Selling your home is one of the most important and detailed decisions that you will ever make because there is so much at stake. Your home is one of the biggest – if not THE biggest – investments that you make and when you sell it, it’s critical to get the highest return from that sale. One way to do this if you live in Richmond, CA is by staging your home to appeal to the most buyers in the Richmond market. Here are some tips for you to consider:
Create a blank slate
Many home stagers start with recommending that homeowners reduce wall art and knick knacks by at least half. This results in two positives: 1) it makes the area seem more spacious and 2) it allows the potential buyers to picture their items in the space and dream of how they would use it. Clutter makes it look like you don’t have enough storage or counter space (especially in a kitchen) which evokes a negative feeling. Less is more when you want to appeal to buyers in the Richmond market!
Clean from top to bottom
Get rid of dust bunnies under the couch, scrub behind the toilet, and vacuum those crumbs out of the kitchen drawers (yes, buyers open everything!). Would you want to move into a home that was dirty? Neither do your clients. It might even be to your advantage to hire a cleaning company to do this hard work for you. After the job is done, also invest in fresh smelling air fresheners to keep the vibe going.
Paint
Scuffed baseboards, smudged stair railings, holes in the walls from the pictures you took down during decluttering… all of these minor details need a fresh coat of paint. And if you have an accent wall painted red, purple, or actually any color, chances are you should paint that, too. Your favorite color may not be your potential buyer’s. Stick to neutrals in a warm tan or cool white. Let’s also take a moment to appreciate the smell of fresh paint; while it’s not going to be the next scent from Air Wick, it does convey freshness, cleanliness, and a new start… just what appeals to buyers in the Richmond market.
Out with the old
I love my toaster oven. It sits on my kitchen counter and my kids love to make toast, quesadillas, and frozen pizza in it. It’s even an air fryer! I think we use this appliance just about every day… and it looks like it. No matter how much I scrub it or how many foil liners I put in the bottom tray, it’s never going to look like it’s sparkling new. If I were to put my home on the market today, it would be wise to hide this object away (along with those sad stained and smooshed couch pillows, frayed floor rugs, and chipped picture frames). Anything that doesn’t look new or clean, put it away to appeal to buyers in the Richmond market. (This is also a great way to start packing!).
Have you walked through a model home lately? This is a great way to think about staging your home. Take a Saturday and dream what you want your next home to look like and take notes for how they staged these properties. Think about wall colors, furniture placement, wall decor, and how the shelves and countertops are styled. They spend big bucks to appeal to the majority so they know what they’re doing. Then go home and see where you can fix up your home.
First impressions matter
I just saw a newly listed home and the outside was just sad. The paint was peeling, the lawn was more weeds than grass, and the front door looked about as welcoming as my mother-in-law the day she met me and thought I was taking her son away from her. From just that first impression, I would have kept on driving (I’m talking about the house, or maybe my mother-in-law? Wait, what?). Fortunately, I kept on clicking to see more home pictures and the inside was just gorgeous! The floors were beautiful dark wood, the open concept was amazing, and the kitchen was a cook’s dream. If I was driving by and saw just the For Sale sign, I never would have taken a second look. I wonder how many MORE potential buyers they could have if they would have spent the same amount of attention on the outside as they did the inside. Remember, more offers mean the chance for a higher price or less potential contingencies for you!
How does your lawn look? Does your front door need a fresh coat of paint? Does your mulch look more like a sad comb over than a full head of hair? When people drive by, does your home say, “Come on it!” or “Keep on driving! Nothing to see here!”? Small tweaks mean a lot when you want to appeal to buyers in the Richmond market.
Have you noticed something in this list about appealing to buyers in the Richmond market? It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to get a good return! Elbow grease, packing or donating excess or well used items, paint, and weeding can go far to update your home for sale.
Are you ready or even just thinking about putting your home on the market? Give the Rick Fuller Team a call today at (888) 950-RICK. We’ll give you detailed advice about your unique home to appeal to buyers in the Richmond market and we’ll talk about pricing your home right, what the process of listing your home looks like, and what you can expect in this season. We also partner with reputable lenders, stagers, landscapers, and more to help you every step of the way. Now is a great time to sell! Call us today to discuss how to put your home on the market and how we can create a smooth transition into your new home.
