers, keep decorating as neutral as possible.

Here are some of the biggest staging mistakes, according to professional homestagers.

1. Getting too personal: Home staging is meant to create a neutral canvas that will appeal to the majority of buyers. Staging is all about depersonalizing the space, and creating more of a luxury hotel or a model home look that will appeal to almost everyone. Put away your family photos and sports memorabilia.  Pack up your collections of figurines, model cars, stuffed animals, etc.

2. Using dark colors: If painting, you should choose a nice, neutral and warm color, such as beige tones, grey tones, or light blue or pale greens. You’ll be amazed at the transformation a few coats of fresh paint will make on your home.

3. Not taking advantage of natural light: People love natural light, so blocking off any light with heavy curtains or furniture can hurt your sale, especially if the home has attractive views. Anything dated in a home is a turn-off to a potential buyer and window treatments are one of them.

4. Thinking more is better: Scale down your furniture. The size of the furniture needs to be in balance with the scale of the room and the other furniture in it. Remember that the purpose of furniture when selling a home is to define the purpose of the room and to show what will fit where. It is not meant to show that you can provide seating for 15 in your living room and every seat has a side table to rest drinks on.

5. Leaving pets at home: You need to remove all traces of animals from the house and make sure your pets away during showings. Make sure feeding bowls and litter boxes are clean and out of sight.  Having a pet could discourage a sale before someone even steps into a house.

6. Neglecting the outside: People care about the outside space just as much as the inside. Add flowers in the beds or in decorative pots.  Make sure the lawn is mowed and the yard is tidy.  There are good landscapers in the Brandwine Valley area who you can hire to manicure your yard.

7. Only dealing with main rooms: People are quick to stage living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms, but forget to spruce up the garage, basement and closets as well.  Take time to make these spaces as clean and neutral as possible; decluttering will make them appear larger and add value to your property.

8. Forgetting fixtures: When staging a home, it’s important to ensure all lights are burning with fresh bulbs, and that all fixtures are working.

Remember, staging a home means showcasing the property’s many features, not concealing its flaws. Make sure your house is in good condition and use staging to cast the home in the best light.

 

• Beth Alois and Jim DeFrank can be reached at 610-388-3700.  Prudential Fox and Roach, REALTORS is an independently owned and operated broker member of BRER Affiliates LLC. Prudential, the Prudential logo and the Rock symbol are registered service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Used under license with no other affiliation with Prudential. Equal Housing Opportunity.