Staging Your Florida Home for a Speedy Sale

Follow the guidelines below to ensure a speedy sale and a great offer. A number of the items below are DIY projects that any homeowner can complete and they go a long way in getting your house sold. If there are problems with the ac, roofing, electrical, or plumbing a professional contractor is a must and that is a different problem all together. Below I focus on the common sense projects you can complete.

Neutral Paint colors for every room (don’t forget to prime)

Prime the walls
Neutral colors – beiges, yellows, whites, grays, tans
Paint over that faux project that went wrong. If you did a textured wall (granite, Venetian plaster, sandstone) it can be painted over, just prime it first

De-clutter

Remove excessive furniture (end tables, extra chairs, lamps)
Remove the “knick knacks”
Take down the family photos or anything too personal, buyers want to visualize themselves in a home so keep the focus off “you” and on the house itself
Remove excessive pillows and blankets on the couch
Put kids and pet toys away
Tone down that stereo system – my husband has a 7.1 system and those 8 speakers would need to go
Clean fridge – no magnets or pictures

Curb appeal

Cut the grass
Trim the shrubs
Replace lighting fixtures if necessary
Make sure all the landscape lights all work at night and replace bulbs if necessary
Replace house #’s
Paint front door
Freshen up the mulch
Consider a few new plants
Paint or replace the mailbox
Pressure wash the driveway and sidewalk
Replace the door hardware and locks if old and oxidized
These Florida homes have a stucco finish that is painted and if it has been 5 years or more since the last paint job then add that to the list

Stage pool or hot tub

Remove the pool toys (rafts, etc)
Have the pool and spa clean prior to open house
Remove spa cover and have it running

Remove items from kitchen counter

Toasters, can openers, bread box, coffee pot, spice rack

Curtains

Put them up if necessary, replace if too busy, and make sure they’re clean

No “slash” rooms which means:

A bedroom should be a bedroom – not a bedroom/office or a bedroom/exercise room

Clean clean clean….

Clean like your relatives are coming and you want to impress. That means clean behind the couches, the baseboards, microwave, fridge, and other areas you might not clean too often
Clean the carpets and the rugs – replace if outdated
Replace the tile if it is old and dated
A dirty house could lead the potential buyer to believe the house hasn’t been taken care of and there just might be other problems

Garage

This shouldn’t be an area to store all those extra items mentioned above, but with no basement Florida homeowners tend to store extra items here
Rent a storage unit if necessary
Organize shelves and the pegboard wall
Put loose items in boxes and Rubbermaid containers

Fireplace

Make it a focal point (example: slate mosaic tile for the surround and the hearth)

Simple accessorizing

Use fruit on the dining room table for a splash of color (basket of apples, lemons, oranges)
No faux flowers – they’re a dust collector

Bedrooms

How’s your bed look? You may want to consider getting new bedding
Make sure clothing is put in closets or dressers
Softer lighting is a must also

Closets

Buyers will look in them so make sure they are organized and clean
Clothes hung up, sweaters folded, and all unnecessary or older items donated or put in the storage unit I mentioned above

Reconsider the lighting fixtures / ceiling fans

I have a large red pendant light (which is very artistic) in the entry way above the front door that would absolutely need replaced. It was a good buy, but it looks better off than on. It puts off an awful red light and if I think it is awful a buyer would too.
Ceiling fans are another item that can look dated and it goes a long way when replaced. It is another item that is always on sale at the stores.

Replace Faucets

If they are old then they’re probably outdated. Keep an eye out at the Home Improvement stores for these items as they are always on sale or clearanced too.

In summary most of the items listed above are common sense, but some of us have a hard time moving on and making changes. Plan ahead if you’re not selling soon and make purchases when you find them on sale or clearanced. This is a great checklist and for every item not completed you face the risk of getting a lower offer or no offer at all. Your ultimate job is to get the house sold and to get the maximum price so make the necessary changes and move on.