Selling a House - Staging Part 2

This is the third and final post in this series.   Getting Organized for a Move and Selling a House - Staging Part 1 are the first two posts in the series.

I will leave links to both posts near the end.

Once the house is on the market it is important to try to keep it as clean and neat as possible.

Beds have to be made every day.

The bed in the master bedroom above had nine pillows.  Yes, it seemed a bit excessive to me as well, but I made sure that every morning they were placed perfectly.

The walls in the master bedroom were painted Abalone by Benjamin Moore.  I used this colour a lot in the house.  It is very easy to live with but can be a bit of a chameleon.  Depending on the light, it can read as very light blue, light grey or pale putty.

I wanted the room to be peaceful and restful.  The bedding is the lightest grey and the accent colour lilac/pink.

This bathroom is also painted Abalone and the accent colour is pink.  The only change here was new white towels.

Sinks, taps, counters, and toilets have to be wiped down every day.

  

Garbage will have to be removed when you leave the house.

I carried a plastic bag around with me while I was getting ready in the mornings just for garbage.  I would leave it next to the door to remove on my way out of the house.

My office has a black wall, Black Magic by Sherwin Williams.

The other walls in the office are painted Sherwin William's, Cotton White.

Bookcases should be cleaned off and styled or removed altogether

.

I use a china cabinet in the office to store and easily find ribbons and other crafting supplies.

I made sure that everything in the cabinet was organized and presentable.

The guest room is painted in Sand Dune by Sherwin Williams.

The room has teal accents and is softened with white bedding and a Laura Ashley quilt.

 Vignettes are kept to a minimum.
This one in the kitchen is in the accent colours of navy and green.

 The table in the kitchen was set in blue and white.

 The mantel and coffee table received small vignettes.  We used a few faux green plants throughout.

Mirrors help bounce the light around and make a room appear spacious.

Place settings in the dining room were staged in the accent colours of navy and green.

Staging Tips Summary

Plan your staging and enlist the help of a professional stager if you feel you need some help.  

Use a neutral pallet for walls and large pieces of furniture.  Sofas and chairs can be covered if their colour does not go with your overall staging plan.

Stick with a colour scheme as much as possible.  Repeat accent colours throughout adjoining rooms.

Remove and store pieces furniture that may suggest rooms are overcrowded.

Keep everything clean and polished.  Wipe down bathrooms and kitchens daily.

Vacuum and damp mop floors often.

Keep vignettes and accent items to a minimum.  Less is definitely more here.  You are showing your home and not all the cute things you have.  Place accent pieces so that they suggest a possibility to a buyer.

Fresh flowers are nice but don't knock yourself out trying to put them in every room.  We used one small fresh flower arrangement in the kitchen.  Use longlasting flowers such as mums, orchids, hydrangeas so that you don't have to replace them daily.

Clean out fridges so buyers can see how spacious they are.

Remove pets and their paraphernalia including litter boxes before each viewing.  Arranging to have pets stay elsewhere during the sale is a good idea.  

Remove garbage daily.

Keep lawns and gardens groomed.  Use a leaf blower to quickly remove debris from porches and walkways.

Put personal items away, ie. brushes, toothbrushes, washcloths, and dirty laundry.  Use a box to store your personal items and towels and keep the box out of sight.

If you are having multiple open houses on the same weekend try to be away the entire weekend.  It will be less stressful.

Initiate a plan and follow through with a daily cleaning, straightening, and fluffing routine.  

Hopefully, your home will sell quickly so that you can relax a little.  

Having your home in top shape will increase buyer interest, but it will also depend on the market in your area at the time you choose to sell.  In my area, early spring(March) is a good time to put a house on the market and then again at the end of summer.

I missed the early springtime slot and managed to get on the market by mid-June.  The house sold in three and a half weeks.

Links to Earlier Posts on Moving

Getting Organised for a Move

Selling a House - Staging Part 1

This is an original Fair Meadow Place Publication

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Getting Organised For a Move

It has been too long since we last posted and I have missed the blog.

2018 has been an unusual year and I expect that will continue until the end of this year.

In January I thought about moving.  

What a monumental task to even think about.  I have lived in this house for twenty-three years.

 My children were 9-years-old and 12-years-old when we moved here.

They have grown up and flown away.

In January my daughter approached me with the idea of moving into a multi-generational home.

(dreams of grandeur)

Not a bad idea, I thought, but it would have to be the right home just like the one above.

It would have to be a home with completely separate living quarters and separate entrances, if possible.

I mean separate kitchens, laundries, and bathrooms, and storage areas.

I really wondered if such a home could be found.

Yikes!  This is too scary.  This is not the home, I'm thinking.

  We do not want a run-down place that would take a lot of work and money and time to bring up to standards.

We don't mind some work, but it pretty much has to meet most of our needs at the start.

Did I mention that I am not planning on living in a Granny Suite?

That's a good thing to get off my chest right from the beginning.

So the hunt began and so did getting organised.

Who knew I had so much stuff.  I was still storing my kid's things.  I had things from my parents home, and I had my own things.

