Staging for Buyers

Why is staging your home to sell a vital step to take? Much like cleaning up a home’s curb appeal to appeal to buyers, staging can position your house to sell faster and for a higher price than it might otherwise. By staging your home, you will present your home in the best light.

There are a couple of vital keys to remember when staging.  

First, decorate the home to appeal to the buyer, not to appeal to you. Look at your house from the viewpoint of a buyer. How might they see the home? Set aside your decorating and aesthetic preferences to create an inviting space geared toward wowing potential buyers. 

Secondly, stage for the proper generation of buyers. Is your house geared towards Baby Boomers, who are looking to downsize, or is your home geared towards the younger generation of Millennials looking to upgrade from their first house or buy for the first time. The younger generation of home buyers also may be more willing to buy a home that needs some upgrading or renovations. 

If you are marketing to the younger generation, work with a stager that knows the style of younger buyers. Don’t stage for yourself… stage for the generation buying your home. 

Staging Tips

Stage a house to allow buyers to imagine themselves living in it. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Declutter: Rather than hiding clutter in a closet, box it up, and put it into storage. Clutter creates a smaller feeling house. Stagers also suggest having less furniture to make your house appeal to more buyers by making it look bigger. 
• Lighting: Create a bright and warm environment with lighting. Utilize natural lighting by opening your blinds and updating light fixtures. A simple solution is increasing the wattage in your lamps and fixtures. 
• Paint: A helpful tip from HGTV states that “to make a room appear to be bigger than it is, paint it the same color as the adjacent room. If you have a small kitchen and dining room, a seamless look will make both rooms feel like one big space.” Along with this, paint with fresh neutral colors. Bold colors can reduce offers. 
• Odd Number of Accessories: Accessories can create a more inviting room. For a pleasing look, stick with odd numbers, three is a good amount. 
• Make Every Space Functional: If you have an empty space at the end of a hallway or stairs, create a small reading nook or desk space. Make awkward spaces functional. 
• Curb Appeal: Don’t forget the curb appeal because if you neglect the outside, then you won’t attract buyers to the inside. 
• Finishing Touches: Add finishing touches of fresh flowers, folded towels, a bowl of fresh fruit, or fresh baked cookies!

I have extensive experience in staging and I work with my clients to ensure their home sells for the best possible price. I’d be happy to work with you to find a stager who can help make your home as appealing as possible. Contact me at: (928) 830-6976

Want to boost the value of your home but don’t have the budget for a significant renovation? Don’t worry; many home improvements can increase your home’s value that don’t require tons of money.

However, when making your home improvements, it is vital to ask yourself, “Will I recoup the money I invested when I sell the home?” The best renovations not only cover their costs, but they will boost your home’s value and provide you with an excellent return. Of course, the key is identifying home improvements that will deliver the most significant return for the least investment.

Here are renovation projects that are both easy and inexpensive ways to dial up your home’s appeal and value:

Paint the front door: You might not have the budget for a complete exterior paint job, and that is okay, but have you looked at your front door lately? It’s a focal point from the street, and if it’s looking weathered, updating it with a fresh coat of semi-gloss paint will improve its appearance and impact your curb appeal. If you have more room in your budget, consider replacing the door entirely.

Paint the foyer/entryway: Interior paint is a noticeable improvement, but you don’t have to make it an all-or-none proposition. Where do people enter your home? Like the front door, your point of entry is the first impression of the inside of your home. Refresh the point of entry of your home and make it look brand new.

Change light fixtures and switch plates: You probably don’t notice your light fixtures anymore, but buyers will. Swapping out the fixtures and modernizing the look go a long way. The same goes for switch plates; replace the old (and possibly dirty) with fresh new stylish ones.

Upgrade kitchen and bath fixtures: Do you need a new sink or a fresh faucet? It’s incredible how much a deluxe kitchen faucet upgrade can change perceptions of a kitchen. The same goes for the bathrooms: Faucets and even a new toilet can do wonders. Along with this, a detail that often gets overlooked is doorknobs. Replace old doorknobs on kitchen cabinets or anywhere around your home for a fresh and simple upgrade.

Garden upgrades: Fresh borders on your flower gardens, new flowers, and fresh mulch are small touches that refresh a home’s exterior. Remember that simple lawn maintenance can pay off in the end. According to the National Association of Realtors, it is believed that “the cost of maintaining your lawn is only about $330. In exchange, you can recover a value of 303% or $1,000 from this basic fix, according to the National Association of Realtors” (CheatSheet).

Clean Carpets: Having a professional clean your carpets is an inexpensive investment to update your home and make it feel cleaner quickly. It is often suggested not to replace wall-to-wall carpeting before selling your home, because homeowners like choosing their carpeting. Therefore, cleaning is the best option to create a clean feeling environment.

Do you want a second pair of eyes to advise you on your remodeling, big or small? I am happy to help you make a checklist to prepare your home for sale. Give the Plane Team a call today: (928) 830-6976

The dream of owning a home is about more than just having a stable place to live. It is also about building wealth and creating financial security for the future.  With careful planning and execution, owning a home can be a reality.

Owning a home can provide several advantages when it comes to wealth building. First, homeowners typically build equity in their homes as they make mortgage payments and the property’s value appreciates. In addition, owning a home can provide stability and security in retirement. Homeowners can use the equity in their home to supplement their income in retirement or even to pay off their mortgage, freeing up additional funds for other expenses.

The idea of home equity is pretty basic: You purchase a home and pay it down while hoping the home’s value increases over time. As you go, you build what’s called “equity.”

What is Equity

Definition of Equity is “the market value of a homeowner’s unencumbered interest in their real property—that is, the sum of the home’s fair market value and the outstanding balance of all liens on the property.” If you were to sell your home and pay off the mortgage’s balance (and any other debts, such as home equity credit lines or liens), the cash you would have leftover is your equity.

As you’ve probably noted, your home equity position’s most significant variable is the home’s actual market value. Many factors can influence your home’s value, including the market demand for homes in your area, local amenities, schools, your home’s particular features, upgrades you’ve made, condition issues, and quite a bit more. So how can you tell your equity position?

First, you need to know what you owe on your home. Finding the amount owed is as simple as checking your mortgage statement to see your principal balance. This number can differ slightly from your actual payoff amount due to closing dates, interest, and other issues determined during the sale. Your principal balance is the number you need to know for this calculation. If you have any other debt on the home, you need to add the value of this debt to the principal balance (this might include credit lines, liens, or second mortgages.)

How To Get Home Value

Next, you need to know the value of your home. Zillow and Trulia sites use “automated valuation models” to give you an approximate home value. These models are generally not very accurate regarding your home’s value as they exclude many crucial factors. Often, they come in quite a bit higher. They can, however, give you an idea of general changing trends in your market over time.

Hiring an appraiser is one way to determine your home’s value from a more bank-like perspective. While an actual sale may be above the appraisal, this thorough, conservative option is an excellent way to go. The downside? You may have to pay up to $500 for the assessment.

Accuracy Counts

Knowing the correct value of your home is crucial when it comes to selling your home. Having a home priced correctly is one of the number one reasons homes sell fast. On the flip side, a too-high home price can cause the house to sit on the market too long. The right price is vital. Get in touch with me today if you want to get an accurate value of your home.

Dena and Dave Plane