The goal here is to inspire the feeling of love at first sight with a charming looking home on the outside so that potential buyers and passers-by are drawn to the property before they even walk in the door. Think of the exterior of a restaurant… you won’t want to go inside and experience the cuisine if the exterior is unappealing or gives an image of being unkempt. The natural train of thought would be “Well if the exterior looks like that, then I certainly don’t want to experience the cuisine!”

TIP: Studies have shown that one place buyers stand the longest is the front entrance (waiting for the realtor to open the lock box and the door). Don’t pass up this opportunity to really impress them by making sure everything is perfect.

• Power wash, power wash, power wash: fences, driveway & walkways, decks, porches and the exterior of the home.
• Have the window professionally cleaned and remove screens
• Create visual “pop” with lots of color in the landscaping. In this case, more is better!
• Remove excessive plant pots and be sure the ones you leave out are filled with beautiful flowers.
• Weed, trim, hedge and add fresh mulch to all beds. Remove all dead limbs and brush.
• Add fresh mulch to all the beds.

When a home seller contemplates what seems to be the endless array of details involved in making their home market-ready, it can be overwhelming and intimidating.  To ease the stress involved in the home selling process, homeowners should take the following two steps before doing anything else.

#1: Contact a Realtor

Find a Realtor who is experienced and tech savvy.  It is important that you identify a Realtor who understands the importance of taking excellent photographs of both the exterior and interior of your home, to be posted on the Internet.  Today, over 90% of buyers start their search for a new home on the Internet.  It is imperative that your photos reflect a home that is inviting and impeccably maintained.  In addition, make sure that your Realtor of choice uses social media platforms to aid in their marketing efforts

#2:  Contact a Professional Home Stager

Before the photos of your home are taken, invite a professional Home Stager to tour your home to provide advice on how to effectively present your home to prospective buyers.  Home Stagers are trained to see a home “through a buyer’s eyes”. A Stager will make recommendations that, starting at your mailbox, will address a range of issues including curb appeal, exterior and interior paint colors, furniture placement, traffic flow in the various rooms of the house, and kitchen and bathroom presentation, among many others.

As a Home Stager in northern New Jersey, Whitehall Interiors & Home Staging frequently consults with homeowners as they embark on making their homes market-ready.  The primary goal we have for our clients is to create a home that has broad appeal, which will appeal to a diverse group of prospective buyers.

There’s a lot of competition in today’s market, and we strive to make our clients’ listings stand out from the rest.  Take a look at a variety of our residential transformations!

Whether you’re planning to sell soon, or you plan on staying in your current home for the time being, the following home improvements outlined below deliver the best return on your investment (ROI).

When selling a home, a sure-fire way to increase buyer interest, as well as guaranteeing return on investment, is to make improvements to outdated bathrooms.  Buyers will view a home more favorably if the bathrooms have up-to-date sinks, toilets, vanities, tile, and light fixtures.  And the good news is that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to achieve substantial improvements as well as a great look for this very important room.

The photo below on the left shows a powder room in a 20-year-old home that had been on the market for close to one year.  Most buyers would look at this room and imagine all of the work they would have to do to bring the bathroom into the 21st century.  This alone may be enough to make a buyer want to move on to the next house!

Northern New Jersey’s Whitehall Interiors & Home Staging recommended that the vanity, sink and fixtures be replaced, we removed the wall paper, painted the room, replaced the towel bars, the light fixture, mirror, toilet and floor tile.  The cost to the seller was under $2,500.  Best of all, the home sold in one month, above the asking price!

Our company approached the very important master bathroom of the same home pictured below somewhat differently.  We recommended to the sellers that we replace the sinks, faucets, vanity top (it was a tile top originally) and light fixture above the mirror.  The vanity itself was in good condition so we reconstituted the wood and replaced the hardware.  Silestone was installed on the vanity top, giving it a rich look. The walls were painted and the room was completely rejuvenated.  The cost for these improvements came in under $2,000.

As you contemplate selling your home, look at your outdated bathrooms with a critical eye and consider making at least some of the improvements described here.  Better yet, call in a professional home stager who can advise you how to best update this very important room in your home.