Things to Do When Selling Your Home

1.  Get Organised

The first thing I did was go out and buy a day planner.  
It has lots of space to schedule appointments plus "To Do" lists and this one also has extra sheets of paper that can be removed or moved to a different section.

I started making lists of things I needed to do and areas of the home that could use some attention.

The notebook I would use later once a new home was found.
I would record the measurements of each room plus paint and tile colours, and flooring.  I recorded almost anything I thought would be important information down the line.
At first, I just had the overall sizes of the rooms and later I would go back and take perimeter measurements of each room that would include door, closet and window placements as well as ceiling height.

Next, I transferred those measurements into a small book of graph paper.
This is the simplest way to map out your rooms so that you know exactly where every architectural element is in each room.

From there it is easy to draw each piece of furniture into the rooms.
It is so helpful to know which pieces of furniture will actually fit.

The graph paper is useful for making a plan view of each room, but elevation drawings can also be done on graph paper.  For instance, if you want to see how your bookcases would look on a particular wall, they can be drawn in as though you were standing in the room looking at them.  
You will record ceiling heights as well as well as the wall measurements.  Again, this is helpful for furniture placement.

If you have furniture that won't fit, it can be given away, sold, or put into storage for future use.

Even though I can draft my plan views and elevations, I still find graph paper the easiest and quickest way.

There are online apps that can be downloaded to do this too, but really, I like paper and pencil.

I put the drafting board away until I want to make real changes such as designing a kitchen or bathroom.

2.  Purge and Pack

You may not move for months, but start purging.

It really is amazing how much stuff we have.  If you haven't moved in years then there are probably things you haven't used in years that you are just storing somewhere in the house.

You will have to make a decision about everything you have in your home.

If you are downsizing you may not have room for some things.

Purging takes time.  It doesn't happen overnight so start as soon as you can.

Anything you will no longer keep can be donated to a charity, sold or given away.  Taking it to the dump is the last resort.

Don't stockpile.  Remove things right away so that you don't have piles of stuff you no longer want.

We know a man who will pick up old metal and electronics for FREE.  He came twice to my house.

Have a supply of boxes.  If you are purchasing boxes find a size that is manageable for most things, not too big and not too small.

I used plastic bins for cloth items like blankets, pillows and clothing.

Start packing off-season items, clothing and sports equipment.

It is okay to use closets for storage, but don't stuff them.  Try to make them look spacious by removing and packing clothing.

Pack books, cookbooks.  Anything you have two or more of can be packed.

You will have to pack anyway, so you might as well start now.

3.  Get the Help You Need

I knew I would need some help from professionals such as an electrician, handyman, etc. 
Fortunately, my daughter was a great help with the purge part and my son helped too by taking out of season things away such as the large snow blower.

Here is a List of Who I Hired

Handyman:  Minor repairs, painting, fixing the fence and gate, installing a dishwasher, new kitchen floor, and replacing broken tiles.

Electrician:  Switching out light fixtures (I didn't want to leave the antique fixtures), changing a ground fault plug and replacing two fixtures that no longer worked, and running a wire for the dishwasher.

Counter Installer:  I ordered a new counter which he installed.  He also installed the new sink and taps.

Garage Door Repairman:  The garage door needed some repair and reinforcement.

Realtor:  I cannot stress enough the value of a good real estate agent.  They can help in so many ways throughout the process of buying and selling from listing your present home to finding a new home and everything in between such as staging and hosting open houses.

They also have a realistic idea of the housing market and can research and guide you to reasonable expectations.  For instance, my house was worth more than I had thought.

Furnace Cleaner:  It is a good idea to have your furnace cleaned and inspected.  Give a copy of this receipt to your realtor so prospective buyers can see the furnace is in good working order.

Professional Carpet Cleaner:  If you have carpets in your home it is important to have them professionally cleaned.  Yes, you can go to the grocery store and rent a carpet cleaner for much less, but they won't be as clean.

Window Cleaners:  I had the windows cleaned just prior to the house going on the market so that they would shine.

Stager:  Even a seasoned interior decorator can find value in a professional stager.  I had removed some larger pieces of furniture out of the house and rearranged a few things and removed a lot of bits and pieces, but I really liked having a fresh eye look at my home.  She had some good suggestions and used most of my furniture and accessories.  We removed some of my art and she brought in some different pieces of art that were larger.  She did a great job and the place looks great.

Cleaning Lady:  I didn't actually hire her.  My realtor provided three hours of cleaning from this lady.  If you are feeling overwhelmed a cleaning lady can ease some of the stress.

Home Inspection Company:  You will need this once you find your new home.  Having a home inspection can save you from a few surprises down the road.

You may not need to hire all of these people, but get the help you need.  Selling and buying homes can be stressful.  If you need help, get it.  You may also need the help of a gardener, carpenter, drywall professional, plumber, etc.

I found the right house and bought it.
This is it.  
It is a bungalow on a ravine type lot built in 1965.
It was a custom built home at the time and has been well maintained.
We have a late fall 2018 closing.

We just need to sell our present home.

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