My Friend - Beverly Cohen - Certified Staging Consultant - recommends:

Stage Your Home To Sell It Faster

 
To sell your home in a slow and highly competitive real estate market, you need to make it outshine the competition.  Buyers buy homes they fall in love with and they fall in love with homes that are squeaky clean and shiny, luxurious and elegant, and in move-in condition.   If your home just won't sell, there is a reason buyers are not falling in love with it.  The reason they are not falling in love could be something that frequently sends buyers running.  Any of these four things will send buyers running without looking back.

• Unpleasant odors and smells.  This is the number one thing that will send buyers running the fastest.  At the top of the list are odors from cigarettes, pets, and diaper pails.   Since you live in the home, you may not notice odors that buyers smell.  Ask  someone who does not live in the house to do a sniff test.  If they notice any unpleasant odors or smells, you need to do whatever it takes to rid the house of them.  You client also needs to keep any new odors out, .i.e, if you are a smoker, DO NOT SMOKE IN THE HOUSE.  While your home is on the market, avoid cooking any foods that leave lingering odors such as fish or liver.  The only acceptable (and actually desirable) lingering smells are from baked goods such as bread, cakes, and cookies.
 
• Outdated Wallpaper.  Few things will make buyers run faster than outdated wallpaper.  Wallpaper is very taste specific and few buyers can envision themselves living in a house surrounded by someone else's taste in wallpaper. Wallpaper makes a house look dated and uncluttered rooms feel cluttered.  Also, rooms with wallpaper do not look their best in online photos. Removing wallpaper may be a lot of work, but if it’s too much trouble for you, a buyer would probably also view it as being too much trouble.  Take a tip from the model homes of builders: go with neutral paint to make the rooms brighter and to make them look larger.  Buyers don’t want to buy work and trouble.  Rather than buying a house that requires work, a buyer will move on to the next listing.
 
• Pets.  With the exception of fish, even buyers who own pets do not want to encounter any evidence that pets live in your home.  Clifford and Garfield need to spend every day in pet daycare or go on an extended, all expense paid vacation.  Unless you want to limit potential buyers to pet owners and pet lovers, remove all evidence that you have a pet.  Some buyers dislike pets, some are afraid of pets, some are allergic to pet dander, and very few want to buy a home that smells of pets.
 
• Dirty or outdated kitchens and bathrooms.  Kitchens and bathrooms are the most important rooms to buyers and need to reflect the current styles and trends.  They need to look as clean and shiny as if they have never been used.  Even if buyers fall in love with the rest of your client's house, outdated, grungy, grimy, and dirty bathrooms and kitchens will send them running. The buyer thinks - "Well, if they didn't take care of something as important as this, what else did they neglect?"   Spending money to update these areas is usually money well-spent. 

 
 First Impressions Staged Homes would like to help you make your home outshine the competition.  To schedule an appointment, call 770-998-5988 or email Beverly@FirstImpressionsStagedHomes.