7 Essential Home Staging Tips to Help Sell Your Fix n’ Flip
Home staging can highlight your fix n’ flip’s “it” factors. However, it can be hard to know whether it’s right for your specific project. And even when you do it, you may be forgetting certain features you need for a successful showing. So, let’s look at the factors you should prioritize below.
Main Takeaways
- You may want to stage your flip if your property is facing two extremes: if your area’s market is too slow, or if the competition is especially fierce.
- For your staging, you should style your exterior and interior’s entrances, center your staging design around your property’s selling points, visually illustrate each room’s purpose, carefully choose your lighting based on room type, stick to safe colors like beige, and refrain from adding personal touches.
Table of Contents: Staging in Baltimore and Beyond
- When Should You Try Home Staging for Your Fix n’ Flip?
- When Is It Better to Pass on a Real Estate Property Styling?
- Which Qualities Should Your Staging Have?
When Should You Try Home Staging for Your Fix n’ Flip?
As Baltimore hard money lending specialists, we feel a property staging (AKA “real estate property styling”) may be beneficial under certain circumstances.
If your area’s market is on the slower side, stagings might encourage otherwise hesitant buyers to take action. On the opposite extreme, when there’s steep competition, it can help your flip stand out. It can give buyers the push they need to consider your property above others.
On a deeper level, home staging can convince buyers of your fix n’ flip’s potential as their home. They can viscerally see how it could meet their needs. It allows them to imagine themselves living there, day to day. Essentially, it can take them from interested to outright invested in your property.
Also, if your property doesn’t quite have the same qualities as similar properties, home staging may be worth it. It can show prospective buyers how livable your fix n’ flip is.
When Is It Better to Pass on a Real Estate Property Styling?
However, sometimes, home staging may be unnecessary for your fix n’ flip. For instance, you may not need it if your location’s market is ideal. Or, if your property already has top-of-the-line amenities, those may be enough to sell your home.
If you’re torn on whether to have a staging, virtual stagings may be a good compromise. Rather than hauling real furniture into your property, you can simply hire a professional to digitally add furniture to photos of it. With this, you can get the benefits of real estate property styling without the steep costs.
Which Qualities Should Your Staging Have?
Your fix n’ flip’s real estate styling should focus on a few factors, including:
Focus on Your Fix n’ Flip’s Entrances
Your fix n’ flip’s entrance is the buyers’ first impression. So, make your flip more like a home renovation show by crafting entrances to remember.
Firstly, make your exterior entrance as warm and welcoming as possible. Try placing flowers or other plants on the footsteps. Baskets could be another option. Furthermore, you could set up your house numbers in a classy or fashionable way.
Then, to enhance your interior entrance, you could do several things. For one, you could add a textured rug. Or, you could add a little table with a lamp. Also, you can hang a small, neutral art piece on the wall for décor. Additionally, you should include home entrance staples, like coat hooks, umbrella hooks, and a shoe rack. These tweaks will make your home’s entrances more truly homey.
Deep Clean Your Property
If you choose to do your staging physically, not digitally, cleaning is critical. You will want to remove any clutter strewn about. Following that, you may want to hire professional cleaners to deep clean the space. This way, you can be sure it’s clean from top to bottom.
Set the Spotlight on Your Selling Features
Whatever your fix n’ flip’s selling points are, put the spotlight on them. For instance, let’s say your home’s fireplace is a highlight. To make it stand out, you could point all your furniture towards the fireplace. This will make the fireplace the entire room’s centerpiece.
Or, if your hardwood floors are a defining feature, you have other options. You could set each piece of furniture a few inches apart. By doing this, the space between them will show off your pristine floors. Either way, arrange your furniture setup so your best features stand out.
Clarify Each Room’s Purpose
Your buyer will likely carve out standard living spaces in your property, like the living space, dining space, bedroom, bathroom, and others. As such, you should play out those spaces in your homestaging furniture.
On that note, you should focus on the furniture associated with each room, like cozy couches in living areas. This will accentuate each room’s sense of purpose.
Prioritize Your Lighting
Generally, natural light is optimal. To maximize it, you could install sheer curtains that soften its beam. This can provide a balance between light and overwhelming, glaring brightness.
However, if this won’t work, you have other options. You could use floor or table lamps, as well as wall sconces, for a similar effect. Overhead lighting may also work, but too much of it can look harsh.
As another rule, each room’s lighting intensity should match its purpose. Since bedrooms are associated with sleeping, they could benefit from dimmer lights. On the other hand, kitchens are bustling, lively spaces, so their lighting can be brighter. Consider what’s most appropriate for each room and act accordingly.
Stick to Safe Colors
Everyone has different tastes. Because of that, polarizing colors like purple or red may stick out like a sore thumb. Instead, opt for neutral colors like gray, white, or beige. These colors are crowd-pleasers. They’re pleasant for the average viewer to look at, and they’re less likely to alienate anyone.
Still, this rule does come with an asterisk. If your property location is in an ultra-modern or artsy neighborhood, some bolder colors may make your property pop. Just be careful to use these colors tastefully.
Keep the Space Neutral
Buyers will want to imagine themselves living on your property. Due to this, if you pour your own personal touches into it, it will take viewers out of that vision. That said, your real estate property styling should avoid the following:
- Personal pictures, like family photos
- Toys or other items for children
- Items with religious or political connotations
- Objects related to pets
- Refrigerator magnets
Unfortunately, these features may turn away buyers.
Fund Your Fix n’ Flip Home Staging with MHML Baltimore
You can boost your fix n’ flip’s appeal by focusing on your home’s entrances, sticking to safe colors, visually illustrating each room’s purpose and more tips.
If you need help funding your home staging, Maryland Hard Money Lenders is here to help. We offer custom-tailored, hyper-expedited hard money loans exclusively for real estate investors. To give you an idea, we can deliver funding in just days or weeks after approval. We also can individualize the terms to meet your project’s unique needs.
Even better, if you’re an experienced investor with sufficient collateral and good credit, we may be able to offer you up to 100% funding. So, call us today to get the approval process rolling.
