The Un-staged House

The typical house on the market is the un-staged house. No matter how nice the location, size of the yard, or view out the kitchen window, it is still un-staged.

Why do sellers make things harder on themselves and their Realtors? You have to ask yourself how serious are you about selling your property. Buyers are going to walk through and miss all of the good things your house has to offer.

Take this property for instance. This is a typical waterfront home in Merritt Island FL. It has a lot going for it.

Nice mature trees in the landscape, a professional pruning would do wonders.

In this yard the palms only need the dead branches removed. The sprinkler system should be checked to make sure it is operating properly and the grass kept mowed and trimmed.

Remember do not let the tree man ever hurricane cut your palms. There is nothing attractive about a palm with no fronds.

Here is another issue that should be addressed. This large rubber tree is too close to the foundation of the garage. The roots can ruin the foundation and clog up the sewer lines.

These branches also pose a threat to the lines running to the house. It would be worth the cost to have it professionally removed.

Curb Appeal

This entry leaves a lot to be desired. The way it looks now is not very inviting. This house has a very desirable curved driveway. It can be dressed up quite nicely.

These planters are great features. But at the un-staged house they are overgrown. The trellis and the extra pots are old. The only thing a buyer sees is all the clutter. First impressions people!

Removing all of the plants and starting over with annuals and mulch would do wonders.

Inside

The entry can use some TLC. A new door mat and a potted plant on the left hand side would spruce it up. On the inside, an area rug and a picture would be nice.

Upon entry the un-staged house smells. One thing to know is the power of smell. A bad smell is hard to get past when you are looking at a house. It is vacant so it would be easy to deep clean and repaint.

Area rugs with a couple of chairs would help this empty space. You want the buyers to get the feel of your house. If you give them a place to sit they can linger.

Nice! An indoor laundry room. Adding a picture and a nice stack of towels and a decorative box would dress it up a little.

Is this a bedroom or a giant walk-in closet? Let's make it look like the perfect home office. Add a desk and chair with a few decorative file type boxes to show how much storage there is. An area rug would break up the red carpeting a little.

Deep clean and repair of grout would really help this kitchen. A few well chosen accessories would give it a homey feel. Even a silk arrangement would be nice.

What a great patio area. Too bad the only thing buyers notice is the strange pots lined up on the wall. These need to go. The fallen leaves should be swept regularly.

A patio set would help define just how large this space really is.

This house has some wonderful garden areas. It has been nicely set up with trellises and pavers. All it needs is some cleaning up. The buyers see work, work, work.

Do you see a great bed for a vegetable garden? Or a lot of work? Get rid of the PVC. Clean up this garden and you have a selling point.

A Boat house! Huge selling point. Get the buyers outside and keep them out there long enough to take in all the great aspects of this property. Right now they walk out and turn around.

This is actually a very nice property located in central, east Merritt Island. It also has a concrete pad on the side for boat or RV storage.

The un-staged house will sit longer because it is tired. The buyers are distracted by the tasks at hand. It is not ready to move into. That is what they think. There are a lot of other homes to look at.

Don't be the owner of the un-staged house. Do it right. Get on with your life.

If you have questions about staging your house go to the Contact page and email me directly.

Jean Caldwell css/crs