Home Makeover, Home Decorating Ideas & Home Selling Tips
We're experiencing one of the best markets in years for selling real
estate, with record-low interest rates and an economy that's firmly in
recovery.
Still, even in the best of markets, it takes a lot more than just
putting up a sign and vacuuming the living room to sell your home. The
secret can lie in a complete home makeover and following other important
home selling tips so you can get a great deal for your house. How do
you decide what to spend your time and money on, and where you're better
off holding back, in order to prepare your home for a sale?
To find out some home decorating ideas to help you sell your house, we
went right to three real estate experts, in New York City, Minnesota,
and Santa Fe. Diane Wildowsky is a broker with one of the New York City
offices of Sotheby's International Realty. Chas Campbell, president
& publisher of MNRealty.com Inc., has sold real estate for many
years and now acts as an educator providing staging and other home
selling tips. She also works as a marketing consultant, and webmaster
for other top realtors in the Twin Cities. Our third expert is Susan
Orth, broker and part owner of City Different Realty in Santa Fe, New
Mexico.
First, we asked the real estate agents what they think are the most
important home decorating improvements a seller can do in a home
makeover to prepare a property for sale, and they all agreed: keeping
the place immaculately clean is paramount.
Start with minimizing clutter, an activity which will also make your
packing easier when it comes time to move to your new place. Before you
even put your place on the market, take this time to make that trip to
the Salvation Army, throwing out anything you haven't used in a year.
Once you have more room in the closets, you can further reduce the
clutter around the house, putting away the things that are precious to
you but which will only distract the prospective buyer, Diane Wildowksky
of Sotheby's said.
A clean house is the first step in a home makeover designed to help you
attract buyers.
"You want prospective buyers to see the 'bones' of the property and not
be distracted by clutter or art collections or tabletops filled with
family photos," she said. "Organize the closets, clear the kitchen
countertops, remove decorative magnets and the children's drawings off
the refrigerator. Periodically we'll suggest some furniture be removed
to give a room a more open, airy feeling."
Even though it may seem impossible to accomplish a total home makeover
or even just get started cleaning the house with children around, you
can probably come up with a creative way to get the kids to pitch in.
Wildowsky remembers one client whose child was such a Barbie aficionado
that the bedroom was "a shrine to Barbie, Ken and all their family and
friends." Relocating Barbie's paraphernalia to a floor-to-ceiling closet
solved the problem without sending the girl into a state of withdrawal.
All three realtors we interviewed said that taking the papers off the
front of the fridge is important, as is cleaning out the closets so
buyers can see how much storage is available.
Once you've removed the clutter, consider having at least the bath and
kitchen professionally cleaned. Chas Campbell has found that a
professional cleaning "can often hedge against replacement unless
something is damaged." And a small repair of damage from water leaks,
burns, or other mishaps can "stave off counteroffers for defects."
Susan Orth said that in Santa Fe, it's crucial to consider the home's
"curb appeal," because buyers often make their decision in the first few
minutes of seeing a home.
"Landscaping must be in order, and you should add or upgrade exterior
lighting," Orth said. "If possible, plant flowers near the door, mulch
existing plants, trim shrubbery, and remove any dead plants or trees."
As with any suggestion, take into account the particulars of your area.
"In the Santa Fe area, many trees have been lost in the last couple of
years to drought and the bark beetle," Orth said. "In many areas it is
almost standard practice to have dead pinion pines removed."
However, sprucing up the place doesn't necessarily mean that you must
invest in a remodel of the kitchen or bath —removing clutter, making a
few small updates, such as new drawer pulls and other accessories, as
well as a thorough, professional cleaning may be enough. And sometimes a
big investment won't be what your potential buyers want.
"What one seller might choose as stylish and expensive is often ripped
out and re-done by new buyers," Wildowsky said. "We see this all the
time in Manhattan. Beautiful new countertops, kitchen cabinets,
appliances — sometimes never used — get ripped out and thrown away so
that the new owners can install their particular style."
Campbell agreed, pointing out that while baths add value, so do extra
bedrooms, porches, and in-ground pools. "The value of any improvement is
relative to the total value of the home and its current condition
relative to its neighborhood," he said.
As with everything else, a solid comparison with the other homes in your
area and price range will help with these decisions. "A small kitchen
remodel in a small home in a neighborhood of homes where most have been
remodeled is a good thing and will always pay for itself if not more,"
he said. "A grand, expensive kitchen remodel in the same home will
probably not pay for itself and might possibly overprice the home for
its market when it's time to sell."
But if you're thinking of selling in a year or two, and your kitchen or
bath is clearly outdated, doing the remodel now — so that you can enjoy
the new kitchen or bath for a year or so — will still pay for itself
when the time comes to sell.
While our survey isn't exactly scientific, the National Association of
Realtors did conduct a research project this winter on the values of
various housing characteristics. They found that the number of bathrooms
in a home does dramatically influence the selling price, with each full
bath adding about 24% to the selling price, so if you're considering
adding a bath, this may be the time to do it.
Orth cites a 2003 article in Remodeling Magazine which found that
a seller will get back, on average, over 90% of the money spent to
remodel a bath and 77% of the money spent on a kitchen. "Again, these
improvements should enhance the basic character of the home; often
unique is not good when it comes to selling," she said.
Wildowsky also stresses the importance of seeing your home in the
context of its neighborhood, especially when it comes to remodeling. She
tells the story of an older couple who moved into one of Manhattan's
trendiest areas, a part of the city known for its artists' lofts
complete with exposed pipes and open floor plans. The couple spent a
huge sum "making the apartment look and feel like their house in the
suburbs."
