![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/8-mistakes-realtors-want-you-to-stop-making.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Becky Freeman of The Property Stylist\u00a0by\u00a0<\/a>Aristea Rizakos Photography<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n1. Don\u2019t attend your own open house.<\/h2>\n
\u201cThe seller should not be home during their open house,\u201d says Storey. \u201cYou want buyers to be able to have open and free conversations, whether they\u2019re going through it with their significant other or realtor.\u201d Bottom line, no one likes to be followed around, especially when they\u2019re deliberating on the biggest purchase of their lives. \u201cWhether they like the house or not, they\u2019ll be like, \u2018Okay, let’s just get out of here,\u2019\u201d says Storey.<\/p>\n
2. Don\u2019t forget to de-personalize the space.<\/h2>\n
Yes, it\u2019s your house and you\u2019ve built many happy memories there over the years, but the buyer doesn\u2019t want or need to see that. When you\u2019re staging your house to sell, start by removing family photos, diplomas and family memotos. \u201cWhat you need to think about when you’re selling is that it’s no longer your space,\u201d says Storey. \u201cYou have to let that potential buyer feel like the space could be theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Storey offers his clients free home staging for one simple reason: \u201cIt works time and time again,\u201d he says. On Thursdays and Fridays, everybody is online digging for properties on Realtor.ca to find open houses. \u201cYou\u2019ve got competition,\u201d he says. \u201cIf your house is the only one that isn’t staged and doesn’t have good photos, a lot of buyers will mentally discount you right away.\u201d Market it correctly and more people will show up at the front door.<\/p>\n Your house should have virtually no smell when you open your doors to strangers. Even scented candles or air fresheners could be a red flag that you\u2019re trying to hide something. Obviously, cooking fish for dinner the night before is a no-no, the cat litter box has to go, drains need to be cleaned and the garbage must<\/em> be taken out.<\/p>\n Storey recommends having a friend take care of your pets during your open house or private showing. \u201cSome people are allergic or just completely put off by pets and you want to make sure the home is as neutral as possible,\u201d he says. That includes the inside and outside of the house. \u201cClean up the backyard from the winter when the dog goes out and make sure there aren\u2019t any remnants of the pet.\u201d<\/p>\n Storey has seen homeowners put effort into staging their homes, only to leave remnants of everyday life at the open house. Think dishes in the sink, trash in the can, toys everywhere, messy beds and more. \u201cWhen you wake up every morning, you have to make the bed the way it was in the pictures online,\u201d he says. It can be a full time job in itself to make your house look perfect every morning \u2014 but it\u2019s well worth it. \u201cStaging is short term pain for long term gain,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Painting the walls is the most cost-effective way to breathe new life into a room. \u201cIt\u2019s the oldest trick in the book,\u201d says Storey. \u201cIt works wonders when you neutralize the colors in the house. Even when a room is empty, if you have a fresh coat of paint and the floors are in good enough shape, your house will still show well.\u201d Avoid moody, rich wall colors and stick to bright and light shades. Creamy whites and light grays work best because they make the room look larger and amplify natural light.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you aren\u2019t changing at least some aspects of your house before it goes to the market, you’re at a disadvantage,\u201d says Storey. Aside from basic maintenance like repatching holes and doing simple repairs, he\u2019s seen really basic updates get missed like failing to replace a burnt out lightbulb. Kitchen and bathroom updates will provide the highest return on investment and you don\u2019t necessarily have to spend a fortune. Many of Storey\u2019s clients have updated their kitchens by sanding and repainting the cabinets, replacing the hardware and swapping out tired appliances for stainless steel. \u201cSuddenly the kitchen looks brand new,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Don’t sabotage your sale by making any of these easily avoidable mistakes at the open house. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":196013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2019-09-25T20:00:54Z","apple_news_api_id":"e20fa9dd-c3a3-4bed-9a7e-d0ae8d6737cb","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2019-09-27T18:08:38Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A4g-p3cOjS-2aftCujWc3yw","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":["https:\/\/u48r14.digitalhub.com\/sections\/09b86915-7d2b-3acd-915b-b215002d01b7"],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11118],"tags":[11152,11214,11207],"coauthors":[10245],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>Photo: James Bombales, staging by Red\u00a0Barrinuevo<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n3. Don\u2019t skip home staging.<\/h2>\n
4. If you can smell it, you can\u2019t sell it.<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo:\u00a0Paul Hanaoka<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n5. Don\u2019t leave your pets on the premises.<\/h2>\n
6. Don\u2019t leave the house before tidying up.<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photo:\u00a0Philipp Berndt<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n7. Don\u2019t leave the wall color as is.<\/h2>\n
8. If you don\u2019t make any<\/em> home updates, you\u2019re missing out.<\/h2>\n