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Let’s face it, with the condition of todays market, homes need all of the help they can get. From a decorating standpoint, below are some tips and hints that you may find useful for selling your home faster because it appeals to more people.

EASY

• Declutter every room in the house – when you think you have decluttered enough, go through the house and do it one more time! Remember that the house should look like a model home. This means countertops, corners, bookshelves and garages.
• Remove 90% of the personal items like family photos (it is understandable if you keep a few up while you live there because afterall, you still have to live there!)
• Keep the yard well maintained. This is the first impression of the home and can transfer impressions of neatness and upkeep inside the house.
• During showings, turn on all lamps and the overhead lights if they are needed in addition to make the home look brighter.
• Open the blinds or shutters during the day, especially if there is a view to be seen.
• Make sure that the pictures are hung at eye level or below so that you don’t have to move your neck up to see them
• Light pleasant smelling candles or bake cookies during showings. This is proven to make the home seem  “home-ier”!
• Look at home magazines for well planned rooms and see what you can do to your home to look more like these rooms.

NEXT STEPS

If your home just seems to sit on the market and you need to take more desperate measures to rejuvinate your house:

• When in doubt, hire a designer or decorator. It’s a lot cheaper than choosing the wrong color paint. You can hire a designer for just an hour or two. A fresh set of eyes can be invaluable. Not everyone can visualize what new colors will look like.
• Repaint the walls a light/medium neutral color. Earthy colors work well most of the time, but not with every home style.
• Change the flooring to neutral colors (neutral doesn’t mean beige!) and upgrade to hard surfaces. This will help get more money for your home.
• Pressure wash the outside for a clean and friendly look.
• Consider having the house staged if the house is empty. This also contributes to the home having a warmer feeling. (furniture can be rented)

Try the tips that don’t cost a thing first – see what happens. If you don’t get any improved response, other measures need to be taken. If you have a real estate agent, be sure to ask their honest opinion about what you can do. They do this and see this everyday!