HOME STAGING TIPS - TOP 10 Tips to Sell Your Home!

Preparing your house to be sold can be a daunting and overwhelming task whether you have lived in your home a couple or many years. The longer you have lived in your home the more things you would have acquired. The intent of this Top 10 Tips for Successful Home Staging is to help you save TIME, MONEY and ENERGY.

Take a step back when preparing for your house to be sold and have the mind set that this is no longer your home but your investment for your future. You want your house to have a broad buyer appeal to your target market. Following these 10 Tips for Successful Home Staging will help you sell your house sooner and possibly for more money than if you did not prepare it for selling at all! Remember most people want to move into their new home without having to make updates to it.

1) Curb Appeal
Stand back and view your home as if you were seeing it for the first time. This is the ‘first impression’ stage. Depending on the season you may want to have pots of colourful and attractive flowers to greet buyers; a clean and inviting door mat; new and shiny door handles and/or knockers; a freshly painted door, etc...

2) Declutter
Start your pre-pack as soon as possible. You need to decide what you are going to keep, give away, sell or throw away/recycle. Many clients will rent storage lockers or have pods delivered so they can start to clear out what is not going to make the house look good.

3) Clean
You would think this one is common sense but let me assure you, I wish it was so! A clean home translates into "They must have really cared for their home." Kitchens and bathrooms must be sparkling clean at the very least.

4) Depersonalize
We know you love your family photos and your personal treasures and for living they are perfect. For selling pack them up carefully so you can showcase them in your new home. For selling you want buyers to focus on the best features of your home and not your personal things or collections.

5) A neutral colour scheme is the way to go for selling.
Choose only 3 colours or less to paint your house for selling. If you have an open floor plan then paint the main floor all the same colour. Bedrooms look good in light sage greens or warm blues.

6) Highlight your home’s best architectural features
Place your furniture in each room so that you have very obvious focal points that show off the home’s best selling features. For example, if you have a beautiful fireplace then place the furniture in a parallel grouping so that the eye is drawn to the fireplace.

7) Decide on the function in each room
If you were using your guest bedroom as your den for living, for selling turn it back into a bedroom with bedroom furniture in it. If you do not have the right furniture for each room consider renting it. If you don’t want to rent then borrow.

8) Lighting your home to its best advantage
Spend money on new light fixtures in brushed nickel or stainless steel. Brass is out so don’t fight it. There are many low-cost lighting stores to select from so no excuses for having dated light fixtures.

9) Window treatments that sell your home
The most popular on the market are the 2” faux woods in a white tone to go with your trim. Decorative side panels will do the trick if you need to add warmth and colour.

10) Flooring needs special attention and is a good investment for updating the look of your home
Tile or linoleum is great for entranceways, bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms; a good quality laminate or hardwood is perfect for living rooms and family rooms; bedrooms are attractive in a neutral carpet.

By planning and budgeting you can get yourself to the “OPEN HOUSE READY” stage.

Remember that over 79% of prospective buyers have already checked out your home through the internet and the Bahamas MLS listings. Will they like what they see?

10 Summer Safety Tips for Kids

Make Sure to Know where your kids are at all times!

Beware of the Sun! - It’s going to be a really hot summer this year. Be sure to always apply sun screen on you and your children often. Kids young skin are very susceptible to burning more so than yours so even if you think that you are not going to be in the sun for a long period, still apply the screen. It’s also a good idea to get some sun-shirts; they work like sun screen without the reapplication.

Drink lots of Water – The heat is going to get you if you do not stay hydrated this summer. Make sure to consume water often throughout the day.

Pool Safety – Be sure that young children are never unsupervised in or even around the pool area. Injuries often occur in a small space of time, sometimes when the supervising eyes are distracted for only a few minutes.

Boat Safety – A lot of people are going to be utilizing their boats this summer. It is always a good idea to be prepared (like a boy scout) for an outing. Make sure that you have a First Aid kit with all the usual Band-Aids, gauze bandages, scissors and tape etc. A flair gun is also very good to have on your boat. Make sure that your flair gun is stored in a place that is fairly easy to get to in case of an emergency, but not easily accessible for your children. Also make sure to have ample life vests and a fire extinguisher in case of a real emergency.

Bikes & Skateboards – Children love to ride their bikes and scooters; Make sure that they always wear the proper gear to protect their heads, elbows and knees. Teach your children that they must be aware of their surroundings at all times because cars can fly out of nowhere. Make sure they know that if they are riding their bikes, scooters, or boards in the road that they are in the way of the cars and that they have to move quickly out of the way if one approaches.

Insect Bites – Be sure to protect yourself if biting insects are attacking you and your children. Diseases are spread sometimes by these insects such as mosquitoes and ticks. The best insect repellent to use contains DEET, but these products are not the best for your skin and especially not good for your younger ones.

Barbequing – During summer time a lot of people are drawn outdoors for events and love to have a grill-out. It is imperative that your children stay away from the grilling area when food is being prepared. They may burn their little hands or they may get in the way of the chef and adversely cause an incident. Water is always a good idea to keep on hand in case the fire gets out of hand.

Water Sports – Thrill seekers enjoy occupying their summer with activities such as Jet skiing, parasailing, tubing, kayaking, and windsurfing, etc. It is important to know where your children are at all times during these activities because injuries can happen in a blink of an eye.

Buckle Up! – Make sure that your kids are properly secured in their seat whether it is by car, airplane, train etc. Don’t think nothing is going to happen because accidents happen.

Traveling abroad – Are you going somewhere on vacation this summer? If you are, it’s a good idea to have your children carry your contact information on their person in the event they get lost.

Have a Great Summer!