Chicago Realtor Yuval Degani observes that humans are sensory creatures, and says you should pay attention to the judgments potential home buyers might pass as they walk through your home during a showing or an open house.
“Here’s how to appeal to the most buyers by staging according to the five senses:
Staging By Sight
Rooms should be neat and free of clutter, and personal items should be removed. From artwork to photos, trophies to knickknacks, any item that reflects your family’s interests should be replaced with simple, classic décor. The buyer needs to imagine their own life in this house.
Staging by Smell
Not only should each room be neat and clean, but you want it to smell fresh as well. Fresh, however, doesn’t mean the overpowering scent of harsh chemical smells such as bleach should be present. A simple air freshener with a light scent will suffice. If you’re a pet owner or smoker, you’ll have to do your due diligence to clear the air by sending your pet to a neighbor’s and cleaning the carpets and furniture to get the odor out.
Staging by Touch
Is something broken or chipped, such as tile, wobbly handrails or missing or lose handles from a kitchen drawer? Make sure to do any of these so-called minor repairs before showing your home, as they can be a red flag to buyers that if even small things have issues, there might be major structural defects as well.
Staging by Hearing
Make sure that all potentially distracting noises, whether that’s a barking pet, radio or a television, are off. Again, you want buyers to focus on their experience in the home and not on deciphering what a noise is and where it is coming from.
Staging by Taste
If you have an open house, you should have some food and drinks on hand. Keep it simple, however. While you want there to be a festive atmosphere in your home, you don’t want to serve something that’s too difficult or messy for guests to handle.”
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blog posts by Yuval Degani.
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