STAGE TO SELL

Contents

10 Ways toClean House and Clean Up 7
Order Your Place 12

Clean Pools, Liquid Assets 14
Windows of Opportunity 19

Blast Off Purchase Prices 21

STAGE TO SELL 4

EDITORIAL

Close in 90 seconds or less, sell in half the time, increase purchase
price as much as 30%. Statistics say you can, when you stage your
home to sell. Preparing a house to show at its best, and realize the

highest purchase price in the shortest possible time, is known as
home staging.

According to National Association of Realtors research, cleaning is
the #1 staging improvement home sellers can make, bringing an
872% ROI. Gleaming stainless steel kitchens, sparkling porcelain
bathrooms, luminous windows, and wood or tile floors that almost

glow create dream homes, and sell them, too.

STAGE TO SELL, created for home sellers and available only
through Realtors, gives readers their dream home – the one with the
SOLD sign in the yard.

Sell your house for a tidy profit with cleaning, the easiest home
staging project of all, and the one with the highest return on

investment. 10,376 homes sold in Naples and Fort Myers last year,
at a median purchase price of $237,000.00. As any Realtor will tell

you, clean house, and you’ll clean up.

STAGE TO SELL readers create, and sell, dream homes. For
general information please visit StageToSell.forsale, or call 239-572-

5722. Letters to the editor are welcome at
[email protected].

STAGE TO SELL 5

10 Ways to clean

House and clean up

According to the National Association of Realtors, cleaning brings

an 872% ROI. Sell your house for a tidy profit with cleaning, the

easiest home staging project of all, and the one with the highest return on

investment. STAGE TO SELL 6

First impressions can make or break a sale. Buyers use the time
they spend touring a home to confirm their initial expectations,
good or bad. Unconsciously, they focus on a home’s positive or
negative features to reinforce their opinion, which is really their
decision to make an offer, or keep looking.

Preparing a home to show at its best, and sell for the highest
purchase price in the shortest time, is the art of home staging.
According to National Association of Realtors research, staged
homes sell at an average of 17% more than unstaged homes, and
spend 83% less time on the market. Real estate website
Homegain.com, in a national Realtor survey of Realtors, finds clean-
up to be the #1 recommended home improvement, citing an 872%
return on investment.

“Clearly, when it comes to selling, cleaning is fundamental,” says
Brian Sansone, Vice President of the American Cleaning Institute.
“Cleaning is first and foremost, when it comes to staging a house for
sale. “Cleaning is eye candy,” says Sansone. “Something goes on
inside. So, you want to be sure to take the steps, and the extra
steps, to give the house a thorough cleaning, so that it’s ready to
show.”

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First impressions can make or break a sale. Buyers unconsciously focus
on a home’s positive or negative features to confirm their initial expectations
and reinforce their opinion, which is really their decision to make an offer

or keep looking.

STAGE TO SELL 14

To clean your home like a pro, first, schedule the job. A cleaning
schedule reduces stress, because a proper, clean, organized home is
always easily achieved. The key is a step-by-step checklist of tasks.
There won’t be time for trips to the store for forgotten or missing
things, which always turn out to be essential. Once you begin, it’s
best to stay with the project until it’s finished, without cutting
corners. With planning, it will fly by.

Dress for success. Put an end to dripping sleeves and bleach-
splattered pajamas. Professionals wear comfortable, launderable
clothes designed to work in. Khaki pants and a long-sleeved,
button-down white cotton shirt are a good choice. They are
protective, sturdy, and will give pride in a job well done. Give
yourself the advantage of preparation, by dressing in garments that
won’t inhibit or distract. They are part of the right tools for the job.

Stock up on supplies. If housework is a dirty word at your house,
make a fresh start with the classics. Keep your castle clean as a
whistle with bleach, ammonia, dish detergent, scouring powder and
soap pads. Disposables like trash bags, paper towels and soap
should be white. White looks clean, and shows off a clean
environment.

STAGE TO SELL 9

Preparing a home to show at its best, and sell for the highest purchase price
in the shortest time, is the art of home staging. White looks clean, and

shows of a clean environment.

STAGE TO SELL 16

Nothing says clean like fresh vacuum tracks, so don’t sweep carpet
care under the rug. Smart home sellers vacuum until not a
footprint remains. When you realize you’ve been vacuuming the
same room for ten minutes and the carpet still looks the same, it’s
carpet cleaning time. Keeping carpets clean not only makes them
look and feel great, it prolongs their life, too. Advances in recent
years have resulted in powerful extraction techniques that raise
carpets’ nap, giving a beautiful, like-new appearance.

