Over the past 16 years, I’ve purchased and rehabbed two Heritage Hills of Westchester estate homes. And over the past month alone, AtWell Staged Home has staged and prepared for sale two other Heritage Hills estates.
Having purchased, staged and viewed so many estates over the years, I’ve compiled a few lessons learned to help you when selling an inherited home.
Get Help
Besides finding a real estate agent to get you through this process quickly and easily, plan to hire a home stager. The stager will analyze the home, put together a plan, and – if you are not able to manage or perform the tasks yourself – implement that plan.
The plan should include a budget for repairs, minor updates (such as paint, light fixtures, and hardware), a very deep cleaning, and of course staging.
Set a Budget
Plan to budget between 1% and 3% of the list price of the home for staging, repairs, and cleaning. As a rule of thumb, most real estate professionals agree that an investment of this amount will be returned at closing as the result of a quicker sale and higher sale price.
Keep the Home Furnished
Do not clear out the home and try to sell it vacant. A vacant home takes longer to sell, does not connect emotionally with a buyer, and often comes across as smaller than it really is.
Vacant homes also send a signal to home buyers that you are desperate to sell, encouraging lower offers than are warranted.
Keep all furniture, art, lighting, and accessories in the home until the home staging analysis is complete. Home Stagers are both thrifty and creative. We prefer to use what is already in the home – rather than shopping for new items – because this saves you time and money.
Make Needed Repairs, Clean and Stage the Home to Sell
Now is the time to repair that power outlet that hasn’t worked for some time, to oil that squeaking door, and generally fix all of the small things that are easily (and inexpensively) repaired.
Clean clothing out of dressers, remove important papers, and safely store valuable items such as silver and jewelry. It is also important to keep the home staged until it has sold.
If you’ve hired a home stager to do the work, you may wish to visit again after the staging is complete. Items not required to sell the home will be obvious – often packed away in storage areas, dressers, cabinets, or garages – and you can get a head start on clearing out these areas prior to the sale. (And you will want to get a head start because staged homes sell faster.)
List Quickly
Quickly preparing and listing the home for sale will prevent further expenses in the form of monthly holding costs such as condo fees, taxes, and utilities. Not to mention the emotional benefits of getting this task behind you.
Taking Our Advice
Here are some examples from the first estate staging we performed this month. It was the ultimate challenge. Spend no money to list an estate for sale. We had a budget for labor – to stage and clean – nothing more. Oh, and we had only 4 days to complete everything. This was our mission, if we chose to accept it.
Living/Dining Area – Before Home Staging
Living/Dining Area – After Home Staging
Besides the obvious decluttering and cleaning, old sheer curtains are removed along with the love seat that created a barrier to entering this area.
Deck – Before Home Staging
Deck – After Home Staging
The very private deck is set up to show its size by creating a separate sitting area to the right and eating area to the left.
Master Bedroom – Before Home Staging
Master Bedroom – After Home Staging
The heavy drapes and electronics are removed, and chair relocated to the corner. Bedding is simplified, and – looking in the reflection in the mirror – you can see that 1 of 2 bookcases is now gone. Also, an outdoor chair is added to draw attention to the private deck.
Kitchen – Before Home Staging
Kitchen – After Home Staging
The kitchen is brighter, lighter, and most definitely cleaner! No budget to paint or to remove wallpaper, but cleaning, decluttering and staging are far better than doing nothing at all.
As happens with all projects, there will always be limitations and challenges. These limitations could be in the form of budget, time, or the home’s physical structure. Home stagers are practiced at working within these constraints. (Some of us even enjoy the challenge.)
Do the best you can to create a space that is clean, light, bright, warm, inviting, spacious, move-in ready, and as up-to-date as possible.
The Emotional Side of Staging an Estate
It’s difficult to go through someone’s most personal and prized possessions without their explicit consent, even though the executor has given me the go-ahead to do so. This can make a project like this emotionally draining – especially at the beginning.
At the same time, these projects can be some of the most rewarding. Just knowing that you are helping a family during a difficult time can be uplifting. When the staging is done, you hope that the home owner would have been pleased with the results.
