Best Ways To Stage A Condominium For A Quick Sale

Has your condominium been in the market for quite some time now? Have you ever wondered why potential buyers change their minds after a visit to your property? Maybe you need to do something different to make it more appealing to prospective buyers.

One way to increase your chance of selling a condominium is by staging it. Apart from improving its appearance, staging a condominium can also increase its value. If you have no idea what this is and how to do it, here are some helpful staging tips on how to stage a condo for a quick sale.

What Is Staging In Real Estate?

Staging in real estate simply means preparing your home or condominium for sale so it can be more appealing to potential buyers. The goal of staging your home is to compliment the property without being too obvious. However, don’t confuse it with decorating as these two are quite different. Decorating focuses more on personal style but staging is making a property attractive to different types of buyers, regardless of decorations and style.

Property stagers are often hired to do home staging. These people are experts in making any property more appealing to increase a property’s chance of a sale and its price. However, if you know enough about home staging, you can do it by yourself without hiring a professional.

Staging Tips For Every Room In Your Condominium

When it comes to staging your condo, you can’t just redo one part of your condominium. You need to give it a complete makeover, from the curb appeal to the interior of the condo. So, here’s everything you need to know on how you can make every room in your condo more marketable.

Living Room

The living room is one of the focal points in every house. It is where families usually spend time together and receive guests. To make it more charming, remember that consistency is the key. Whether it’s table lamps, throw blankets, or accent pillows, ensure that there is symmetry. Opt for chic lamps that have good lighting. Try to stay away from dark colors if you are using staging furniture, most people prefer light colors for an inviting and airy feel.

Don’t put too much furniture as well, as it will make your living room look small. Your goal is to make it look and feel roomy. Another trick you can do is to give the buyers ideas on how they could spend time in the living room by placing tea or coffee service on the table or placing a board game.

Dining Room

A lot of people love inviting guests over for dinner or a casual get-together. When buying a new home they would like to imagine having their family or friends over. So the best way to stage your dining room is by giving them a glimpse of how it will look if they would be entertaining guests. You can improve your dining room by setting out some stylish plates on the table, adding some wine glasses and carafes to the counter. However, you do not want to make the dining area too formal or overly casual, so be sure there is a nice balance between the two.

Kitchen

You may want to spend more time in the kitchen when it comes to home staging as you want to give it a squeaky clean and fresh look. Scrub grime from the floor, tiles, backsplashes, walls, sink, and cabinets. Give the refrigerator handles and door a nice cleaning and get rid of any fridge magnets if you have any. You can also paint your cabinets for a more modern look. Keep all the dishes, cookware, flatware, and glassware except for one matching and attractive set.

Take out unnecessary things in the drawers and cupboards. Don’t forget the pantry and cupboards. Organize the pantry by storing some items in fancy boxes or baskets. Display some classy condiments and some lavish jars of marmalade or jams in the pantry. Make it look more spacious by leaving some spaces empty. Place a bowl or basket of fresh fruits or a fancy vase of fresh flowers on the countertops. Keep the decorations to a minimum. Lastly, don’t forget the trash, empty all trash bins and hide them from prospective buyers.

Bedroom

Take out your personal styling from the bedroom. If you have posters of your favorite band or celebrity hanging on the walls, remove them. Keep your other clothes from the closets except for those that match the season. This will not only give the illusion of a bigger area with the extra space but also look tidier and organized. Give your closet a boutique look by using wooden hangers.

When choosing linens for the bed and other decors, be sure to make it non-gendered and use neutral colors. If you have video game consoles inside the bedroom, take them out. If you have extra bedrooms, you may want to turn some of them into something functional like a sewing room, home library, or office.

Bathroom

Be ready to do some more scrubbing in the bathroom, especially on the tile grout, bowl, tub, floor, walls, and shower door. Sanitize every inch of the toilet and remove water stains on shower-heads and faucets. Fix any leaks in the toilet and consider buying new toilet seats.

Organize the bathroom by removing any personal items such as razors and medicine. Want to make the space feel like a luxury spa? Transfer hand soaps, body soaps, shampoo, and conditioner in a fancy dispenser. Add some scented candles, fancy baskets, soft white towels, plants, and a fluffy and soft bathroom mat.

Exterior

While you can’t control the exterior part of your condominium building, you can still step up the game of outdoor living even with a small patio or balcony. Be sure to clean up the area. Adding some plants can also be a good move. A small table and a pair of chairs can give buyers an image of how they can spend wine nights on the veranda.

Staging Mistakes To Avoid

In real estate, homeowners and agents will do almost everything to sell the property at a good price. However, in their attempt to make the condo look more appealing or sellable, they tend to commit common mistakes when staging a home or condo. This usually happens when they DIY the staging without researching or their broker or agent is a newbie. Staging your condominium the wrong way will hinder you from selling your property for a high price. So, here are some of the common staging mistakes you should avoid.

Installing Curtains The Wrong Way Or Failure To Do So

One common mistake in staging condos is forgetting to install curtains or installing the wrong kind. Curtains are very important as they can hide any flaws on the windows. Aside from hiding the imperfections on your windows, curtains can also make rooms look bigger and the illusion of height. When choosing the color for your curtains, go for a plain or neutral color. As much as possible, avoid patterns and colorful curtains. How you hang them can also make a big difference in the overall look of a room.

Forgetting To Declutter

The last thing you want to do is leave your clutter where buyers can see them. Aside from making the room look disorganized and messy, potential buyers may think that there is not enough storage unit in the house to keep their things. Having no storage unit can be a deal-breaker. Removing your clutter can make the space look bigger, especially if your condo is a bit small.

