Realestock Blog

So you've painted, repaired, cleaned and gardened to within an inch of your life – yet buyers are still underwhelmed with your castle. What do you have to do to get your home a little love? You might want to try staging your home.  A study by Coldwell Banker Realty found that homes that had been staged sold in just under half the time, and for over 5% more than homes that hadn't been.

Home staging can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. You can pay a professional, or you can follow this guide we've put together by consulting with professional home stagers. Start by assuming your house is cleaner than it’s ever been, and there are no minor repairs that need to be done.

• A critical friend who hates clutter
• Containers and boxes for storing extra possessions in
• A strong will
• Lots of Patience
• People to help you move furniture

Invite your critical friend over and tell them they don’t get a snack until you walk them though the house. Ask them to point out everything that they think is cluttering up your rooms and take notes. Observe where their eyes are drawn when they enter a room, what features they like best, and what puts them off. If they notice dirt, grime or little things that need to be fixed, make note to go back and take care of those spots.

Now that you know that your bookcases look overstuffed and your personal collection of vintage staplers is weird, you can start taking things out of your space. Don’t think of it as a chore either – think of it as pre-packing for your big move. Ditch family photos and personal brick-a-brack. Take your groaning stack of old magazines to be recycled and pack away all those extra shampoo bottles lining your bathtub.  Consider donating extra stuff you know you don’t really need (books you’ll never read again, unwanted Christmas gifts) and renting a storage locker for the things you do (out of season clothes, extra bedding, personal pictures, family heirlooms etc).  Getting rid of little things like fridge magnets, countertop appliances, figurines, and floor mats can make a room look much bigger and making your home impersonal works wonders because it helps buyers imagine they could live there.

Buyers are just like you. They have a mountain of stuff they’ll need to stash away once they’re in their new home. Take half the things out of your closets and neatly sort the rest. Invest in some storage boxes to hold little things and colour coordinate the rest. This way when buyers look in your linen closet (and you know they will), they’ll see a neat pile of linens, and not a mess of multicoloured beach towels jammed into every available inch of space.

Consider getting rid of some furniture. Yes, having an extra couch is great because of the kids and the dogs, but if getting rid of it makes the living room look much more airy and open – not to mention easier to get around, it should be a no brainer! If your basement is filled with shabby old furniture, it might make the whole room look shabby, even if it’s in good repair. Ditch the old stuff and put in more contemporary furniture. You can rent furniture, borrow from friends and family, or even move your furniture around within the house. Don’t forget pictures and artwork for the walls either – the house should look like someone lives there, but they don’t have a lot of stuff.

Rearrange your rooms to take advantage of your home’s best features. Move the sofa away from the bay window to let it give more impact – conversely move a bookcase in front of faded wallpaper. While these layouts might not be how you’re used to having your furniture, they’ll be the best for showing off your home’s assets and minimizing flaws.

Now that your house is de-personalized, de-cluttered and sparkling clean bring in some life. Fresh flowers can bring a big impact to a room and make it smell great. Open all the windows for at least 10 minutes the day of your open house to clear out the air. If your house still has some lingering personal odours, try baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies right before the showing! Buyers will smell the cookies and not your dog.

Turn on all the lights, open all the blinds and clean any last minute messes up.  Voila – your home is ready to knock people’s socks off.

Selling real estate can be a big headache. Finding a realtor, showing the house, entertaining offers… then worrying about taxes, fees and other administrative details can make the process seem far more complicated than it needs to be.  So, if you want to sell your home, doing your homework before you get onto the real estate listings can save you a lot of hard work and sleepless nights.

This might seem like a no brainer, but many people don’t do this. They forget to factor the costs of improvements or pre-sale repairs into their home’s value. Getting the property appraised, then comparing it to other, similar homes can be very helpful. If you’re not prepared to accept what similar properties have fetched, you might need to wait. Only you can decide how much you’re prepared to gain or lose if you sell your house.  Set your minimum price and stick to it, unless you really need to get out of your current situation, it will help you decide what offers you’re willing to entertain.

Realtors can be incredible assets, but they don’t work for free. Ask them about their commission fees – what can you expect when you sell your home. Realtors can also help you figure out all the other taxes, fees and paperwork that will go with selling your home. Knowing what to expect ahead of time will make the process go much faster when it starts.

Visit other open houses in your neighbourhood and see what your direct competition is doing. Ask your realtor what the best features of your house are, and how you can really use them to entice buyers.

Step 4 - Take care of repairs:
Sometimes it’s little things that can put off buyers – doing small repairs and freshening up paint doesn’t cost much, but it can make your house look far more appealing to buyers who aren’t interested in getting a property that looks shabby and comes with a to-do list a mile long. You might also consider having a professional inspector look at your home.  If there are serious problems with your home, you can have them fixed before putting them on the market and letting buyers discover them.  If there are not problems, you can show buyers that your home has been professionally inspected and they can have confidence in it.

Removing extra knick-knacks, clutter and personal items can also make a big difference. For better or worse, buyers will be looking for a blank slate that they can imagine themselves living in. You may love your bright pink sofa and shag rug, but some people won’t be able to look past it. If you’re bad at this kind of thing, consider hiring a professional stager.  The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has an excellent and thorough checklist you can work through.

And there you have it. If you start work ahead of time, you’ll have a property that looks great inside and out, has no major issues and has killer features that make it shine above the competition. Better yet, you’ll know how much money to expect from your sale, and will have already planned for the fees. Selling real estate isn’t without complications and hitches, but you can make it run as smoothly as possible.