Your property is ready for the market. You have followed the advice of your stager, and each and every room and closet has been edited and dressed, painted and upgraded as needed. You are now facing the daunting realization that people will be coming through at any time, sometimes with short notice, yet you also have to live here and get on with your daily life while keeping the house looking just the way it looks right now. Yikes!

 

Don’t panic. All the excellent preparation you did is going to help your property sell quickly and keep these days of inconvenience to a minimum. Meanwhile, there are things you can do to make this process easier.

• If there are several bathrooms in the house, make all but one or two off limits. That way you will only need to clean and tidy the ones being used.
• In areas like the bathroom and bedroom place toiletries and small personal items in baskets or bins. Make a space under the sink or in the bedside stand to hide away for showings. It is much easier to tuck away one bin than to grab and stuff several items.
• If possible move to off-site storage items which are rarely used, such as formal dinnerware, the lobster pot, and off season clothing. Not only is this a great selling strategy for showing spacious closets and cupboards; this will make room for stashing the day to day items you want close-by yet out of sight for showings. For example, the toaster comes off the counter for showings and fits into the newly created space in the cupboard.
• Make a list of last minute to-do’s to prepare for a showing. Beds made, counters and floors cleaned, toilet seats down, pet things and garbage removed, strategic lights on, and no scents.
• Get the whole family involved and in the habit of always leaving the house ready. Everyone tidies their room, cleans up after themselves in the bathroom, kitchen and laundry room, and even pumps up the couch and cushions after watching TV.

 

Happy selling! Remember, this is all about getting your property sold faster and for more.

Interiors by Melanie has been providing staging and decorating services in the Halifax area since 2004. Sign up for a monthly issue of All Things Décor at www.interiorsbymelanie.com. Melanie can be reached at 902-223-3237 or interiorsbymelanie@gmail.com