How To Stage A Vacant Home For Sale
What’s the easiest way to stage a vacant home for sale?
Unlike a home where people are currently living, a vacant home often requires more staging efforts to make it appealing to potential buyers. So how can you make a completely vacant home look lived-in and welcoming to prospective home buyers?
Tips for staging a vacant home
Great curb appeal
Vacant homes hardly have much curb appeals to attract buyers. This means the home must be in the right shape to look great for photos and welcoming when people do their first drive-by. So inspect the entire yard as well as all the entire exterior windows and walls. Fix all glaring problem like cracked windows, peeling paint on the trim, holes in gutters or faded shutters. Curb appeal is absolutely important when your home is listed on the market.
Clean up the yard
The yard is one of the first things potential buyers will look at during a drive-by. So tidying up your yard is one of the key things you’ll have to do. You should consider cutting the grass, raking up any leave, cutting down low hanging branches anywhere around the home, as well as trimming back the hedges. What if you have any type of garden? Add fresh mulch and replace any dead plants or flowers with new, colorful flowers.
Paint touch-up
Since the property is vacant, it’s a huge opportunity to touch-up any scuffs and scratches on the walls. Look out for nails on the walls used to hold artwork, photos and other decorations. Don’t forget to fill the nail holes with spackle. Touching up the walls and removing the nails will make the walls look clean and crisp while also adding the smell of fresh paint to the house.
Emphasize the interior features
Most homes have unique features that stand out to owners and prospective buyers. Whether it is a large kitchen, a classical fireplace, top-quality finishes and materials, beautiful hardwood floors, or an open room plan, do all you can to draw attention to all the features that will make selling the home easier.
Add small accessories to key areas
Having a vacant property doesn’t stop you from adding some items for appearance and style. To make your bathrooms look welcoming, add a clean colorful towel. Also, a lovely potted plant next to a window in the living room adds a beautiful touch. Add some decorative pillows on the sofa for flair. Even in the kitchen, a decorative jar with a pasta can do the magic.
Use the vacant space creatively
Vacant homes are appealing to some prospective buyers but not all. Nonetheless, most home shoppers will like to see how various items and furniture appear in various rooms and spaces in the home. The size and use of any space could be hard to judge when it’s empty. So take some time out to place a furniture or two in various rooms.
For instance, a sofa in the living room, a bed in each room, and a simple item like a table in the dining room can show how the spaces in the home can be used creatively in general. Don’t forget to place the appropriate size of bed in each room to make it easier for potential buyers to see how the space could be used. So use a king or queen sized bed in the master bedrooms and a single or double bed in the other rooms.
Fixtures
Vacant homes make glitches very glaring because there’s nothing to draw attention away from small details. Unlike a living home where so many items can distract potential buyers, in a vacant home it is easier to notice hinges, door pulls, door handles. So make sure you pay attention to very detail and ensure that these things are in great shape. Replace broken or worn out fixtures. For all other items that are working appropriately, clean them up with polish to add a fresh look.