Prepare your home to sell
Home stager Beth Fowler packs away items in an Adams County home to prepare it to sell.
By ERIN ESMONT
for Smart
Kim and Nick Pepper’s York Township kitchen boasted an unusual color combination: fuschia and gray, with painted dragons on the walls. The bathrooms were purple. Large artwork dominated the walls, and heavy, gothic-style furniture filled every room.
Their Realtor, Debbie McLaughlin, knew the home’s decor would be off-putting to those with more conventional tastes. McLaughlin called in Beth Fowler, a home-staging expert, to get the home move-in ready and speed up the selling process. Fowler toured the house and then sat
the couple down.
“You do know you have very unique tastes, don’t you?”
Chuckles all around.
She left the couple with a lengthy to-do list. In one weekend, the Peppers painted five rooms to neutral shades, moved one-third of their furniture into a PODS storage container, painted all door jambs and window frames, restored the dining room to its original use, and de-cluttered surface areas.
With 3,064 homes on the market in York and Adams counties (up 840 homes from last year), there’s a lot of inventory for prospective home buyers to browse. And, with homes averaging 64 days on the market (11 days more than last year), every competitive advantage helps.
McLaughlin and other Realtors have begun using Fowler’s home-staging company, Home Presentation, with increasing frequency. Many pick up the tab ($100 per report) as a client benefit.
How she got startedFowler started her Springettsbury Township business in 2003, after reading an article about home staging in a Chicago newspaper. With careers in education and human resources behind her, she decided to try something new. She checked out staging sites online, attended a nearby training course and earned her accreditation. She stages occupied and vacant homes.
ROOM-BY-ROOM TIPS
Fowler offers these tips for getting your home ready to sell:Home exterior
• Put fresh mulch on flower beds
• Remove anything dead or dying
• Clean windows, door, porch
• Make sure front door is in working order
• Rake leaves and mow grass
• Remove excess yard ornamentation
Entry way or foyer• Clean floor, walls, stairways
• Paint walls
• Put an attractive rug near door
• Add a mirror or neutral artwork
• Tidy closet, leave room to hang coats; stow seasonal items elsewhere
• Put shoes and coats out of sight
Master bedroom
• Should look like a photo shoot for a magazine, a “haven”
• Add fresh flowers to a night stand
• Remove laundry baskets, dirty laundry
• Remove kids’ toys and work items
• Put an attractive comforter on the bed
• Edit out unnecessary furniture or objects
Dining room• Restore to its original use, if used another way
• Reposition table at angle to create more walking space
• Remove two chairs and place in corners
Bathroom• Scrub it until it gleams
• Stow the plunger (“that means a problem.”)
• Scrub shower, wash liner and curtain (“People always look in the shower.”)
• Put away makeup, brushes, toothbrushes, personal items
• Create a clean smell or don’t have any smell. (“I don’t go in for happy smells, that means they’re trying to hide something.”)
Living room or family room• Edit or rearrange furniture so the room has “breathing space.”
• Paint walls a neutral color
• Hang neutral artwork
• Put away magazines, newspapers and other paperwork clutter
• Put away things “with eyes” — photos, figurines, stuffed animals, dead deer.
Kitchen — (“the heart of the home; the deal-breaker”)• Remove refrigerator magnets, menus, clutter
• Clear counters so one-third is empty. Leave out things used daily — bowl of fruit, coffee maker, utensil jug, toaster
• “Put away things not seen in a magazine photo shoot” — prescription medications, tissues
• Let natural light in, pull curtains back
• Remove most knick-knacks from shelves, windowsill
Comments (0)
