Certain areas of a home are more likely than others to be forgotten when it comes to staging a property to sell. However these spaces, which seem unimportant to some homeowners (or even some home stagers), might actually rank higher than expected on a prospective buyer’s house wish list.
In a post on Monday I gave tips for staging the garage. Today, my focus is on an equally important selling feature of a home:
The Basement. You never know what a prospective buyer may have planned for the basement of a property you’re staging. If the homeowners are using their basement primarily for storage, make sure everything is in order so a buyer can perceive it as a great, usable space.
The basement should never be kept looking like a dumping ground when a house goes up for sale.
- Put up shelves to get as much clutter off the floor as you can. Have your clients donate or sell anything they don’t want to move and suggest they put other large items into storage that they’ll be taking with them to their new home.
- If the walls and floor are dingy, give them a fresh coat of paint.
- Install better lighting if needed.
- Put up blinds to hide ugly views from basement windows.
- In a finished basement, help buyers envision a use for the space by adding props such as a craft table or workout equipment. Add accessories such as plants, art and lamps to give the space warmth.
On Friday I’ll post tips on how to stage a laundry room to sell. In the meantime, if you found this advice useful and haven’t already read Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide: Home Staging Tips, Tricks and Floor Plans, you should get yourself a copy. It’s full of this same type of home staging advice and covers every nook and cranny of a property.
If you have a basement home staging story to share I’d love to read it! Please share it here by leaving a comment below.
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
Debra Gould developed the Staging Diva Training Program to create opportunities for others to grow their own profitable home staging businesses. There are currently over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates around the world. Debra created the Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide: Home Staging Tips, Tricks and Floor Plans to provide design direction to home stagers feeling they need it.
[tags] home staging, home stager, home staging tips, how to stage a basement, debra gould, home staging training, staging diva[/tags]
Hi Debra, yes a garage is also an important area.
If the garage is so cluttered, how can anyone even think that their 1-2 cars will fit
Painting the walls and floors is a must to brighten as well as make the whole garage seem much bigger
A peg board for tools etc.
Yes.
We always hang our bikes up on hooks made especially for bikes.
A shelf for the helmets or one can attach them to each bike.
Thanks for the very important tips.
I will certainly keep that in mind for the near future.
Warmly,
Beverly
Oh … the garage. This area and unfinished basements are always my hardest struggle with sellers. Over a year ago I consulted on a gorgeous 10,000 s/f home. The garage had 4 – yes, 4 – new Mercedes Benz parked in the garage. The owners had already moved and theses were their extra cars. Along with the cars, there were unorganized boxes, loose stuff, ancient dirty litter boxes, gardening tools (shovels, rakes …) just laying across a workbench, etc., etc., etc. I could not get them to understand the importance of organizing and showing off the space in this 4+ car garage. In the end, they did nothing about it. Because I speak regularly with the agent, I know the home has not sold, and the most frequent comments from potential buyers is that the garage is such a mess. If you have any tricks up your sleeve how to convey to sellers how important garages and basements are without hitting them over the head, I could use some advice.
Staging To Sell
231.690.0398
Jill R. Monczunski
President/Designer
http://www.designedbystagingtosell.com
designedbystagingtosell@gmail.com
Serving Central and Northern Michigan USA
Hi Jill, to help your home staging customers understand why every room in a house is key, look back at your notes from the Staging Diva Training Program. Remember it’s a seller’s job to romance the buyer into making an offer. If potential buyers find something about the house that’s disturbing they are most likely going to move on to the next listing. This is especially true in a buyers’ market as we have now, when they can afford to be as picky as they please!
The example you’ve just provided is a perfect cautionary tale to others of why “every room” includes the garage. I would share this story with future clients to show them what can happen if they don’t follow your advice.