Check walls for any cracks and holes and fix these. Some cracks may be foundational so consult an expert just in case.
Paint some walls if required. Warm, neutral colours are a good mixture of generally appealing and easy-to-imagine replacing. Consider colours such as soft or grey blues, beige, or pale greens. The key to achieving your goal of selling a property requires a subtle touch, in this instance expressed through subtle colours.Arrange lighting - a buyer won't be interested if they can't see the property easily, so you now need to light everything up. The best way to ensure the property is sufficiently lit is to simply open all curtains and blinds. If this isn't enough to illuminate the home, add artificial lighting where necessary. At minimum check that all lights around the property are on working order.
Assess the view from all windows - now it is time to judge the view out of each of your windows; no home staging guide would be complete without a fitting backdrop after all. Take note of windows looking out onto sights such as:
You might consider using frosting film to block the unsightly view whilst keeping all of the natural light still coming in. Don't worry about potentially changing your mind later on as this can be removed without damage to the glass.
Check the floors - some wooden floors must be replaced if damaged or permanently stained. This doesn't have to be a huge hit on your finances, however. Instead of re-doing the entire floor, locate damaged boards, cut them out and then fit replacements. Next sand the entire floor (renting a sander will save a huge amount of time and effort) and finally stain the entire surface. Although the desired tone may depend on your decor, generally a dark, rich tone won't go amiss.
Stick to a colour scheme - by keeping to a colour scheme in line with your warm, neutral walls you can create a feel of consistency and permanence to reassure buyers. Neutral colours again tend to work best, unless the property is specifically aimed at a certain lifestyle (for example, more earthen colours can accentuate a home's natural feel if, say, specializing in self-sustainability). You can add splashes of colour in your rooms to keep them interesting.
Organise each room to serve one purpose - by arranging each room to serve one purpose, you can easily and immediately demonstrate that use to a buyer; there is no confusion in their mind. The aim is to avoid over-cluttering each room but also to utilize your space as much as possible. By keeping to one purpose per room, you prevent yourself from bombarding the potential buyer. They will, in turn, find it easier to imagine whatever they wish to do in a specific room.
Add headboards to beds - sometimes doing as little as adding a headboard can frame the entire room in a better light; now is the time to do exactly this.
Go "green" - a buzz-word among realtors, the property can be easily spiced up by "going green". Whilst this can obviously mean putting plants around the home, it can also be used to describe decorating with recycled objects. By finding places to put fresh flowers around the property, buyers will be given an impression of the property's "personality". This can boost the price whether or not the decorations are included in the sale.
Kitchen:
Check the benchtops - the kitchen is a focal point of almost any sale, and any decent home staging, so you need to deal with the surfaces covering most of the room. This can be done in several ways, depending on the type and condition of your benchtops. If your tops are either too damaged, stained or old to compete in the market, consider upgrading your countertop to a higher-grade material; any money spent will easily return its value. If you have wooden tops, they can be revived by either painting or staining. This is vastly cheaper than replacing the whole unit and (as long as the stain is applied in the direction of the grain) just as good. As with wooden floors, first sand and then apply your paint or stain. Most other benchtop materials such as plastic laminate or stainless steel will simply deep cleaning.
Consider appliances - once again, all money invested in the kitchen will easily return its value and upgrading the appliances is no exception. Ensure all appliances are in good working order as this can easily affect the sale of the property. This includes the oven, fridge/freezer, if this is included in the sale, stove, microwave, dishwasher, garbage disposal and smoke detectors.
Bathrooms:
Check the plumbing - at the very least you need to ensure that the sink and bathing facilities are working in full; not blocked or leaking with squeaky or stiff taps. If the sink model is outdated or faulty, consider installing another one. If it is just blocked or a little rusty, clean it off and move on. Try to create a spa-like feel in the bathroom(s). This will not only help to further de-personalize the room but entice buyers into a relaxed and approachable mood.
You can achieve this by:
A successful bathroom sell can depend on the opinions and desires of the buyer, however, this spa approach can help cement the property in the viewer's mind as containing the suitable privacy and locations to retreat and relax.