After the renovations were complete, the couple tried to sell, and found
it difficult to get a buyer. "The look of this space, as nice as it
was, did not fit with the building or the neighborhood, and the
apartment sat for quite some time before it finally sold under the
asking price," Wildowsky said.
But if you're going to make a substantial improvement, consider a total
home makeover by adopting some of these home decorating ideas from the
Sheffield School of Interior Design. Don't just plan to follow only some
of the basic decorating tips and home selling tips we've given you.
Make sure you go all the way with it. "I would either do the home
improvement completely or not do it at all," Campbell said. In cases in
which you know some home remodeling is necessary — for example, if you
have kitchen appliances so outdated they're just one step above a
wood-burning stove — you can consider including an allowance in the
sales contract that will cover the cost of the improvement.
"No house buyer wants to pick up where the seller left off," Wildowsky
agreed. "It's too complicated and time consuming. So if a seller starts
the project, the seller should plan to complete the project before
selling."
Likewise, when thinking about wall color, consider another important
home selling tip. Remember that there can be a huge range of tastes of
your potential buyers, and don't risk putting off a more conservative
buyer by painting the walls in wildly bright colors. Also bear in mind
that any room that doesn't get enough sun will benefit from a light wall
color. It doesn't have to be painted a harsh, pure white, but a pale
yellow or pleasant, light beige will help make a room appear to have
more light.
"Dark colors will often make the room look smaller and it may be harder
for the buyer to imagine their furniture and personal property in that
space," Orth said, and Campell said he advises sellers to "neutralize
and brighten."
"Natural light is often in short supply in Manhattan and for many buyers
it is key as to whether or not they'll even look at a space," Wildowsky
said. "We have an apartment on the market now that originally had dark
blue walls. With a wall of windows facing only one direction, the blue
darkened the far end of the space, which is where the entrance to the
apartment is located. When you first entered the apartment it was a bit
of a 'downer '. A fresh coat of off-white paint now gives the apartment
a "lift" when you open the door." This easy home decorating tip will
help you sell your house for more money.
All three experts we interviewed agreed that lighter, neutral colors work best when you are decorating to sell your house.
"Do not risk losing one buyer to gain another by choosing personal
colors for the future buyer," Campbell said. "The buyer wants to
pre-visualize their own colors or furnishings and a "blank canvas" is
best for this. If the current decor is light and pleasant, it is not
necessary to repaint."
And while you're at it, take a good, honest look at the exterior paint
of your house, Orth suggested. "Exterior color should also be
considered, and it should not distract from the style of the home and
neighborhood."
Likewise, you don't want your decorating style to take over your home
makeover to the point where the buyers can't imagine the house decorated
in their own style.
"Many people have a hard time seeing past the design and decor,"
Wildowsky said. "Some apartments are so 'done' that it is impossible to
disguise the look, and if the design doesn't suit the buyer's tastes,
it is often very hard to imagine it different."
Orth has also seen many "over decorated" homes, and stresses that the
decor should complement the style of the home. "It is important that the
decor reflect the character and style of the home," she says. "Store
some art, paint and patch the walls, remove any personal property that
does not enhance the style of the home." By incorporating this
decorating tip you are attracting buyers and can potentially sell your
house for more money.
If you know you're going to be selling your home in a year or less, you
may do better to hire a decorator to re-do the home with an eye to
selling than to make it exactly the way you'd like it, Campbell said,
even though "beautiful design is a sign of quality and value. The
design should be influenced by the different goal of 'selling the place'
which can be completely different from living there comfortably — so
keep it open, minimal, and bright," Campbell said.
Other than cleaning up the clutter and perhaps painting the walls a
neutral color, the best decorating tip to help you sell your home is by
the tried-and-true quick fixes, the experts agreed, with Campbell
emphasizing "staging" — the art of moving and re-moving objects and
furniture to make the space feel as open and roomy as possible.
Orth stresses the importance of the home's exterior and entryway, and
suggests adding a pot of flowers to the front steps — healthy,
well-tended, blooming flowers, that is —replacing the doorknob, washing
down the front door, and having the windows professionally cleaned. This
is just one more of the many home decorating ideas for selling your
house for more money.
For Wildowsky, the simple exercise of adding fresh flowers and turning
on lamps works when preparing for a showing. Recently, she had a young
bachelor selling his place, which was furnished in "early college"
style, and was devoid of any of the decorative touches that make a place
feel like home. To make matters worse, she says, "Cleaning was clearly
not his highest priority."
"We requested that the seller hire a commercial cleaner to scrub
from top to bottom, which he did, and I requested a stipend of $200,
which I used to buy inexpensive throw pillows, a lap blanket, candles, a
new bedspread and pillow shams," she said.
"The first open house was held the day after the cleaning. Ten people
came through that day. We received two offers immediately and accepted
an offer very close to asking price two days later."
The seller wound up keeping the throw pillows and other items, and took them with him to his new apartment.
"Could we have sold the apartment without having done all of that?
Ultimately, yes. Did the home decorating ideas and decorating tips we
suggested to the seller help sell it sooner, for an excellent price? We
don't really know what difference it made, but the apartment did look
1,000 percent better than the day we first saw the apartment," Wildowsky
stated.
Whether you are thinking of selling your own home or are helping clients
by giving them home decorating ideas so they can redecorate their house
before it goes on the market, remember that these changes — both big
and small — will give potential buyers a good first impression of the
home and perhaps even make the sale.
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