5 Steps to

Create Ambiance that Sells Houses

by Debra Blackmon

How long does your house get to make a first impression on a potential buyer?

Here’s the answer. A prospective homebuyer makes her buying decision within 15 seconds of walking into a house! "NO/YES", just that quick! Any good interior designer knows when walking into a space whether or not that room is working … and so do your would-be buyers.

They know right away whether or not your house should be their house and if it will work for them. And they get it all by osmosis! All within 15 seconds.

That’s the #1 reason 76% of this nation’s Realtors are now advising their clients to hire staging or merchandizing professionals.

Homes have been proven to sell more quickly and at higher prices when they’ve been staged for resell. It’s like putting on your best face when meeting your fiancé’s parents.

A home’s best face starts at the curb, so you’ll find a "First Impressions Count" checklist at the end of this article.

If your property doesn’t make it through the subconscious screening process going on in a buyer’s head from the curbside through just inside the front door, it’s going to be on the market longer than you would like and cost you money.

These are not the things to be implemented leisurely if you are serious about getting a piece of property sold quickly and at full retail! It’s all about creating ambiance that sells!

Here’s an idea if you’re a Realtor and have had your client’s ignore your advice … sending a professional staging consultant to communicate needed changes frequently takes the sting out of being told what to do to get a property sold, and takes the burden off you.

A staging professional is an emotionally unattached expert who sees the home as a product to be merchandized and displayed to its best advantage… making it more sellable… just like product for sale in a store is merchandized to show it off and attract the right buyer.

Here are the details to the 5 strategies:

Step #1 Clean it! Who gets the last say so on cleanliness? Assuming that your definition of cleanliness fits everyone else’s is a common problem when staging a home.

Over clean it, at least at the beginning of your staging strategies. A house and yard can never be too clean. Pay special attention to the parts of the house that have to do with hygiene … sinks, toilets, showers and tubs, but also the kitchen and laundry room appliances, the pet dishes!

One client was mystified that someone would look in her fridge or dishwasher!

Subconsciously, a buyer thinks that if you can’t keep it clean, she can’t keep it clean! If your stuff looks good here, then her stuff will look good here!

If you’re ever going to throw money at a problem to make it go away, this is the place to do it… hire a professional cleaning crew.  It’s all about creating ambiance that sells!

Step #2 De-Clutter it! Have you ever been in a home where the owner was oblivious to the clutter going on around them?

Clutter accents the flaws in a space!

Buyers subconsciously see clutter as deficient storage in a house! Reign in the clutter, reign in the buyer! It’s all about creating ambiance that sells!

Step #3 De-Odorize it! What do you smell when you come through your front door? Can you detect the diffused and subtle blend of morning coffee, hair gel and pet dander?

Living in a house for any length of time at all, homeowners are used to and oblivious to how it smells. And even what smells like comfort to you, may turn up a buyer’s nose.

Subconsciously buyers will not emotionally connect with a space if the right smells are not there or are being overpowered by what’s unusual or unappealing to them.

Do you think that’s why Realtors encourage us to blow cookie or fresh bread smells through a house?  It's all about creating ambiance that sells!

Step #4 Re-Arrange it! What are some ways to camouflage flaws in a house to get it ready for sale? How do you showcase its assets?

Now that cleaning, de-cluttering and de-odorizing have properly prepped the house, the true art of staging takes place.

Professional stagers use "placement decorating" and "interior redesign" techniques to make a house appear more interesting, spacious and inviting, based on 3 guiding principles … enhance the natural focal point in the space, neutralize the environment and get the furniture into the right place in the room.

Homes staged with these 3 principles ALONE are on the market nationally an average of only 18 days … in fact, nationally, 70% of the homes that resort to these staging basics do so because they’ve already sat on the market anywhere from 3 months to 2 years! That’s too long, don’t you think?

When finally staged, only 20% of those had to be re-carpeted … 25% repainted.

After staging they sold within the average 18 days … most of them sold within 24 hours after just moving the furniture into the right place!

Now, that may just be a happy coincidence, or the right application of Feng Shui (which happens naturally when these principals are applied)! But with a typical national staging cost between $812.00 and $1089.00 and the return on that being an increased selling price between $2275.00 and $2841.00 is an investment return of 169%.

Pretty respectable coincidence! And well worth getting the furniture into the right place! It’s all about creating ambiance that sells!

The best furniture placement techniques come from the pros (1-room, 1-day interior redesigners are the experts at this). Having your furniture placed professionally helps potential buyers connect with your space emotionally.

How do you neutralize an environment? By using neutral color schemes in the space and by removing any and all homeowner personal reference paraphernalia (like family photos).

Just for safety, don’t leave the names or photos of your children exposed while the house is being shown. Always use good judgment. By neutralizing the photo galleries, you’ll protect your privacy and safety, as well as create ambiance that sells the potential buyer on your space.

Color schemes are best kept in ranges that the largest pool of buyers can tolerate … which means neutral!

What is a natural focal point in a home? The natural focal point is one that doesn’t get up and leave with the seller when she moves out!

And if it is properly enhanced by the dynamic placement of furniture and accessories, an ambiance of balance, harmony and beauty can be achieved in the space to facilitate a subtle but powerful emotional and subconscious connection with a potential buyer … even if the furniture is less than perfect!

Step #5 Price it right! How do you know if you’ve got the property listed at the right price? Establishing the right price for your property is so important to your success, always seek professional help from a Realtor.

If pricing property is outside your area of expertise, call a professional Realtor! All these other strategies will benefit you the most when you’re teamed with a good Realtor to price and market your property professionally.

These are proven techniques that will make your house appear much more harmonious, beautiful and sellable, even if you’re using elements in the space that are technically not perfect!

They will help solve your resell problems … it’s all about creating ambiance that sells!

Debra Blackmon is a member of Interior Redesign Industry Specialists and an Instructor of Redesign Concepts for this prestigious association that provides the "talent" for the Interior Redesign segments on HGTV’s Decorating Cents.  She is an Interior Design Society Associate, member of the American Society of Feng Shui, and a staging expert.  Contact her for your own staging consultation! 

Copyright © 2003-2008 Debra Blackmon.  All rights reserved.

Reprinting this article: You are welcome to reprint, copy or distribute this article provided this copyright notice and a link to www.debrablackmon.com is included.

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