Staging for the Senses
When you’re getting ready to sell your home…
Think of staging it for the potential buyers’ five senses.
Sense of Sight and Touch
This seems obvious. When the buyer walks through the doorway the house should look clean and when they go to touch doorknobs or counters they should also feel clean!
Going further into the things potential buyers see are your closets. That maybe your favorite place to stash stuff when company comes over but the buyer is not company and they will check in there. So please go through the closest as well as the whole house and get rid of all the extras. Think of it as pre-packing. Donate, sell, dump, or pack stuff you do not use on a regular basis. You are selling your home’s space. A buyer will understand a seller having neatly stacked boxes. They don’t understand an over-packed space is a sign the seller has out grown the house. To them it just looks like the house does not have enough storage for anyone.
Sense of Taste
We’ve all heard the tip about baking cookies for an open house to make potential buyers feel at home. Well that isn’t always true and rarely possible for regular showings. While having pre-made cookies at an open house to save off hunger pangs of a buyer that is on their sixth home showing is one thing. Those freshly baked tasty cookies can often be big distraction. “Ooh, I want cookies now but hmm, I’ve been so good on my diet…that reminds me I need to get healthy snacks packed for work tomorrow. I better leave.” Even worse is to have a crockpot at work reminding the potential buyer that they haven’t started their meal yet.
Sense of Sound
They used to say, “Leave some soothing music on to set the mood of a house.” Not sure where that theory started but it needs to end. Your mood is not necessarily the same as the buyers and that can be a real turn-off to their buying mood.
If you are leaving the music or a fountain on in hopes it will show how easy it is to drown out the busy street noise, think again. The buyer has just come from outside and is fully aware of the noise. They see the music or fountain noise as an effort to cover-up the noise. That gets them wondering what else the seller may be trying to hide. (Not good!)
Sense of Smell
Last but certainly not least. This may be the number one thing that can dissuade a buyer from even touring a house. I have had clients that have asked me to pre-tour homes to check for “cat smell” so they won’t have to waste any time at the house. There has never been a pet lover that has said, “Oh joy, this house already smells like it’s got animals living in it, let’s put an offer in.” Pay your neighbor or be good to your relatives so they will watch your pets while you sell your home. If you are selling your late great aunt’s empty house, that used to house her herd of cats, please remove the carpets and drapes. Even if you cannot afford to replace the flooring, if it gets rid of the smell that’s ok. A potential buyer can envision an easy solution to flooring. If you can’t afford to paint than at least try to clean the walls, this will help with former smoker’s remains, too. A lingering odor is a challenge a buyer is not certain they will be able to remedy. Uncertainty is a deal killer.
Good luck staging for the senses and if you have any questions or tips I would be happy to hear from you!
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