Home Staging for Home Sellers – Take it outside!

Home sellers must be proactive in selling their homes! In my last Blog, I gave some very helpful tips for staging inside the home.

Now we’ll move outside for awhile. Hopefully it’s a little less stressful. But, in this wicked heat we’ve been having here in the NorthEast, maybe I’m wrong.

As you did inside, you have to orchestrate the outside to appeal to a buyer. Remember, the word is “stage”. That’s what you’re creating and your home is the main character!
Trees and shrubs should be pruned and trimmed. Flower beds must be mulched and weeded. Always keep up with the dead-heads (no, I don’t mean the Grateful Dead. I mean the dead blossoms). If you don’t have a green thumb, hire someone. Maybe throw a few bucks to one of the neighborhood kids to keep the weeds at bay.
Shrubs and trees should enhance your home and not hide it. As a Certified HomeStaging Professional, I’ll quote my mentor (and Inventor of HomeStaging) Barb Schwarz:

“If they can’t see it, you can’t sell it”.

Besides, you never want to block the sun and light from coming in though the windows!
Outdoor lights make a home warm and inviting. Yes, truly interested buyers might very well come by in the evening for another look.
Rent a powerwasher and make a friend of it. Clean the deck, the driveway, the walk, your house! Look at your roof. If you have a light-colored roof, streaks of green moss, or dirt is a serious detraction. Clean it!

Your front door is the portal “home”. Make sure it is in proper repair. Polish the hardware. Make sure the porch light is gleaming and inviting.
Satisfied? Walk across the street. Turn around slowly and take a good hard look at your home and grounds. Only then will you know if you’re done.

When my husband and I bought our first home, I was green at landscaping (pun intended). I made friends with the local nursery guy and asked him to come and take a look and give us suggestions. He did, and he told me that he was going to give me one pearl of wisdom never to be forgotten. I never did.

Never make your home look as though you have landscaped it. Make it look as though the landscape was there first and THEN you put a home behind it or inside of it.

With that in mind I have always gotten huge compliments on my landscaping when I really don’t do that much.

Good luck! And if you’re looking to buy or sell in Hunterdon or Warren County, give me a call. Me and my Green Thumb are a phone call away. Or visit me at my website www.NormaSellsNJHomes.com