Did you know staging your home makes it sell 73% faster and for a better price? This is why professional luxury home stagers are worth their weight in gold. By making your home look appealing to potential buyers, you can not only get your asking price and start a bidding war but also sell it quickly. An undecorated home sells for substantially less because it fails to excite enough buyers to make an offer.

However, if you don’t want to spend top dollar on a professional interior decorator or stager, you can do the job yourself. Here are some quick tips that can help you de-clutter and improve your home’s appearance inside and out.

1. Get rid of, Donate and Store

The first thing you need to do is sort out all of the items in your luxury home and determine which ones you should get rid of, donate, or keep in storage. It may seem overwhelming at first, but the process is fairly easy if you go about it systematically. As you categorize, you will feel your stress melting away as well.

Begin by setting up three zones and post signs for all 3 of the steps. These should be some feet apart from each other, so you don’t accidentally throw out something you want to donate or store something that you want to throw out, etc. Now, start going through the house and move anything and everything in those areas according to their category. Here are some valium tips you can use:

Get rid of…

Get rid of anything that you have not used for at least two years and is not fit to be donated or used again. This may be difficult at first, but when you realize that you are wasting space by hoarding those items, the process will become easier. As the pile starts to grow, throw those items in the trash, so you don’t agonize over your choices. If you cannot do this without procrastinating, assign this task to someone else whom you trust.

Donate…

Unless you have a large enough garage and patience, you should donate items which are in great condition but which you don’t use anymore. Even if you haven’t used those items for a while, they may prove invaluable to someone else who needs them desperately. Keep adding to the donate pile without over-thinking, or you may find yourself reconsidering your choices. Plus, make sure to get the tax deduction slips from the charity organization you donate to.

Store…

Items that you do not want to donate, are ‘eye clutters’ and are in perfect condition should be stored away. Rather than stuffing them in a room in your house and putting off potential buyers, rent a storage pod and place the items there instead. This will also remove clutter from the premises and ensure that it is kept safe.

Eye clutter items are things you want to keep, but which can ruin your existing décor for visiting buyers. This can be anything from a beloved, old (but ugly) armchair to a chipped teapot you got as a present from your grandmother. Transfer such items each day to the storage pod but don’t have it removed till the house has been staged completely. You may want to take out or put in some items during the process.

2. Prepare the Walls

After de-cluttering your home, the next thing you should do is take a good, long look at its walls inside and out. While you may not need to re-paint the walls to make your house stand out to buyers, you may not have a choice in some cases. For example, even if you absolutely love the electric blue wall in your bedroom, the chances are high that a buyer will be put off by it.

Buyers want to see a blank canvas when they picture themselves living there. That’s why you should seriously reconsider re-painting the walls to a soft cream or white color. Similarly, consider replacing garishly colored cushions on your sofa with soft colored ones, so buyers who want to buy a home in Los Angeles are not distracted by them and will instead, see the house as a whole.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should avoid color altogether. Incorporate it in small bursts around the house in the form of flowers, a bowl, rugs, pillows, etc. If you decide to work with friends to spruce up the place, make sure that they maintain clean edge lines while painting and don’t leave a mess behind when they are done.

Painting walls in a single room can cost you anywhere from $100 to $300 depending on the price of the paint. While you shouldn’t skimp on quality, remember that you may have to spend money on other renovations. As such, go for paint that offers good value for money rather than the most expensive variety that you can find.

Once you have toned down the color in the rooms, your job is not done yet. Go around the house and check for areas that need a paint touch-up. Use the same paint you used for the walls to improve those areas or take a color sample to a paint seller to match the exact shade. Some walls may need to be re-painted to prevent blotches.  

3. Sell Your Home for the Most Money

Even if you hired a professional stager to prepare your Hollywood Hills home, you won’t be able to negotiate a good price for it on the first deal. Even the highest offer you get may not be the figure you want to see, and you may not be able to recover the amount you spent on renovations and maintenance.

To increase your chances of making a sale you can be proud of, here are some tips that can tilt a deal in your favor:

Get to Know the Market

The first thing you need to do is determine whether you are in a buyer’s or a seller’s market. In a buyer’s market, i.e. when there are more homes to sell than buyers, sellers will compete to attract as many as possible in as little time as possible. In a seller’s market, on the other hand, when the opposite is the case, prices rise as buyers compete for homes.

A good way to determine which one you are in is to check out the Days on Market or DOM average for other homes in the same area as yours. This will tell you how long those homes have been listed for sale on the market. If houses that are similar to yours are selling faster than this average, that means there is a strong demand for your luxury home.

Besides this, also check out the home price appreciation for homes that are available on the market. This will tell you how fast prices are rising. If they are rising drastically, it means buyers are willing to spend more.

Choose the Time to Sell Wisely

Home sales increase and decrease with the seasons as well. Most home buyers who want to buy a home in Los Angeles for instance, visit homes that are on the market in spring so that they can move during summer when their kids start school. While this may vary by market, you should also look at other factors to determine the right time to sell.

If you want to sell for as much money as you can get, do so at a time when there is enough equity in it that can pay off your mortgage, moving costs and selling costs. Otherwise, you may find yourself spending more on covering these expenditures out of pocket.

However, it goes both ways. Timing your sale to ensure you get a higher price can conflict with other priorities and can end up costing you more. For example, if you miss a good job opportunity because you were waiting to sell your home before relocating, you can lose money even if you sell your house for a good price.

Sell for a Strategic Price

Once you have figured out the market value of your luxury home, your first thought will probably be to place it for sale at the highest amount you can ask for it. Contrary to popular belief, that is not always the best course of action since it may not always be in your best interests.

Most sellers think that by putting a hefty price tag on a house, they can then negotiate to a price that they can accept. However, this strategy can also backfire. That’s because it may put off buyers from even showing up. If you list your home for close to what it is worth, on the other hand, you can get more money out of it. Buyers who want to buy a home in Los Angeles (which is not a cheap area) for instance, will be more willing to look at a property that they may only have to pay a bit extra for.

Just remember, the longer a home remains on the market, the harder it is to sell. That’s because people will start to wonder if there is something about the property that is putting off buyers. So if you overprice from the beginning, they won’t even realize that is the reason why it hasn’t sold yet, and they will turn away as well.

Plus, whatever you do, don’t remove the home from listings and upload it again later when you think the market is perfect for selling. Buyers will still be able to see how long the house was on the market and how serious you are about selling. People will want a good deal in a location that they love. So just consider dropping the price a bit and meet them in the middle so you can sell faster.

Make the Home Appealing Online

Buyers always look at multiple homes before finalizing their decision, which is why most don’t have a lot of time when they are going from house to house. That is why they narrow down their choices by checking it out online. Many will look at pictures online and will visit the property that looks the most appealing.

The thing is, if you want to sell your luxury home for top dollar, you need to make sure it makes a great first impression. Therefore, when you are publishing a listing online, make sure it is accompanied with high-res images of the interior and exterior of your home. Consider hiring a professional photographer so you can increase your chances of selling the house for a price you can appreciate. The better it looks online, the more buyers will come flocking to its doors for showings.

 After uploading the images online, use online tools to get as many eyeballs on those pictures as you can. Share the images complete with descriptions on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to spread the word and make the content shareable.

Pezzini Luxury Homes & Mansions

If you are a seller who wants to sell a Hollywood Hills home or buy a home in Los Angeles or around the state, we can help. Pezzini Luxury Homes and Mansions provides real estate information and services for Bel Air, Malibu, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and other areas in and around California. We have an extensive list of luxury homes and can help you narrow down your choices according to your sales price and budget. Get in touch with us today.