Is your mobile home for sale? We’ve compiled these “Lucky 7” easy tips to help you stage your home.
MHVillage aims to help you impress home shoppers and save you money. These are simple things you can do to help make your home more marketable.
Seven Easy Tips to Help Stage Your Home for Sale
1. Impress the Drive-By
If you have your manufactured home for sale, you may notice folks who slowly drive with an eye on your community. It’s a common weekend activity for those in the market for a new home.
When your manufactured home is for sale, make sure you impress those drive-bys in the 30-45 seconds you have their attention! Your lawn should be in good shape and landscaping is tidy. Move trash and recycle containers out of view. Make sure sidewalks and stairs are swept. Stand in the road outside your home and look at it with a buyer’s eye. What can you do differently to stage your home, to make it appear more inviting?
Tip: Make sure people who drive by have your phone number. A well placed, clearly written “For Sale” sign can really help. The MHVillage Seller’s Kit (Free with your listing) includes a big window sign for your home.
2. Clean Up Outdoor Structures
Don’t forget to shine up your outdoor areas. These areas can be easily forgotten, but when buyers come to your home they will be seeing them for the first time.Now is a great time to clean up the shed and make sure tools are neatly put away. Look at the carport, especially up near the roof. This is an area that attracts dirt – and bird’s nests. Have deck or patio? Make sure they are clean and look welcoming. In warmer climates, spruce them up with flower pots, in colder areas, make sure the walks and structures are free from snow and ice.
Tip: If you have a three season porch or all-season outdoor furniture, leave it out and show buyers what a great additional space you have. However, like everything else – make sure it is wiped down and clean. After awhile outside, furniture can look dingy and dull.
3. Become a DIY Expert
Now is the time to go through your home with a sharp eye and look for any small repairs you can make to help your mobile home stand out from the crowd. Simple things like squeaky hinges or loose cabinet doors may only take a few moments to fix, but can make the difference to a picky shopper. It is almost always cheaper to do repairs yourself now (even if you have to hire the work done) than it is to negotiate the cost out of your selling price.
Tip: Check cabinet and closet doors. These can become loose and hang incorrectly, making them appear to be sagging or stuck.
4. Paint is Your Friend
Speaking of repairs, a can of paint is one of the cheapest ways to give a room a new look. Paint can also clean up smudged or chipped doors and trim. Choose neutral colors that will fit with anyone’s decorating scheme.
Tip: DIY Network has a terrific article about how to paint a room, complete with videos showing you how to do it like a Pro every step of the way. Check out their How to Paint a Room Like a Pro article, here.
5. Nix Smudged Surfaces
Light switch covers, outlet covers, cabinet doors, and door handles all get a lot of abuse. Frequently they can be cleaned up with a little soap and water, but if they are too far beyond repair, consider replacing these items. Local hardware stores carry all these items and replacing them can be an easy weekend project.
Tip: Be safe! Don’t forget turn off the power at the breaker when you are changing covers on electrical outlets.
6. Replace the Mini-blinds
Nothing gets grimier (or is harder to clean,) than mini-blinds. Fortunately, mini-blinds are inexpensive to replace. There are lots of articles out there about how to clean them, but replacing them is often easier.
Tip: Most home improvement stores will cut the blinds to size for you, just ask!
7. Have Handouts Handy
Statistics show that after an open house, people are more likely to return to a home if they picked up a handout about the property. Use this tip with prospective buyers. When people come to see your home, have a handout ready with information on your house, the price, the address, a photo of the home and, of course, your contact information! Home shoppers typically look at a lot of homes before they decide to buy and a handout will help them keep your property fresh in their mind.
Tip: Did you know that if you have your home advertised for sale on MHVillage, you can print full color fliers right from your listing? These one page handouts are perfect to give to prospective buyers or to have available at Open Houses. Just click the “Print Listing” tool in the Actions Toolbox on your listing.
