Washington DC Realtor Home Preparation Guide

Preferred Staging is offering its agent partners and friends in the Washington DC area an opportunity to co-brand a unique home preparation guide. This easy to read guide will become a centerpiece of your farming activities and listing presentations. Differentiate yourself from other agents by including a custom home preparation guide, specifically developed for today’s market.

 

Take a look at the guide and let us know if you would like to your own version to distribute to your clients and prospects. There is no charge or obligation – the guide is Preferred Staging’s way of helping you set yourself apart, just as our staging projects set homes apart from the competition.

 

All the Best,

 

Monica

703.851.2690

Preferred Staging

the art of home preparation

Staging the Stoop

Aside from curb appeal, the first impression a potential purchaser will have of the property is the front walk and stoop. Staging the outside of the home is critical to the over all impression a buyer has of the home. Potential purchasers will pause at the door while the agent knocks and then lets themselves in. Buyers can linger on the stoop for as much as a minute. While buyers are not likely to form a decision on the stoop, they do develop a sense of how well the rest of the home will show and how well the home is cared for.

The grounds need to be neat and clean. Since it is fall, a few leaves scattered about the yard is “OK”, but a thick blanket of leaves will indicate work to the purchaser, so its best to rake once a week.

The stoop should be bordered with fresh mulch if you have plantings, or a washed hard surface for those with cement or brick. A mixture of 1 part bleach and 10 parts water and a scrub brush will remove moss or algae that can grow on northern facing entrances. Be sure to wear gloves, eye protection and old clothes.

Now is a great time to prune shrubs. My suggestion is to just prune the branches that are extending beyond the shrub – reach 3 or 4 inches into the base of the shrub and prune there. This will hide the pruned branch from view. Do not attempt to shape a bush that has grown out of control…you stand the change of making it look worse than when you started. At most, give it a light skim with hedge trimmers, taking off no more than 20% of the exterior leaves.

Add color to the stoop with mums and other flowering plants for this time of year, and a fall wreath. Wreaths create a wonderful welcoming feel. If you can incorporate some of you shrub trimmings into the wreath, we will be tying everything together. Be sure to change the cuttings every couple of weeks. More frequently if it remains warm.

If you have screen or storm door, remove it if possible. They can be very awkward to move around in a confined space. Not the first impression you want to make. If removing the screen door is not an option, it needs to be in good repair. Torn screens will imply poor upkeep. Replace the screen with the winter door and make sure it stays clean.

Again, buyers will not typically make a decision based upon the front door area, but it primes them for the first impression they get when they walk through the door and into the home. More on that next week.

All the Best!

Monica, ASP

703-851-2690

Preferred Staging

the art of home preparation