Selling a home is a process, and it takes more than just signing a listing agreement, uploading some pictures and a summary to the MLS and entertaining visitors at an open house. To sell a home, a real estate agent works hard to help potential buyers visualize what their life could and will look like if they bought this specific home. When people are looking to buy a home in College Station, they visit multiple open houses every weekend, they ask their agents to show them private listings and they’ll endlessly browse the web until they find the perfect property to call home. This is why it’s important to present a newly listed property in the best possible way and to help potential buyers see themselves living there and enjoying everything that the home has to offer.
One way of elevating a listing is to enlist the services of a professional home staging expert in College Station, TX. Home staging is the process of bringing in furniture, accessories and other décor that can make a house feel like a home, and it helps prospective buyers see the potential that the home has. It’s like a professional makeover that has the potential and power to slash the time a home sits on the market and it can even boost profits from the sale. With proper staging you have the power to create a visually appealing environment that is designed to capture and captivate buyers.
There are many different options to consider when staging a home – you can completely furnish a vacant property from top to bottom with furniture that is rented, you can partially stage a home with accessories, décor and minimal furniture, or you can rearrange existing furniture to create the illusion of more space and openness. With the expert advice of a professional, even a home with outdated furniture can be transformed into a positive scene by highlighting the best features of the house.
Staging your College Station home is not difficult, especially if you employ the services of a professional designer, however there are some common mistakes that many agents make when staging a home without even knowing it. Check out the list below and see if you’re guilty of some of these home staging mistakes that you don’t even know you’re making!
- Underestimating the power of home staging.
Whether you are bringing in only a few select pieces of furniture or completely furnishing a property from top to bottom, a well-staged home can make the difference between selling the home quickly or having it sit on the MLS for days, weeks and months at a time. Remember that the goal is to sell a lifestyle and to help buyers pictures themselves living in and enjoying in this specific College Station home.
- Not letting buyers know what is staged and what isn’t.
Don’t forget to let buyers know what pieces are staged and if any of the fixtures, furniture, etc. are included in the sale of the property. Many buyers may fall in love with the professional work of the designers who staged the property and they may not realize that if they buy it, the home will be completely unfurnished. Make sure to inform buyers about the many positives the property has to offer and focus on the items that will remain in the house when it is sold.
- Using low-quality photography for listings.
Don’t use low-quality photography services if you have invested time and money in professional staging for your College Station home. Bad photos are a bad idea from the very beginning, and it’s the first thing that agents need to learn when listing a new property for sale. It’s ALWAYS a good idea to invest in high-quality photography, no matter what state the property is in. If you are also staging a home, you don’t want to take away from the appeal and aesthetic by uploading blurry or low-quality images along with the listing. Many properties have been sold through video, images and virtual tours alone – the buyers never even stepped foot on the property before submitting an offer!
- Packing too much furniture in a small space.
Ever heard of the saying “less is more?” It’s very easy to get carried away with accessories, décor and cute items that can be placed throughout the home. However, there is such a thing as too much stuff – and when staging an open house or a new listing the main goal is to help prospective buyers be able to visualize what their future and life will look like if they bought the house. A few items tastefully placed throughout the rooms will add a subtle and pleasant aesthetic, but oversaturating with décor can be a big turn off to anyone who walks through the door. - Using outdated décor, furniture, etc.
If your budget doesn’t allow for professional staging or renting new furniture, then you may have no choice but to work with what is already within the home. The first rule of thumb is to declutter your College Station home as much as possible and to remove outdated lighting fixtures and window treatments. Lighting is extremely important when it comes to staging a property so it’s important to let in as much natural light as possible and to ensure that the darker rooms and spaces are well lit as well. Once that’s done, you can always cover up outdated furniture with blankets and throw pillows. Other ways to spruce up an older property with a small budget include replacing hardware and cabinetry handles, removing clutter from countertops, adding a fresh coat of paint on the front door or even painting additional rooms in soft neutral tones.
- Not using virtual staging services.
A different solution to a small or non-existent budget is to utilize the services of virtual staging. There are numerous online services that are easy to use and very user-friendly that can help make all the difference when prepping a home for sale.
- Using too many bold or statement pieces.
Pops of color and bold design elements are welcome in the staging process, but they must be implemented tastefully. It’s also important to limit statement pieces and décor to ensure that the property appeals to buyers who have varied taste.
- Ignoring landscaping.
The front lawn of your College Station home is the first thing a potential buyer will see as they drive up to walk through the property. Paying attention to curb appeal and ensuring that landscaping is clean and neat is just as important as staging the inside of a home.
- Not knowing your audience.
Think about the kind of demographic that will be attracted to your College Station home, the area and the price point of the property. For example, a conservative community that appeals to a senior demographic calls for traditional staging. College Station does have a mixed demographic, especially since Texas A&M is right here, so if you are looking to attract a more hip and young demographic made up of students and young professionals then you should consider transitional or modern furniture with pops of graphic art.
- Relying only on fake décor.
Too much fake stuff – fake fruit, fake plants, fake TV screens, fake computers, etc. can be off putting to prospective buyers. Striking the right balance between making your College Station home feel lived in and actually being lived in can be tricky. If you oversaturate the home with fake everything it will remind potential buyers that the staging is not real, that this level of “perfection” is not achievable and that this is definitely not their new home. Try to keep it as real as possible.
- Not staging to scale.
Every homeowner and realtor will want to make the property feel big and create the illusion of extra space, especially if it is on the smaller side. Beware of using small and lightweight items, because this can actually make the home look smaller. It’s important to ensure the furniture and accessories match the room in scale and proportion.
- Closing the doors.
This may seem obvious, but sometimes we habitually close the doors without thinking about it. When you host an open house for your College Station home, you want to encourage visitors to easily move through the home – if there are any closed doors they may assume that a room is off-limits or that the door leads to a closet rather than a staircase or another room.
- Staying too neutral.
Neutral is good, but too much neutral can be boring. There’s nothing wrong with a classic color scheme, after all many flippers stick to greys and beiges to help them sell a property because that’s what appeals to most buyers. And while you shouldn’t paint each wall a different color, contrasting color here and there or having one or two rooms be staged differently will make the house more memorable, which is the ultimate goal.
If you are thinking about listing your College Station property for sale get to know our team and contact us if you have any questions about the process of selling your home. Our team boasts more than 25 years of real estate expertise in the local area and we would be happy to offer you a home evaluation and help you navigate the process of selling your College Station home and helping you find a new one.