As soon as the weather heats up, so with the Dallas real estate market. If you need to refresh your memory on the best strategies to use to get your home on the market and sold, veteran interior designer Margaret Chambers offers her advice.
To find out how to get your home ready for a professional photographer (which we absolutely suggest you invest in), check out what this seasoned professional has to say after the jump!
If you’re having trouble selling your home, you might wonder what your options are. Home investors and real estate agents know that when you need to sell a home fast and for a profit, staging is the answer. A well-staged home will not only sell two to three times faster than an empty or unattractively furnished home, but turn a higher profit as well.
Not sure if the time is right for you to stage your home? Ask yourself the following questions:
1. Have you had potential buyers through your home, but no offers?
2. Have similar homes in your neighborhood sold, while your home is still on the market?
3. Have you been thinking about lowering your asking price?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, consider making a consultation with a home stager. Home staging is not a licensed profession, so it’s important to do your homework. Ask to see a portfolio and a list of references.
Even if you don’t work with a professional home stager, there are many simple things you can do to give potential buyers a great first impression of your home. Keep the porch clear, and put a fresh coat of paint on the front door. Placing pots of flowers and keeping your lawn manicured will help bring prospective buyers to your door.
Make sure to clear your closets and shelves of excess clutter. Potential buyers want to imagine how they’ll use those spaces — they don’t want to see how you’ve filled them up. If your wallpaper is dated, remove it and apply a new coat of paint. If in doubt, choose a neutral color rather than a bold one.
As a professional interior designer, I have worked with builders, condo developers, and home owners to stage their empty spaces and homes. I have seen first-hand what a differences it makes when a prospective buyer walks through a beautifully staged home. They get excited because they see the house at its best and can imagine themselves living there.
You might have heard that it’s better to show an empty home than a furnished one. Here are three reasons why that’s not true:
1. When a room is empty, potential buyers focus on the house’s flaws instead of falling in love with the overall space.
2. Many people have trouble visualizing how furniture will lay out in a room. If they are uncertain, they won’t buy.
3. When rooms are empty, prospective buyers start asking themselves questions. “Are they selling because they have money problems?” “Is this a divorce?” “Maybe we can put in a lowball bid and get this house.”
If your home has been sitting on the market longer than you expected, staging is a wise
investment. Home staging is all about packaging a home to show off its best features. More importantly, home staging is about romancing the buyer and getting them excited about your home.
An interior designer for the most discriminating clients, Margaret Chambers is able to achieve the exact looks that her clients envision for their homes. She has more than 60,000 hours of interior design experience to her credit, and her work has been published in more than 20 industry books and magazines. Chambers’ experience, innate talent, and European studies enable her to confidently mix different styles, techniques, and cultures. Her work has earned her state and national awards from the American Society of Interior Designers, and she has been named a Best Designer in Dallas by D Home for eight consecutive years. Sought after by clients who understand the value of superior professional design, Chambers and her team at Chambers Interiors & Associates, Inc. are beloved by clients for the spirit of collaboration that they bring to each project and their willingness to share in the creative process, not control it. You can view her portfolio at www.chambersinteriors.com.
