Christina Anstead and Tarek El Moussa, of the popular house-flipping series Flip or Flop, have taken the house flipping industry by storm. If you’ve ever seen their show, you’ve seen how they’ll search for rundown properties and look at all the area comps to see what the home is going for. After Acquiring the property, they’ll fix it up and stage it for house showings. What they don’t fully show you is the behind the scene struggles and hardships endured to acquire the property.
On TV, they show the fun part of reconstructing and staging the home, and that’s what most people think of when considering taking on a fixer-upper property. But the reality behind acquiring a fix and flip home is that none of the fun can begin until you buy the home first.
Unless you’re sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars, you’re more than likely not going to be able to acquire a property with the money you have in the bank, therefore, you’re going to need to get a rehab loan to buy the property, fix it, and sell it. It’s with this money that you’ll have the funds to improve the home with home inspections, various repairs, demolitions, and, of course, staging the home.
Staging the home is the fun part. But it’s also the part that home buyers look at the most. Potential home buyers could care less about the hardships you endured to find the right rehab loan with term agreements suitable for your budget, or the fact that you broke your toe during the demo process… All they want to see is the finished product to have a better idea of what it can look and feel like to live in your fixer-upper home.
If you hadn’t noticed from the shows, staging is the true moneymaker, and it’s definitely what will get your home sold fast.
Staging and Decorating: What’s the Difference?
When it comes to selling a home, people like to use the terms decorating and staging interchangeably as though they mean the same thing, but the reality is that the two terms are indeed very different.
- Decorating: Decorating is all about personal style. The way you decorate a home is reflective of your personal interests and interior design style. It’s a style that makes you feel comfortable.
- Staging: Staging is creating an ambiance and appeal unlike your own personal style. The whole goal and sole purpose of staging your home is to make it flattering and appealing to a buying audience.
Now that you know the difference between the two terms, it will be much easier to properly stage your home in a way that’s appealing to potential home buyers. Here’s how to do it.
Enhance Your Home’s Curb Appeal
When it comes to curb appeal, it’s encompassing everything from the front yard to your house numbers. The point is to improve the exteriors of your home so that it looks appealing from the curb… thus, curb appeal.
Your home’s curb appeal is so important to the selling of your home because it’s the very thing that gives potential buyers a first impression of your home. Think of it like this… In order to get potential buyers to want to check out the interiors of your home, you first need to attract them by the exteriors of your home.
Some ways to improve the curb appeal of your home include:
- Updating your home’s siding
- Investing in regular lawn care services
- Painting your door a bright color
- Investing in outdoor patio furniture
- Pathway lights
- Having new windows installed
- Plant a small garden of bright, colorful flowers
For your property’s house showings, make sure to incorporate the tactics to draw potential home buyers in right from the curb.
Clean Your Property
The last thing you want is to “wow” potential buyers from the curb, and then disappoint them when they enter your home, especially by your property being dirty. After acquiring the property and making all the necessary repairs, the very next thing you need to do is get the property cleaned… This is something you want to do before bringing in staging furniture.
You, of course, want to make sure all countertops are clean and free from debris, ensure every flooring type has been swept, mopped, or vacuumed, and gotten rid of any odors that can be displeasing to anyone on a showing of your home. If you don’t have the time or effort to put into cleaning the property yourself, then you definitely want to make sure to invest in a cleaning service to regularly come in and clean after showings.
Rid the Property of Clutter
Being that the property is a fixer-upper, there’s a high chance that the property potentially has trinkets and other types of clutter left behind from previous owners. If that’s the case, then you definitely need to get rid of all of it, unless you see a few things that you can hang on to, clean up, and make like new. Anything outside of being salvageable needs to be thrown away or given to a donation center.
Keep the Interior Design Style Consistent Throughout the Home
The kitchen, living room, and master bedroom and bathroom are going to be the main rooms to focus on in your staging efforts. Now, in staging these areas, you need to pick an interior design style and stick with it all throughout the home. For instance, if you want to decorate the bedroom in traditional interior design style, then you need to incorporate that design style for the kitchen, living room, and master bathroom as well. All the furniture and decor elements related to the design style you choose need to be reflective of that style.
Get Rid Of All Personal Touches
Remember, decorating is personal and staging is a form of decorating specifically for selling purposes. So, if you love polka dots, and saw the most gorgeous polka dot couch, refrain from using it to stage your home because it’s too extreme of a decor element. Remember, you want to keep all your staging efforts neutral so that potential home buyers can easily see themselves living there when touring your home.
By following these effective staging tips, you’re sure to get your home sold quickly and have a great return on your house flipping investment.
