sale run the gamut from simple cleanups to elaborate stagings and extensive renovations. But that’s TV, and some of those options — particularly going to the trouble of updating old bathrooms and kitchens — can cost tens of thousands of dollars and be wholly unnecessary.
DON’T LET EMOTIONS RULE In the real world, you don’t have
to do that, the HGTV pros admit. They all advise low-cost or no-cost ways of getting your house ready to be shown. The first step involves taking your emotions out of the sales process. Several of the HGTV stars said many homeowners’ attachment to their homes presents an obstacle that can stand in the way of a smooth start. Egypt Sherrod, the New
Jersey-based real estate expert on Property Virgins, the HGTV series about first-time homebuyers, explains: “When you want to sell your home, you have to look at it as a business transaction. No one cares about your memories; no one cares about your paint color or what you went through to decorate your home. They just care about what that will mean for them.” Among other problems, unrealistic
pride can lead to equally unrealistic expectations about a house’s value. “You’d be amazed at how many people say, Well, so-and-so down the
street sold their place for this and my place is much nicer than theirs — I mean, I built this with my bare hands,” says Scott. “Understand what the buyers are looking for and what price you’re going to have to accept.”
STASH THE CLUTTER The next crucial step is preparing
your house to be shown to strangers by discarding or stowing away personal items such as framed family photographs cluttering up
enlist the advice of a professional stager, who can cost as little as $100.
THE BIG STAGE Stagers are people who come into
a home for sale and suggest ways to arrange furniture or even to bring in additional, rented pieces in order to better show off a home’s spaces. Not that long ago, bringing in a stager was something few home-sellers ever did, but the HGTV pros say the selling process is so competitive today that some degree of staging is a necessity. “It does not cost a lot
SHERROD
mantelpieces and end tables that might have deep meaning for you, but not for prospective buyers. “You want to depersonalize the entire space so that other people can see themselves in it,” says Scott. “You don’t want to have that nude drawing of yourself above the fireplace.” It also helps to de-clutter closets,
the experts say, and, if necessary, spend a little money to rent a storage unit to stow belongings you cannot part with. All of the HGTV experts we talked to recommended at least some investment in professional cleaning. Don’t forget paint and minor repairs where needed and, most notably,
misc bedroom SCOTT
of money to have a stager come in and do a walk- through and an analysis of what furniture needs to go, what furniture can be kept, where it needs to be moved around, paint colors that might change — it’s about a $100 or a $150 investment that can totally transform the presentation and the feel of the house,” says Dallas real estate agent
Julie Provenzano, who’s seen on Real Estate Intervention.
THAT NEW HOUSE SMELL All of the HGTV real estate pros
advise trying to look at your home for sale as if you are a prospective buyer. A fresh coat of paint can’t hurt either. “A fresh coat of paint just smells new,” notes Brian Balthazar, HGTV’s director of programming and the man who oversees the production of House Hunters, the cable channel’s best-known home-selling and home- buying series. “It’s like that new-car smell,” he says. “That fresh paint smell in a house goes a long way.”
It helps to de-clutter closets and if necessary, spend a little money to rent a storage unit to stow belongings you cannot part with.
AUGUST 2012 | NEWSMAX MAXLIFE 75
family photos
hardware kitchen
clothes
SHERROD, SCOTT/COURTESY OF HGTV / BOXES/OLGA CHERNETSKAYA/
DREAMSTIME.COM
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