Weekly Tips for Long Island homeowners to help you prepare your home for the market.

Selling a vacant home can be difficult. Empty rooms highlight any imperfections in the floors or walls. They can feel cold and bleak, affecting the ability of a buyer to make an emotional connection with the home. Empty rooms appear smaller than furnished rooms and can be confusing to buyers. Only 10% of buyers can mentally picture how their own furniture will fit into a room. Furnishings give the room perspective in terms of scale and proportion, helping buyers visualize where their things will fit. Sometimes it is not clear what the space can be used for and furniture can show its intended use. Empty rooms can also give the impression that the seller might be desperate to sell, possibly carrying two mortgages, which can lower the offers.

Staging a vacant house can resolve these problems. Staging a vacant home adds warmth and comfort, shows how furniture can fit into a room and suggests to buyers the purpose of each room. Ideally, the house should be fully furnished. You can hire a staging company to take care of everything or you can do it yourself by renting or borrowing furniture.

If you are on a budget, then consider vignette staging. Vignette staging uses the bare minimum amount of furniture. Just enough to remove the cold, empty feeling of a vacant house and to let buyers know the purpose of each room. You should at least focus on the entrance, living room, dining room and a master bedroom. The entrance creates the buyers’ first impression of the home, so a potted plant and painting/mirror in this area can make the space feel more inviting. A lightly staged living room could have a chair or couch, a round unfinished wood table covered with a tablecloth, a table lamp, and some large potted plants. The dining room could have a table and chairs, a painting on the wall and some potted plants. The master bedroom should have a bed, a painting on the wall above the bed, nightstands with table lamps, and maybe a dresser.

Whatever level of staging you decide, it will resolve the problem of a vacant house. You will feel confident that you are presenting your home to appeal to prospective buyers.

Weekly Tips for Long Island homeowners to help you prepare your home for the market.

Winter weather can be dreary. Liven up your home for buyers with some simple winter staging tips.

1. Manage Snow and Ice. Keep snow and ice off of walkways and driveways. Also shovel a path from the street to the sidewalk. This allows buyers to have easier access to your home and makes the home look like it’s maintained. Consider hiring a service to shovel/salt your driveway and sidewalks if you are away often.

2. Keep Your Home Warm. Heat your home two degrees warmer than usual and then set the thermostat back to normal temperature before a buyer visits your home. The warmer temperature is more welcoming and comfortable, so buyers will stay longer. Heating the house up a little more beforehand and then resetting the thermostat back to normal prevents any potential loud HVAC noise when the heat kicks on.

3. Maximize Natural Light. Clean your windows and keep curtains/blinds wide open to allow more natural light into your home. Try to encourage buyers to view your home during peak daylight hours and not after work when it’s already dark outside.

4. Showcase Your Fireplace. Fireplaces are a selling point. So, make sure nothing is blocking your fireplace and that you have decluttered the mantel. Consider lighting the fireplace before a showing to add ambience, if you will be around and your home won’t be unattended.

5. Add Signs of Spring. Remind buyers that spring is coming! Place green leafy plants and vases of fresh flowers around the house to add color and a natural, pleasing aroma. Bring in soft spring colors (yellows, pinks, pale blues, lavenders) with home accents, such as pillows, linens, towels, and throws. Also, show buyers how the yard will look in the summer by displaying pictures of your landscaping from summer months.

Buyers will leave with pleasant and warm memories of your home - even if it is still cold and dreary outside!

Weekly Tips for Long Island homeowners to help you prepare your home for the market.

When preparing your home to sell, remember your basement! Repair issues, such as cracks, water damage or mold, could hinder the sale. Also, staging your unfinished or finished basement could add perceived living space, making your home seem larger!

As with any room in your home, apply the basics of home staging to preparing your basement: declutter, clean, brighten and make minor repairs (cracks/leaks).

Declutter. Though basements are commonly used for storage, you will want to free up as much space as possible to increase the visible square footage. Remove anything that isn’t essential and put it in a storage facility or get rid of it. If you must keep some items stored in the basement, then try to reduce the number of boxes by consolidating contents into fewer, larger boxes. This is also a good time to remove hazards and junk, such as solvents and lumber scraps.

