Home Staging Tips to Help Sell Your Main Line Home
The Main Line is positively peppered with stately old colonials and charming Victorians, many boasting well-groomed lawns brimming with blooming begonias and bluebells. When you’re putting your home up for sale in such a competitive market, you need to step up your curb appeal to attract potential buyers. These home staging tips from the painters and color professionals at Nolan can help your home outshine the competition and bring the best possible sale price.
It’s All About the First Impressions
You only get one chance to make your visitors feel like they’re walking up to their welcoming new home. Along the Main Line, one of the first things a potential buyer will notice about your house is the quality of the wood on the exterior. Is your trim peeling? Is there wood rot around your door frame? Maximize your curb appeal with freshly painted trim or a new accent color on your front door.
Most importantly, check for any visible damage or water stains at the front door and the entryway. If you see damaged stucco or wood rot, be sure to replace or repair the damaged areas. A nice wooden patio or deck can be a huge selling point, but a rotten one is only a liability. Nothing will scare off a buyer like weather damage. Besides, these problems can often be indicative of bigger issues.
Lighten Up and Go Neutral
Once a potential buyer steps in the door, they’re going to be envisioning your home as a blank page where they can write their own story. Realtors often recommend painting over a dark statement color with a mellow off-white or taupe which can make your home much more sellable because it establishes your interior as a blank space where any buyer’s furniture could easily be incorporated. Additionally, a neutral tone is not gender specific – an important consideration, especially for the master bedroom and bathroom. Remember, you don’t want it to look like your house anymore, you want it to look like their house. If you have any outdated or outlandish wallpaper, take it down.
Light neutrals and monochromatic color schemes aren’t only stylish and practical, they make the house feel airy and bright, and they can even create the illusion of more natural light than there actually is. A recent survey from My Renovation Magazine showed that most buyers will spend up to $5,000 just to improve the natural light in their home, so anything you can do to accentuate your home’s lighting assets are sure to bring a hefty return.
Painting: More Bang for your Buck than a Full Renovation
They say that when you’re selling your house, you’re really selling your kitchen. A sleek and well-maintained kitchen sets the tone for an “upscale” look, so if you invest in a few quick fixes, you’ll likely get more than your money back in the final sale price. A full remodel might be a little much, but a new coat of paint on your walls and cabinets offers a big return on a relatively low investment. Focus on that instead of worrying about replacing the countertops or appliances.
Nolan’s team has actually invested in a spray chamber, specially designed to give cabinetry a perfectly smooth factory finish. We can give your kitchen cabinetry a brand-new, professional finish that is sure to wow potential buyers. We recommend a clean, white or off-white color in the kitchen to maximize your resale value. It sets up the kitchen as that “blank canvas” for your potential buyers.
The Final Touches: Planning your Renovation and Staging your House
If you’re ready to sell your Main Line home, Nolan’s award-winning team of painters, carpenters, and color consultants can help you set the stage for a successful open house. We can assess your home and decide which areas could most benefit from a repair or a new paint job, then pick out a color that will appeal to buyers. One option that’s popular with homeowners looking to paint for resale is our “Painter for a Day” program. For $525, you can hire a painter for 8 hours. They can give you a bold accent color on your front door, lighten up a dark room, or touch up your trim. The professional touch you get from a new paint job offers incredible bang for your buck, so be sure to contact Nolan’s team for a consultation before you put your home on the market! Once you’ve taken care of the painting and renovations, you’re almost ready for your open house. For a few final touches, pack up your personal items and keep your pets away for the day. Set out a colorful bouquet in the entryway, and watch as potential buyers coo over your freshly painted cabinetry!
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1.”Add Natural Light, Add Value to Your Home.” My Renovation Magazine. November 28, 2014. Accessed January 13, 2016. http://www.myrenovationmagazine.com/2014/11/28/add-natural-light-add-value-to-your-home/]