Our Top 5 High ROI Ways to Refresh Your Listing When Professional Staging Isn’t in the Budget

In an ideal world, every home would be vacated, cleaned, updated, and staged before hitting the market. But that’s not even close to reality.

While staging is what we do, we realize it’s not always feasible to professionally stage your listing. Maybe the home will be occupied with kids, dogs, smokers, etc. Maybe the seller’s budget is tight and they don’t have the cash on hand to invest in staging. Maybe you, as the agent, are paying for staging but the home’s listing price is going to be too low to make your ROI for full staging make sense.

Whatever the reason, there are a number of things you can do yourself to impact the ultimate sale price of the home - things that go beyond the traditional decluttering, removing personal photos, and cleaning the yard. And while all of these previously mentioned activities are ABSOLUTELY necessary, these additional self-staging activities will result in more profit without breaking the bank.

Here are our favorite (and highest ROI) self-staging activities for when hiring a stager isn’t an option:

1.      PAINT

There’s nothing like a fresh coat of paint to make a home feel, well, fresh!

In case you hadn’t noticed, walls take a beating in daily life. Scuffs, marks, and dings are inevitable when humans are actually living in a home. And if there are little humans living in the home, it’s even worse!

Applying a fresh coat of paint with a high LRV (a fancy term for how much light the paint reflects) works wonders for covering up those daily wall indiscretions and creating the illusion of newness. And, let me tell you, the illusion of newness is a goldmine in home staging!

Why? Because no one wants to feel like they’re ‘moving into someone else’s home - even if they know full well they’re not purchasing new construction. The illusion of newness gives buyers the feeling that the home is clean, well cared for, and a place where THEY can enjoy a fresh start. And who doesn’t like a fresh start? No one. Absolutely no one.

TIP: Don’t overcomplicate this!! Paint the whole house the same color and be done with it. For newer or more contemporary homes, we like White Dove, and for more traditional or transitional homes (which is most of the homes here in the Boston area) we like Swiss Coffee, both by Benjamin Moore, because they both have underlying warmth. If you’re repainting trim, you can’t go wrong with Cotton Balls (also by Benjamin Moore) - or just paint the same color white as was there before. 90% of homes have a can of trim paint in the basement. That’s not a scientific fact, but I’d bet my lunch on it.

2. REMOVE WINDOW TREATMENTS

Unless your window treatments are neutral, low profile, and practically brand new, they should come down.

Niine times out of ten, window treatments do nothing to help the resale value of your listing. They block out natural light (even just blocking a bit will make the room significantly darker) they collect odors and dust, and they’re very taste-specific - meaning buyers will typically remove what’s there and install their own after purchase.

The ONLY exceptions to this are when there are privacy issues and/or removing the window treatment would reveal an unsightly mess (read: really unattractive window hardware you don’t have the time or budget to remove). If a bedroom window practically looks into the neighbor’s bedroom window, if the home is on a main street, or the view out the window is REALLY unsightly, I give you permission to leave your (clean) window treatments up. Otherwise, just take them down.

But what about the rod? Either remove it and have your painter patch and paint over the holes (see above), or just leave it there. A clean, empty rod is better than an unnecessary window treatment.

3. PROFESSIONAL CLEANING OF UPHOLSTERY, WINDOWS, AND HOME EXTERIOR

Professional cleaning is a godsend when preparing a home for sale, and worth every penny.

Should you have the interior professionally cleaned? Absolutely. But if budget is really tight, most sellers can manage a thorough interior cleaning themselves.

What’s not so easy to manage as an ameture?

Cleaning the upholstery - this will remove odors and make the home seem more well cared for

Cleaning the windows - this will maximize the natural light coming into the home

Cleaning the exterior - including power washing the siding, porches, sidewalks, and the driveway. Because: curb appeal.

4. FRESH, NEW LINENS

Again, the illusion of newness is like catnip to buyers and absolutely essential for obtaining a top dollar sale. One of the easiest ways to do this is by replacing linens, throw pillows, and blankets with fresh, new models.

For bedding and towels, go all white. There’s a reason hotels use all white linens (beyond the fact that they’re easy to clean). White feels bright and fresh.

Keep a set of towels and bedding JUST for photos, open houses, and showings. This will keep them looking their best.

For pillows and blankets, go with neutrals that compliment the existing decor.

And don’t forget things like shower curtains and bath mats.

Seriously, don’t skip this step. Replacing these items represents short money for a big impact - you’ll be AMAZED at how swapping these items out transforms the home.

5. REPLACE LIGHTING FIXTURES

Lighting fixtures are like the jewelry of your home - big impact pieces that go in and out of fashion as quickly as Taylor Swift can write a hit song about an ex.

The good news? Replacing them is both easy and inexpensive. Home Depot, Wayfair, and even Home Goods can be your best friends in this area.

Choose fixtures that have clean lines and are both classic and on-trend - and then hire an electrician for a couple of hours to swap out the old for the new.

Also, consider removing some lighting fixtures completely. Single pendant lights over a kitchen sink can be replaced with a recessed light. Bedroom fans that hang down too low in the room can be replaced with either a drum light or capped off all together.

Less is more.

DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START?

You don’t have to go it alone! Hire a stager on a limited basis - and just for their brain, not their brawn (or inventory).

Occupied Staging Consultations are like money in the bank. For a small investment, you’ll have a professional pinpoint exactly what you can do to maximize your ROI and achieve the best possible self-staging results.

And if you’re an agent gifting that consultation to your client, you can think of it as a gift for yourself, too - because your stager will be the one to point out all of the work that needs to be done while you get to stay high and dry.

It’s a win-win, as staging should always be.

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