Cleaning Your Basement. Clean the stairs to the basement. Sweep the floor and wipe down the furnace, hot water heater and any other appliances using a damp cloth. To reduce odors, try leaving the windows open for a day. A dehumidifier can also get rid of extra moisture and musty odors. Be sure to remove any unsightly critter or pest traps when buyers come to view your home. If the basement floor is concrete, then consider painting it gray to create a clean look.

Brighten Your Basement. Make sure you use the highest wattage bulbs allowed for the light fixtures. Add lamps if the basement still appears dark. You can also brighten the space by painting the walls white, especially if the basement in unfinished. If you have paneled walls, then sand and paint them.

Make Minor Repairs. Check for and repair any cracks, water leaks, or mold. Make sure the stairs and handrail to the basement are sturdy.

Setting the Stage. Whether your basement is finished or unfinished you can delineate areas based on where different activities occur. For example, you could set up a kids play area, a sitting area, a hobby area and/or a workshop. Staging your basement can give buyers the perception of extra living space.

And in Closing. If you plan to refinish your basement , it’s a good idea to check with your Town or Municipality about a building permit. You may need it when it’s time to sell.

Weekly Tips for Long Island homeowners to help you prepare your home for the market.

One of the first rooms that a buyer may see when entering a home is the dining room – so it’s especially important when selling your home to make that first impression a good one. Even if your dining room is located elsewhere following these suggestions will help to "showcase" it.

First, make sure that your dining room looks like a dining room and not an office or a playroom. Then you are ready for the basics of home staging: declutter, depersonalize, clean, brighten and make minor repairs. Finally, there are some specific things you can do to enhance the appearance of your dining room.

Declutter. When staging think, "less is more." Eliminate clutter by removing and packing up any accessories or items that are not chosen to keep for a decorative accent.

Depersonalize. Remove any personal photos and replace if needed with an accessory or artwork that adds a decorative touch. A mirror is also an acceptable replacement in a dining room. Remember that you want buyers to be able to picture themselves living in your house and not feel like they are just visiting someone else’s home. Also, be sure to remove any valuables you might have on display.

Cleaning your Dining Room. When cleaning the dining room, be sure to clean the windows and dust / wipe off the light fixtures and polish the furniture, if needed. Clean the floors and any rugs. Get rid of dead plants.

Brighten your Dining Room. The freshly cleaned light fixtures will help brighten the dining room. Make sure that all the lights work and that all of the light bulbs function. Use the highest wattage bulbs allowed for the light fixture. A dimmer switch is a good idea also. On occasion, "mood lighting" may be more effective than a bright room. If you have heavy window treatments blocking your dining room windows, then draw them back or replace them with something else to allow more natural light to filter into the room. If the room still seems dark, then consider putting an extra lamp on a buffet table.

Make Minor Repairs. Check to make sure that all the switch plates and outlet covers match and that none of them are broken. Replace them if necessary. Also check the trim around the doorways. Repair any nicks and consider repainting. If your wallpaper is dated, then it is be a good idea to remove it and paint the walls with a neutral color.

Setting the Stage. Complete the staging of your dining room by making the room feel more spacious, creating the illusion of higher ceilings and setting up the dining room table. Make your dining room feel more spacious by minimizing the amount and size of the furniture in the room. Unless the room is large you should only have a dining room table (with the leaf removed) and four to six chairs on top of a rug along with just one other piece of furniture (china cabinet / side board / buffet). The room should also have a chandelier or other light fixture, with the dining table centered underneath. If you know you absolutely want to take your existing chandelier with you, then take it down now and replace it with something else; otherwise, it can be excluded from the listing agreement (sometimes can become part of the negotiations for sale of home). Create the illusion of higher ceilings by removing any plants or accessories from the tops of china cabinets. The more wall space there is between the furniture and the ceiling, the higher the ceilings look. When setting up the dining room table, use a table runner or place mats. Designers recommended grouping in threes. Fresh flowers and a couple of candles can make a nice centerpiece.

Whatever the size of your home or whether a formal dining room or not, adding a fresh look to your dining room is sure to make a good impression with buyers! In today’s real estate market, a home in good condition and that "shows well’ adds value for Long Island homeowners.

