How to Dazzle Prospective Buyers at Your Open House

Preparing your home for sale is an emotionally and physically draining process. The list of duties can seem endless. You want to do everything to the best of your ability to keep the process as simple and fast as possible. That isn't as easy as it sounds, however.

One of the hardest parts of selling your home is prepping it for an open house. Knowing the most efficient ways to declutter and depersonalize your home so prospective buyers can really picture themselves living in it is very tricky.

Most homeowners have put a lot of time and effort into their décor. It is hard to understand why all those personal touches, no matter how classy or expensive, must be removed. The point of depersonalizing is to make a home neutral so others can imagine their own personal touches.

Your Realtor Is Your Best Friend

Your best chance at changing your home into something prospective buyers immediately fall in love with is your real estate agent. Real estate agents know what type of people shop in your market and they know what they are looking for. A real estate agent is trained to look at your home as an outsider. They are completely objective and hold no sentimental feelings for it. This allows them to guide you toward your best staging options to entice buyers.

Decluttering Isn't as Hard as You Think

Decluttering is not America's favorite pastime; in fact, it ranks right up there with doing the dishes. The key is to start small, so begin by throwing away all garbage. Use a large laundry basket to gather all the things that can be put away. Use another basket to gather things that need to be stored, fixed, or donated. Categorizing the things you pick up from a room makes it easier to tackle the job as a whole. Baby steps eventually complete the job.

Pare Down the Furniture

Too much furniture in a home is a detriment. Filling up a room with lots of furniture will make it look smaller. A little-known tip is to remove at least half and as much as three-quarters of the furniture. Leave only the major pieces; the idea is to place furniture in a way that accentuates the architecture of the home. Arrange the furniture to make the room look spacious.

Walls Can be a Wall to Your Home Sale

Some people love wallpaper — but other people hate it. When prepping your home for photos or an open house, it is important that your walls be as neutral as possible. It is particularly difficult for people to see past patterns, textures, and colors on such a large scale.

Remove all wallpaper and bold colors from your walls. Replace it with a neutral color of paint. White, gray, and highly faded shades of blush mauve work well.

Artwork, Knick-Knacks, and Collections Are Put to Bed

Your home is decorated in your personal style. No one else likes the exact same things as you do; things you might find amusing, beautiful, or classy can strike someone else in the complete opposite. Depersonalizing your home means taking down most of the décor items.

Religious items, sports teams, nude artwork, taxidermy, and posters in a teen's room can be offensive to some people. Even family photos and signed memorabilia can be a distraction to a potential buyer. Here is another area your real estate agent can help in. Run all décor by your agent to ensure it fits the look you're going for. Even clocks and mirrors.

Getting your home ready to sell doesn't have to be such a harrowing experience. Take a deep breath and relax. Your realtor is there to help you with everything to get your home sold fast. Before you know it, you'll be saying goodbye to the old and hello to your new digs.

Alice Robertson

 Tidyhome.info

alice@tidyhome.info