Even for real estate professionals like ourselves, selling a home is a complex and often times daunting task. The novice home seller may believe the process of selling a home is just a matter of finding a buyer, agreeing on a price and signing some paperwork at an attorney’s office. In reality, the average real estate sales transaction requires the coordinated efforts and timely execution of duties of dozens of different parties to result in a successful closing  .

However, before needing to facilitate the many details required to close the sale of our client’s property, we must first work with the seller to make their property the one a buyer can walk into and feel like this can be “their” home. This starts with preparing the property for showings.

Home Staging 101 – Agents Advice

Our agents are experts when it comes to staging a home and have years of experience. Here are some of their tips on how sell your house quickly and get the best price in the process. They have been real estate agents in Baton Rouge and the surrounding communities of that make up the Greater Baton Rouge market area for a long time…And they are here to help you!
If all you need is some quick advice, check out our Quick Fixes page.

Too Personal– Eliminate as much of you from the house as possible, it needs to be a blank canvas for the buyer. Need help finding a place to store your pictures? Then visit our Home Staging- Storage page.

• Remove all personal photos, they have the potential to negatively affect a potential buyers opinion of the actual home.
• Home buyers want to be able to envision themselves living in the home. Buyers do not want to see the seller’s personal memorabilia all over the home, it distracts the buyer and the buyer cannot envision themselves there. -Brandon Richoux
• Clean, then clean again- You can never be too clean when it comes to showing your home. The buyer wants to feel like they are in a safe and comfortable environment. I have personally had many home buyers dismiss an otherwise perfect home for their family simply because they said they couldn’t imagine stepping foot in a dirty, calcium stained shower! For more cleaning advice for staging a home visit our Room by Room page. -Jay Johnson
• Be overly clean: beds made, no dirty dishes, clothes neatly put in the right place, ect. If small things have not been taken care of (dusty light fixtures or ceiling fans for example) then the buyer will automatically assume that the home in general has not been well taken care of.
• Bathrooms have to be very clean and neat, so purchase new towels, mats and shower curtains if they are not perfect. -Kelli Barnett
• Air condition vent filters are often times overlooked and not changed by a home owner on a regular basis. Make sure you regularly replace all vent filters while the house is on the market. To a buyer, a dirty filter could cause them to wonder about the condition of the heating and air condition systems. Outside air condition unit coils should be cleaned every six months to maintain proper performance of the unit. This will be checked by a the buyer’s home inspector. So go ahead and pay the small charge to have the coils cleaned and eliminate the buyers concern over possibly having a large expenditure to replace a air conditioner unit after they’ve purchased the house. -Derek Overstreet

What’s that smell?– Right before a showing don’t douse every inch of your home with febreze, the buyer will think you are hiding something. Outside smells can be a bad thing, for advice on how to stage your yard visit our Staging the Exterior page.

• Do not use heavy fragrance sprays, the buyer will think you are masking an odor.
• The home should smell clean but do not over do it by any means. A simple scented candle is often sufficient to make the home smell pleasant.
• If you have a pet litter box, you will want to make sure that it is cleaned or even removed from the house before a showing. If there is pet odor in the home, this is one time you might want to break out that Fabreez! –Alaina Muyaka

Common Mistakes– Make sure you avoid these common mistakes when staging your home.

• This is not a trap!- Home staging shouldn’t be thought of as a way to “trap” the prospective buyer into purchasing your home. Not a cleaver cover-up to damages or poor maintenance, you should fix these problems before you show. Make sure everything works (lamps, plumbing, no holes in the wall…) You might be surprised how many buyers lose interest in a home simply because the seller didn’t replace burnt out light bulbs!
• Too personal- Just because you love the way your home is decorated, that doesn’t mean the prospective buyer will love it. The whole idea of staging is to create a neutral setting where the buyer can envision their own belongings and decorations in the home.
• Don’t hide your mess- always organize every room in your home, especially your storage space. For in-depth tips on how to organize your storage, visit our Home Staging- Storage page.
• ALWAYS REMEMBER: A buyer has an opinion of a home within 15 seconds, make it count!