To give your kitchen a great new look, restore appliances. “When
you sell your house, it’s best to take the time to learn how to make
appliances look good, even if the appliances aren’t going to stay,”
says Viking Range spokesperson Sue Bailey. “The dishwasher,
especially, will begin to have waterspots, so just cleaning it will
make all the difference,” says Bailey. “We’re going for making these
products look as new as possible. In the refrigerator, take out all
the shelves, and wash them. Same with the range. If it’s heavily
used, consider removing the cast iron grates, and replacing them.”

Merry Maids training manager Deborah Johnson agrees. “Attention
to aesthetics prevents distraction for potential buyers. You want to
present the home in its best possible condition, which involves
many considerations, but cleaning is one you can control. A clean
house is the clean slate that helps make the buying decision.”

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Evocative of warmth and safety, today’s kitchen is the heart of any home,
for sale or not, and the room that makes or breaks a deal. Restore
kitchen appliances, to make them look as new as possible.

STAGE TO SELL 12

Order your place

Contributed by Ginny Snook Scott

Chief Design Officer, California Closets

“Data consensus shows one of our most important requirements in
a comfortable home is bountiful storage,” says Ginny Snook Scott,
California Closets Chief Design Officer. “That can mean everything
from more usable desk space and better lighting, to enough shelves
for boxes. We need adequate, and more than adequate, room for
storage, to feel organized, so we can think clearly, without visual
distraction, which can cause stress, and maximize productivity.
Studies show 50% of people actually feel stressed in a cluttered
environment,” says Scott.

“We seek simplicity and clean lines to create the sense of serenity in
our living spaces which make them the sanctuary we call home,”
Scott says. “This is why the walk-in closet is such a huge trend.
The secret of organizing is not to start out with the whole house.
That can be overwhelming. Since we start and end our day with the
closet, that’s the best place to begin,” she says. “The luxury real
estate market has soared since the recession. A recent California
Closets survey found 95% of respondents looking for a new home
would sacrifice square footage for custom amenities. For those
prepping their homes to put on the market, it might be wise to
consider a few upgrades, like custom designing the master closet,
as an extra luxury perk for home buyers.”

STAGE TO SELL 18

A recent California Closets survey found 95% of home buyers
prioritize closet space. This is why the walk-in closet is a huge trend.
When preparing a home for the luxury market, consider upgrading with

extra amenities like a custom designed master closet.

STAGE TO SELL 17

CleaN: THE DIFFERENTIATOR

By Maureen Bray

Real Estate Staging Association
president

When your home is on the market, one of the first things buyers
notice is how clean it is. A home for sale needs to be sparkling
clean, and although it may take a bit of extra work, the investment
in time will be well worth it.

One of the first recommendations that professional home stagers
make when meeting with homeowners is that deep cleaning is a
differentiator when buyers are considering several homes they’re
interested in.

A clean home is presented as a home that’s also been well-
maintained. Today’s buyers prefer a home that’s ‘move-in ready,’ as
one that doesn’t need cleaning or routine repairs. They’ve watched
HGTV and they know that the homes that sell quickly are the ones
that look like a model home.

Buyers like to imagine themselves in homes that they view. And, a
home that looks and smells clean is the one they’ll more easily
consider making an offer on. On the other hand, even a home
that’s priced well for the location and size of the home, but is
cluttered, messy and dirty will turn buyers off, since they don’t
want to see themselves living in a home that doesn’t look or smell
appealing.

STAGE TO SELL 12

The front door should have a fresh coat of paint in an appealing color,
glass in exterior light fixtures should sparkle, and the doormat should be

clean, to welcome potential buyers.

STAGE TO SELL 13

Home staging is the art of preparing a home for sale, and cleaning
is high on the priority list. A good beginning could be to stand at
your front door, and really look around at what you see.

The door itself needs to be clean, and perhaps have a fresh coat of
paint in an appealing color. The house numbers should be free of
dust and easy to read; the exterior light fixtures should have
cobwebs removed,and the glass should sparkle. The front doormat
should be clean and fresh-looking, or replaced with a new one, to
welcome potential buyers.

And, of course, all the windows should be sparkling clean inside
and out, which enhances the view from both sides and makes your
home look like the owners have maintained it well.

If you take this approach with each room in your home, paying
extra attention to the kitchen and bathrooms, your hard work will
result in extra showings, and an opportunity for a faster sale. For
best results, a consultation with a professional home stager is a
cost-effective way to get started.