Being Unoriginal

Maybe you want to play it safe and are afraid that you’ll overdo the staging of your house that’s why opted for the cookie-cutter approach. While there’s nothing wrong with playing it safe, sometimes you need to take risks and get rid of the usual beige couch. Buyers would like to see something fresh and unique, so you need to think of ways to make your home stand out from the rest. They will be spending a lot of money on their new home and of course, they want to get a feel of how it will be like living in the house. It’s all about making your home more exciting and welcoming compared to other listings they have been shown around.

Poor Lighting And Light Fixtures

Proper lighting and light fixtures can make a big difference in your staged condominium and there are several ways to brighten up a dark house. You can take advantage of natural light by using light curtains. It would be best to replace your LEDs with yellow light bulbs or warm incandescent bulbs. Reflective surfaces such as mirrors are also a great way to create light. Great lighting can make big rooms more intimate.

Ignoring To Paint The Space

Most sellers tend to forget or ignore painting the space. The rule is painting the space with any shade of white. Just imagine if you are the buyer – would you consider a place that has walls painted in different colors? Or a kitchen cabinet that looks old and dirty? Any potential buyer would hurriedly get out of the place if they see those walls. A fresh coat of paint can make a big difference in the overall appeal of the place.

Mismatched Patterns And Furniture

When staging a home, always remember that less is better. You do not need to put too much furniture especially if their patterns don’t match. You can’t put a floral couch and a checkered chair in one room, it will be a disaster. If you have a recliner, be sure to remove it. Yes, it looks comfortable, but it is chunky and can take up a lot of space. Color combination is also very important. Avoid orange and red shades and stick to neutral colors and match them with an accent color such as shades of blue.

If you want a touch of green or yellow, you can get them by adding potted plants or a yellow throw. Another way to incorporate color is through furniture such as books on a table or other accessories. Limit the use of colors when staging a home and make sure to avoid mismatched patterns and furniture in all rooms.

Adding Personal Stuff

While it is okay to leave out some personal items in your staged condominium, keep it at a minimum. The last thing you want to do is make the buyer feel out of place. Remove any collectible items that you may have on display. Anything that represents your political and religious beliefs should also be removed. Buyers would like to get a feel in the space like they are living in it already.

Let go of family photos on the wall and on the bedside table. However, there may be situations wherein you can’t keep your heavy furniture in the storage but try to choose wisely which ones to keep that will make the rooms less personalized.

Bonus Tips On Selling Your Condominium Fast

The competition is stiff in the real estate world and if you don’t up your game, you won’t be able to sell your property fast or at least within your expected price. So, here are some tricks that can increase the chance of successfully selling your condo.

• Hire an experienced realtor like Ed Cook. Ed Cook Real Estate is the best realtor for condominiums in Pompano Beach.
• Use wide-angle lenses to capture photos. It can make the condo look more spacious. But don’t overdo it, as it may paint a wrong impression with the buyers in terms of size.
• Don’t exaggerate window treatments. Since condos have limited windows, avoid heavy draperies to let natural light shine through. Keep the window bare or use blinds.
• Clean your condo. We can’t emphasize enough but cleanliness is everything. Even if you have luxurious pieces of furniture if the rooms are not clean, no one will want to buy your space.
• Post online and be active on different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram etc.. Just make sure the pictures you post are the same as what the buyers will see when they visit the place.
• The exterior is as important as the interior.
• When in doubt, always opt for neutral shades and minimalism. Most of the time, the less furniture, colors, and patterns, the better.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I sell my condo fast?

One of the first things you need to do when you want to sell your condo fast is to prep it. You may spend a little but it is worth it. Make sure that your condo has fresh paint and pleasing to the eyes in order to catch the buyer’s attention. You may also want to check out the competition. Search online what your competitors are priced at.

Knowing how other sellers price their condos will help you know how the market behaves in terms of pricing and you may have an idea of how to price yours competitively. Another tip is to underprice your condo and let several offers pull in. When you get a lot of offers, you can tell the potential buyer that you are looking for the best offer and it usually makes the sales price higher than your asking price.

Is it worth staging a condo?

Staging a condo may be pricey but it has a lot of benefits. It will make your listing stand out online. This will make your condo more attractive and will help you encourage more potential buyers. Having a staged condo also makes it more aspirational and can create an emotional connection with the buyer, thus giving your condo more chances to get sold faster.

How do you stage a condo while living on it?

The first thing you must do is declutter your condo. You need to remove about 33% of your possessions from your condo. A spacious home can be very inviting. Declutter your countertops, drawers, and cupboards. Most buyers want to look and open them, and having a clean space will make it more appealing. Clean the bathrooms as well.

One of the first things that buyers want to see is the condition of the toilet. It does not have to be all glamorous, buyers usually just look if they are clean and neat. Make sure also that you find time to do minor repairs on your condo such as loose handles, running toilets, leaky faucets, and other things. Just remember that a clean, functional, and decluttered condo will attract more buyers and will benefit you also while you are still living in it.

How much does it cost to stage a 2 bedroom condo?

The staging process is unique for every condo. But generally, an occupied condo with no furniture rental will cost around 1000 dollars while a 1200sq ft with two bedrooms that has rentals would cost around 3500 dollars.

Final Words

Staging a condominium is not that hard as long as you know the basics and avoid making the common mistakes. Remember that when staging a place, always keep in mind what buyers would want to see. Let them create an image on their minds of how it would feel like living in that place.

Contact Ed Cook today for all your real estate needs in Florida.