Mississauga Home Staging - Owners Pride Home Staging & Design - Lydia's Blog

- Once your house is de-cluttered, it needs to be spic and span from
           top to bottom.
- In addition to making your home more attractive to buyers, it shows pride            
           of ownership, makes buyers more comfortable, reduces allergens,
           eliminates odors, and makes the house feel more spacious because
           it reflects the light, lets the light in and brightens.
- Clean all light fixtures and chandeliers, including the bulbs.  All light bulbs
           should be working and at maximum allowable wattage.
- Clean all the windows, insides and out, including window sills and ledges.
- Clean all mirrors and pictures.
- Wash all window curtains and blinds.
- Shampoo all the carpets.
- Wash all moldings, banisters, stairs, base boards, doors, door and window trim.
- Open windows and air out the house daily, using air fresheners and too
           many scented candles looks like you are trying to cover up smells,
           it is best to eliminate them at the source.
- Foods that have strong or lingering odors should not be cooked while house
           is on the market.
- You might be used to your pet litter basket, beds, toys, food, etc.but the
           potential buyer might not be.
- Avoid smoking in the house while it is on the market, the smell is offensive to
           any non-smoker and very difficult to eliminate.

No matter how nicely your home shows, if it is not clean, the buyer will notice.

Cleaning is a very important part of Home Staging.

Lydia Pollard
Owners Pride Home Staging & Design
Serving Mississauga, Oakville, Brampton, Milton & Etobicoke
www.ownerspride.ca
lydia@ownerspride.ca

If you are planning to put your house up for sale.  Plan ahead.
A great way to de-clutter is to have a garage sale. De-cluttering
is a very important part of Home Staging.

1.   Organize a Street Sale instead of just a single garage sale.
            Turn it into a neighborhood social event.
            A street sale will attract more customers and make for a fun atmosphere.
2.   For a street sale, distribute the work.  One person can be in charge of making
            the signs. Another for putting up the signs. Another in charge of balloons. Etc.
3.   Have residents park their cars on other streets during the garage sale.  This
            will make for easy parking for customers and more visibility of the street.
4.   Have some neighborhood kids set up a lemonade, coffee and sweets table.
            They can donate the proceeds to a children's charity.  Get the kids involved.
5.   Have neighborhood pre-sale scheduled for a certain time the night before the
            sale.  This is a fun time to catch up with neighbors and get the first chance
            to view and buy each others stuff and discuss any pricing challenges.
6.   Put the signs up the night before, be prepared for early visitors.       
7.   Instead of selling everything separately, consider grouping like things or sets
            together and bundling. 
8.   Instead of throwing out odds, sods, irregular or small items, you can put them
            in a box marked Free.  It might be something someone can use.
9.   Remember to get some change in advance and have bags available.
10. Anything that doesn't sell could be donated to the Salvation Army or a
            church yard sale.  Think recycle before you think land fill.

De-cluttering is a very important part of Home Staging.  Plan ahead.


Lydia Pollard
Owners Pride Home Staging & Design
Serving Mississauga, Oakville, Brampton, Milton & Etobicoke
www.ownerspride.ca
lydia@ownerspride.ca

A potential home buyer comes into your house and the
first time they inhale, they are over come with a stench.
Not a very good impression.

An offensive odor can turn the potential buyer off from
the moment they first get in the door.  It can distract them
from seeing the houses real potential.

Pets are the biggest culprits, smelly litter boxes, animal
beds and animal toys.  Cigarette or cigar smoke is another
culprit and can be very offensive to non smokers.  The
smell of certain types of food, un-cleanliness, mold and
mildew all leave their scents. The home owner gets used
to the smells in their home, and doesn't notice them.

It's not enough to just cover up the smell.  The source of
the problem should found and dealt with to eliminate it.
Clean the carpet and furniture.  Wash the blinds and curtains.
Give the house a good cleaning from top to bottom.  Wash
bedding, blankets etc.

Take out the garbage daily.  Air the house out regularly.
Be conscious of the cooking smells left behind.

Does Your House Pass the Sniff Test?
Home Staging includes the Sniff Test.


Lydia Pollard
Owners Pride Home Staging & Design
Serving Mississauga, Oakville, Brampton, Milton & Etobicoke
www.ownerspride.ca
lydia@ownerspride.ca