Selling your home? These tips will help you prepare your home for the market.

Don’t underestimate the importance of staging your closets! Potential buyers will inspect closets so that they can determine the amount of storage space in your home.

You don’t need to put a lot of money into an expensive closest system or into custom shelving. The best way to stage your closets is to declutter, clean, brighten and organize!

Decluttering your closet can make the space appear larger. If potential buyers see your closets filled to the max, then they will perceive that your home does not have enough storage space. So, go through all the items in your closets and remove anything that you don’t use on a regular basis or anything that is off-season. The goal is to only have two-thirds (or less!) of the closet space filled. Consider packing up the extra items and renting space for them at a storage facility.

Clean your closets by sweeping/vacuuming the floors and dusting any light fixtures in the closets. Try using the Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean to remove marks off the closet walls. (Be sure to test the magic eraser in an inconspicuous spot on the wall first.) Painting the closet interior is an easy way to freshen it up.

Along with cleaning the light fixture in your closets, you can brighten the space by making sure that you are using the highest watt bulb recommended for the fixtures.

When organizing your closet, think perfectionist! All hangers should be the same kind, size and color. Use high-quality hangers, no wire hangers! And, all hanging clothes should be facing the same direction. Group similar clothing items together (jackets, pants, long-sleeved shirts, short-sleeved shirts, skirts). Clothes can be hung according to their color, going from light to dark. Make sure everything is up off the floor. Use racks to store your shoes. This will help the closet space appear larger. Avoid using extra storage boxes, but if you have to then use the clear ones. Also make sure you don’t have any worn or dirty clothing in the closet.

An added bonus to a neat and well-organized closet is that buyers will perceive you as someone who takes good care of your property… which includes your house!

Home staging can result in a more timely and profitable sale.

In today’s competitive Long Island housing market, staging your home is important whether other sellers do the same or not. If a majority of other sellers in your area stage their homes and you don’t, then you could be at a disadvantage. Your home will not look as good compared to similar priced homes on the market and buyers could consider your home as overpriced. On the flip side, if other unsold homes in your area aren’t staged and yours is, then your home will really shine and look like a great value.

When there is a surplus of houses on the market, buyers tend to focus on houses that look great and are move-in ready. Homes that look good also get shown more by real estate agents, which translates into greater market exposure.

The basic idea behind home staging is to showcase your home in its best condition and to make it appealing to as many buyers as possible by de-personalizing your space. The goal is to make the house look less like your home and more appealing to buyers so they can picture themselves living there.

At the very least when selling your home you should clean, depersonalize, and remove any clutter and excess furniture that makes the room look crowded. New paint, floor coverings or light fixtures can also freshen up the look of the house. For even more competitive housing markets, hiring a professional home stager can help your home stand out above the rest.

A garage redo is a popular choice on Long Island

Remember when a garage was just a place to park your car? Today’s garages are organized, coordinated and clean.Your garage remodeling can be as simple as decluttering, cleaning and adding more storage options. It can also include installing wall systems as well as adding floor coverings and garage appliances.

As a first step, your family should declutter the garage. Sort through items, deciding what to keep, give away, throw away or put aside for a garage sale. If you haven’t used something in a long time, get rid of it! Next, give your garage a good cleaning, possibly some fresh paint and organize what you are keeping into different categories, e.g., gardening equipment, general tools, sports equipment.

Then, think about your storage needs based on which parts of the garage will function as space for different activities. You’ll also want to maximize vertical storage, keeping as many things as you can off of the garage floor. Storage options can include adding racks, shelves and cabinets. You might even consider a wall or overhead system from Garage Tek. Their system allows you to quickly rearrange cabinets. Plus, you can take the cabinets with you when you move, only leaving behind the system paneling.

Another option is to add easy to clean floor coverings, such as roll or tile flooring from Gladiator Garage Works. To top off your garage remodel, you can add some tread-plated steel exterior garage appliances, also available from Gladiator Garage Works.

Many homeowners on Long Island are choosing this relatively easy remodeling project to upgrade their homes. Even with the simplest project, buyers will be sure to notice your clean and organized garage!