Staging a home in Portland for sale may not be rocket science — but doing it well does require a marketer’s ability to step outside yourself to picture what will most appeal to potential buyers. Your first instinct is to set up your home exactly as you like to see it, but that’s not how the professional stagers do it.
When you think of the way a model home looks, you begin to get the picture: they are always pleasantly neutral. Sort of boring, actually. Always. It must work!
Once you’ve listed your Portland home, there are some very common home staging pitfalls to avoid. First and foremost, as much as possible, pack up your personality and stow it with the cartons of kid stuff you’re clearing away. Simply assume that prospective buyers won’t love the piles of Oprah magazines in the living room — or the kids’ art projects in the den.
And it’s almost always unnecessary to undertake huge renovations. Home staging is not synonymous with redecorating. Often, sweeping renovations wind up being a money-throw that’s never returned. In home staging as in most activities you undertake in selling your home, consult with your Realtor® partner: it’s often the case that simply lowering your asking price even part of the amount you would have spent will get the job done – and faster!
This fall, as you do a first walk-through to consider your Portland home staging approach, start by opening all curtains and blinds. The reason? Home staging is most successful when the rooms are filled with light. If potential buyers walk in the door and see a dark or dimly lit room, that’s a house that looks far less appealing – especially as we go through the Daylight Savings months. So throw the blinds open, turn all the lights on, and you’ll see what your prospects will be seeing. Taking the prospects’ view is what home staging is all about. And when you are looking for an agent to help get you there, we’re ready to put a plan to work for you! Call us today at (503) 389-0686.