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The House Hop Guide to Home Staging

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Who is your buyer?

The first thing to think about is the sort of buyer who is likely to want your property. Is your property likely to appeal to young professionals? families? retired couples?

A recently built, town centre apartment is likely to appeal to young professionals or couples trying to get onto the housing ladder for the first time. An uncluttered, minimalist look with light, neutral coloured walls is likely to have the widest appeal.

If you're selling a three or four bedroom house in a residential neighbourhood near to schools then it's more likely to appeal to families with school age children. Make it easy for them to imagine living there. Make the bedrooms look like bedrooms — don't use them to store junk or as a home office.

A bungalow might appeal to a retired couple looking to downsize. Make it look cosy and inviting with well chosen soft furnishings and subtle lighting.

If you're really not sure who your target buyer might be then simply follow the general advice on staging your home, set out below, and you won't go far wrong.

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Clean up!

It may not be fun, but it's the first step to a well staged house and it's essential.

So much so that if you're not prepared to do a really good job then you should consider getting in professional cleaners. No matter how well staged your house — if it's not clean buyers won't be impressed.

Make sure everything is cleaned: windows, woodwork, paintwork, the cooker, behind the furniture and every place that could possibly catch dust. Shampoo the carpets, clean the curtains and polish the floors.

Once you've gone to the effort of doing a really good clean don't let anything spoil it. If people are coming round to view then make sure the coffee cups are cleared away, the washing up is done, the magazines are neatly piled and the place is generally tidy.

Don't forget to give the place chance to air before buyers come to view, particularly if there anyone smokes in the house or if there are any strong cooking smells.

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Create space

Rooms with plenty of space and appear bigger and big rooms appeal to buyers. Apart from the decor, which we'll come to shortly, there are two things you can do to create space. First, get rid of any unnecessary furniture. Second, clear away clutter.

Be ruthless. If you have furniture that serves no real purpose other than to take up space then get rid of it. Sell it, give it to charity, send it to the dump or put it in storage. Just get it out of the house and you will start to see an immediate improvement.

Similarly, how many shampoos and conditioners do you really need? You'll be amazed at how much clutter you can do without as you work your way through the house. If it can't be thrown out put it into a cupboard or into storage.

If you have young children make sure that their toys are packed away and not strewn all over the floor — even if that only lasts for as long as you have visitors!

Not only will your rooms look bigger, it will be easier for buyers to image how things would look if they were living there (and if they can't imagine living there then they won't be buying).

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Create light

Modernising lighting can dramatically improve the look of rooms. Spotlights can be bought inexpensively and come in a choice of halogen or LED.

The rooms that will benefit most from new lighting are the kitchen and bathroom, but you can consider it anywhere in the house.

Most buyers will want to come and view in daylight and you should always make the most of the natural light you have available. Make sure that curtains are fully drawn and that internal doors are left open to let light through.

Where artificial light is needed to brighten up dark rooms you should experiment to see what creates the best impression, whether that be lamps, uplighters, ceiling lights or spotlights.

Such rooms should be lit when visitors arrive and the lights should not be turned off until after they have gone.

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Define each room

It's very important that each room is well defined. Don't have dining rooms doubling up as playrooms or bedrooms doubling up as studies, etc.

Don't leave it up to your buyer to imagine how things could look as many will not do so — instead they will come away with the wrong impression.

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Create double function rooms

A great way to add value to your home is to create double function rooms.

Here we are talking about rooms with distinct — but complementary — functions, each of which takes place in a clearly defined area of the room (eg, a kitchen with a breakfast bar). This is not the same as a room whose role is unclear and confused (eg, a dining room strewn with toys and being used as a playroom).

If your kitchen has enough space then create a breakfast area or breakfast bar. If you have a large lounge create an extra seating area away from the television. Dining rooms and studies are also rooms in which you could create a separate area to sit and relax.

Don't forget the garden either. If you don't already have a patio or decking area then create one. Add a simple outdoor table and chairs set and now your buyer can imagine relaxing outside with a glass of wine on a summer's afternoon or after a hard day at work.

Never assume people with think of these things without your help — very often they won't.

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Depersonalise

Again, depersonalising your home is part of the process of making it easier for your buyer to imagine living there.

Pack away the family portrait, the children’s pictures, the holiday memorabilia and the collection of statuettes! Make it easy for your buyer to imagine adding their mark. After all, it's only temporary — you get everything back when you move to your new home.