STAGE TO SELL 14

CLEAN POOLS, LIQUID
ASSETS

A sparkling clean pool relaxes potential buyers by giving them a mental
picture of their families enjoying the outdoor living spaces of their new
home. Clean pools are liquid assets for homesellers.

STAGE TO SELL 13

Pools are soothing, luxurious and beautiful. They’re great for
socializing, entertaining and relaxing, and they look gorgeous just
existing. A well-designed pool can transform your backyard into a
resort that creates a healthier lifestyle for the whole family. Add
landscaping, a seating area and outdoor kitchen, and your
backyard becomes a paradise.

Although the benefits of having your own backyard retreat are
priceless, it’s an investment that must be protected with proper
care, just like the rest of the house.Once those floating leaves sink,
they’re a lot harder to remove.

“Having your pool or spa running in good working order with
sparkling, pristine water will showcase your backyard escape as a
true “liquid asset” adding additional dollars to the value of your
home sale,” says CarvinDiGiovanni, Vice President of the
Association of Pool and Spa Professionals.

Home buyers in upscale neighborhoods, especially in geographic
areas where the climate is warm most of the year, expect luxury
amenities like pools, so a well-maintained pool pays off when it’s
time to sell. As with any home improvement, if your purpose is to
increase resale value, spend money where you’ll see it. A backyard
oasis is usually designed around a pool as a foundation. A lovely
blue, sparkling clean pool creates a breathtaking, inviting
environment your buyers won’t want to leave.

STAGE TO SELL 14

Beautiful light and gorgeous views are among your home’s most
important assets. The subtle effect of sparkling clean windows can
dramatically affect a potential buyer’s mood. The subtlety of attractive

windows’ effects makes them a powerful sales tool.

STAGE TO SELL 19

Windows of opportunity

When the curtain goes up at your first open house, beautiful light
and gorgeous views are among your home‟s most important assets.
Buying a home is an emotional decision, and the subtle effect of
sparkling clean windows can dramatically affect a potential buyer‟s
mood. The subtlety of attractive windows‟ effects make them a
powerful sales tool.In a survey of 2,000 real estate agents, Money
Magazine finds: “Window cleaning brings a 768% return on
investment. It is the #1 presale improvement that generates the
highest return on investment as measured by a higher purchase
price.”

Pella Corporation‟s Kathy Kraft Harkema says, “The important thing
to remember is, people respond to natural light. It‟s light and
bright, inviting and welcoming. It adds to eye appeal. It‟s also a
reflection on the homeowner. Clean windows give the whole house
a clean feeling.”

“Clean windows invite the eye, and give a spacious look to the
home. They brighten our outlook. Clean windows accomplish all of
that,” Harkema says. “People don‟t always think of that, but when
it‟s done, it‟s just that feeling you get, that „aahh‟ factor. So,
cleaning your windows, from the outside as well as inside, is
certainly one of the most important things you can do, when
staging your home for sale.”

STAGE TO SELL 20

How to clean your windows

Contributed by Jan Haviland, CEO

The Haviland Corporation

When a prospective buyer of a home first drives past or stops to
visit a house forsale, they are taken in by curb appeal. The next
thing they see is through the windows.As one looks through clean
windows into the interior of the home, a clean windowspeaks
volumes as to how the current owner takes care of their home.

By seeing windows that are clean and well kept, the prospective
buyer gets a feel as tohow the rest of the home has been taken care
of, including those areas that are noteasily seen from the outside,
such as the heating/air conditioning unit, the water pipes,the roof,
and even the basement areas, where all the workings of a home are
housed.

Once a buyer is inside the home, clean windows can highlight a
beautiful view. Clean windows also increase the amount of light
that can enter the home. When windows are not clean, several
things can happen. If the window is a doublepane window, an
owner may not be aware of a broken seal that causes the window to
cloud in the middle, and secondly, a dirty window will detract from
the beauty of a window treatment.

The first step is to wash the window with a sponge wet with
cleaning solution, whichcan be as simple as water and dish
detergent. But, for beautiful, sparkling windows, add the ole' wives'
secret of a touch of cream of tartar, right from your spice rack.
Apply the solution to all parts of the window, side to side and up
and down.Next, it is time to squeegee the window. Run the blade
across the window, angled slightly to help the liquid flow easily
down the blade. Between every swipe of the squeegee down the
window, be sure to run the blade over a dry cloth to remove liquid
from the blade.

STAGE TO SELL 19

Blast off
Purchase Prices

Pressure washing puts a sparkle on everything. Periodic maintenance
with pressure washing maintains the value of your home, and brings the

single greatest return on investment for increasing curb appeal.

STAGE TO SELL 21