Selling Mom's Home
What to do when Mom and Dad are ready to downsize? When the home they have lived in and loved for 30 years gets to be too much? There are hard choices to make when it comes time to sell a family home, and family members are often overwhelmed with all the choices they face. The furniture that has served the family so well for all the holiday meals and get-togethers is loved, but out dated. Mom and Dad won't have room for all of it, and none of the kids really want it in their house. The wallpaper that served as a backdrop for so many family pictures is out dated and needs to come down, but who has the time or energy to do that? You need to get the most you can for their house, but don't really know where to start, there is just so much to do...
I see this all the time, and help the family break their "to-do list" into manageable tasks. A home staging consultation gives families the blueprint for getting a home ready to sell with a list of "need to do", and "nice to do" tasks. I help the family manage the job of getting the house ready, with recommendations that will maximize return on investment. The wallpaper that has been in the kitchen and bath for 30 years? It needs to come down, and the walls painted. Furniture that isn't going with Mom and Dad to their new place? Sell or donate it to make room for more updated furniture to be used to stage. Getting rid of the stuff doesn't mean getting rid of the memories.
The current trend in Dallas real estate has older neighborhoods on young and upcoming families' radar. The home that Mom and Dad have lived in for 30 years may just be in one of the newest "hot" neighborhoods. The home needs to be packaged to appeal to those families. I have been known to stage bedrooms, whose young occupants moved out years ago, as a child's room again. When young families are moving in, staging the home as if a young family lives there, helps the potential buyer imagine it as their home. Antique quilts, doilies, heavy antique furniture, etc., doesn't...
When faced with selling Mom and Dad's home, and overwhelmed with all that entails, call a home stager for a consultation. Having the blueprint in your hand will help everyone manage their stress and get the job done. To get started, click here.
Amy Fedosky is a professional home stager, and mother to 3 sons and 1 daughter. She loves travel, watching her kids play sports, chocolate, and a good glass of wine. Amy has lived in Rowlett for 28 years, and has been staging in the Dallas area since 2011.