Another part of this process is to make sure that rooms are being used in the way that would be expected. If you've advertised a three bedroom house then prospective buyers do not expect to find that one of them is a home office and one of them is used for storage. Again, make it easy for them — don't leave it up to their imaginations.

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Invest in a coat of paint

You want your home to appeal to as wide a cross section of buyers as possible. Colourful walls are not the way to do this. Yes, you want your house to be bright, but it should be painted in light, neutral shades.

This will also help to create a sense of space and make rooms seem bigger. Another useful trick for creating the illusion of space is to hang a large mirror with a simple, unobtrusive frame onto the main wall of a reception room or bedroom.

Sometimes feature walls can work well, but this can be very subjective. If you have a feature wall that you really want to keep at least get a few honest opinions from friends and go with the consensus.

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Carpets and curtains

It's essential to have the right carpets if you're going to succeed in creating the sense of light and space that buyers are looking for.

Replace worn, stained or heavily patterned carpets with new carpets that are light, neutral coloured and plain. Also consider replacing carpets that are very dark, unless they genuinely help to create a room that is cozy and inviting.

Existing carpets that you are going to keep should be properly shampooed.

Sorting out the carpets can be done without spending a lot of money and it will have a real impact on the way your house is perceived by buyers.

The same rules that apply to carpets apply to curtains. Replace them if necessary or send them to be dry cleaned.

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Furniture

In your quest to create a sense of space don't go so far as to leave rooms empty of furniture.

Furniture defines a room’s function and helps buyers imagine how things will look when they have moved in. They will struggle to imagine the potential of an empty room.

Experiment with different layouts to see what works best, especially if you are trying to create a double function room as mentioned above.

Be aware that simply pushing the furniture to the edges of the room to make it look bigger could end up making it feel like a waiting room!

Don't block pathways through rooms. Buyers should be able to move freely from one area of the room to the next.

Group seating around an attractive focal point such as a fireplace or coffee table.

Your seating layout should show how many people can sit in the room comfortably. In a four bedroom house there should be seating for at least five, etc.

Furniture should be cleaned and if necessary reupholstered. Don’t forget, you can also hire furniture to create the right look.

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Pets

If you have pets make sure your house is regularly ventilated to reduce their smell. Even if you don't really notice it potential buyers will and some will find it very off putting.

Vacuum regularly to avoid the build up of hair. Caged animals such as hamsters should be regularly cleaned out (and should be kept in the garage rather than the house) and please don't subject your prospective buyer to litter trays in the house.

And, don't forget that some people are absolutely terrified of dogs. A buyer who is in a state of panic is not likely to want to stay very long or to come back for a second viewing. Leave the dog at the neighbours or have someone take it for a walk. Put the cat out too, just in case!

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Odd jobs

After all your hard work don't spoil the impression because the leaking tap didn't get fixed, a door doesn't shut properly or because of some other equally trivial odd job left undone.

Consider having a friend look around the house and garden for you to see if there's anything you missed because you're so used to it you looked right past it.

To receive free quotes from recommended tradesmen through "Quotatis" click here.

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Prioritising Improvements

If you're planning to make any improvements then the areas to prioritise are the kitchen, the bathroom and the garden.

i) kitchen and bathroom
You don't need to spend a lot of money doing this. You probably won't recoup the cost of a newly fitted kitchen or an expensive new bathroom so stick to making improvements that are mainly cosmetic.

Make sure that tiles are scrubbed clean; replace grouting if necessary; get rid of any damp or mould; make sure that sinks sparkle; scrub away any lime-scale or stains; fix the hinges on cupboards; add a coat of paint; buy new bath and toilet mats; and unblock sinks that drain slowly.

If you have a very dated bathroom suite (pink or avocado — that sort of thing) you may consider replacing it with a simple, contemporary set of white units. This can be done relatively inexpensively and will create a much more favourable impression.

A relatively cheap improvement may be to replace a ceiling light with spotlights. This can work in both the bathroom and the kitchen. If you use directional spotlights make sure they are of a decent quality.

Also make sure that there are sufficient spots to cover the whole room and, in the case of the kitchen, that there are enough to cover each work surface and any dining area you may have.

ii) garden
The garden is the one area where research shows that it may be worth spending money on improvements.

According to RICS (the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors), spending £900 on a landscaped, family friendly garden can add an extra £6,000 to a house's selling price.

Another improvement worth considering is to create an off-road parking space if your property does not already have one. RICS put the typical cost of this at £650, but say that it could be worth in excess of £10,000 when you sell.

At the very least, make sure that your front garden is tidy and well presented — remember, first impressions count.

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