8 Style Tips For Selling your Home

Buying a home is typically the largest investment anyone makes in their lives and everyone, no matter their income or position in life, wants to get the most they can out of their investment. In turn of course sellers want showcase their home as a product worthy of the asking price with the goal of turning a profit. While you can not control the market, location, bed /bath number and square footage of the home you are listing ( without substantial investment and time ) there are ways to show your home to potential buyers in the best possible light . For this post I got together with Jessica Moody, real estate photographer and administrative manager at Hoadley Donohue Real Estate on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, to share insider secrets for showcasing your house, condo or loft to sell!

1. Let in light: Get as much natural light into your home as possible. Buyers want natural light. If you’ve got it in your home flaunt it, open curtains and show off all the windows etc… if not do what you can with the windows you have. Also use brighter, white bulbs in your light fixtures rather than low or warm lights that have a yellow hue.

2. De- clutter: This goes beyond the mandatory cleaning and tidying up. Objects around your home that seem practical and are part of your everyday routine may make your home look more “used” and messy to the outsider looking in. You don’t know the lifestyle or desired lifestyle of your prospective buyers, give people a blank slate with as little clutter as possible.

3. De- personalize: You want your prospective buyers to imagine their family, home and life in that space and identify with it as their future home. Overwhelming personal objects such a photos etc.. make it seem like someone else’s, unavailable, home and not theirs.

4. Implement color: You’d be surprised how a little color will brighten a place up and make it feel fresh and new. You don’t have to spend a ton of money or re-furnish your home, instead use fresh seasonal flowers, a vase or two, new throw pillows and blankets to adorn your rooms.

5. Organic staging: You can hire a professional to stage your home but you can do it yourself and it doesn’t need to be extravagant. A room that should definitely be staged is the dining room. Set up the dinner table with a nice table cloth or placemats, dinnerware and a center piece. Choose something demure, that compliments your room but nothing flashy where opposing taste has the chance of putting-off the potential buyer.

Appeal to the senses:

6. Smell: Up until this step we have been focusing on visually appealing to the client and its working, now go beyond and entice other senses! The sense of smell is a dominant mechanisms that draws our attraction to someone or something. Attract potential buyers by wafting pleasing aromas thought out the home like baking cookies, scented candles or fresheners etc. They are more likely to connect with your home if they are greeted by a pleasant aroma upon stepping inside your home. Stay away from scents that are allergen triggering like perfumes, burning incense etc..

7. Sound: Turn on light classical music to create a harmonious, inviting environment. It doesn’t need to be loud or obvious, just a faint sound to fill the emptiness of the home will give the potential buyer a richer experience.

8. Touch:
-Before potential buyers even step inside your home the first thing they put their hands on is your front door handle. A solid, heavy handle on door makes home seem safe and sturdy when they put their hands on it. They immediately identify the home as an safe place where they will be protected.

-Clean surfaces are clearly more appealing and desirable, going beyond that into materials, textures and fabrics that are pleasing to the touch make you home feel rich and high in quality.

Over all make it an experience. Half of the game is making your buyers remember your home. After countless open houses and tours you want potential buyers to remember a positive moment. It’s very likely after a long day they tell their real estate agent: “We liked the one that smelled like cookies” or “the one with the classical music playing” etc.. These are the moments of connection that draws buyers back to your home even if it has nothing to do with the actual structure.