Preparing For A Showing? Don't Miss The Fridge!
Posted on: 15 August 2016
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If you're listing your home for sale, one of the things your real estate agent will tell you is that you need to stage the house. Staging means eliminating clutter, organizing, and making the home look welcoming to prospective buyers. While it's easy to go room-by-room and deal with the furnishings and pictures, one of the things you might not think about is the refrigerator. Since buyers will look at every single available space in your home, the fridge is an important consideration, too. Here's a look at how to stage your fridge for a sale.
Start By Clearing It Out
Take everything out of the refrigerator and put it on the counters. As you do this, throw away anything that's expired, unsightly or almost gone. Anything that doesn't look fresh should be discarded.
Remove the magnets and other decorations from the front of the fridge and clear off the top. Clean the entire refrigerator from the inside out using a food-safe cleaner. You'll want to particularly focus on removing any stains, spills or other messes.
Shop For Appearances
The key to staging is to think about the key demographic your home listing reaches and what kinds of things they would like. For example, if you're selling in a neighborhood with lots of school-age kids, you'll want to think about kid-friendly foods. In areas where your buyers are likely to be health-conscious, you'll want to think about investing in whole foods.
If your neighborhood has a local deli, farmer's market or other food supplier that's notable, invest in fresh things from those places to spotlight what the neighborhood has to offer. You'll also want to invest in some colorful jars of spreads and ingredients. Just make sure you're not buying things that you won't eat. Otherwise, they go to waste after the showing.
Consider Organization Carefully
When you're putting things in the refrigerator, the way it's organized matters, too. Buy some glass jars to store your juice and milk in. They look elegant and clean, and the generic look will appeal to buyers of all kinds. Invest in some baskets to hold fresh produce and small items--that way they're in the open and colorful. Finally, turn all of the bottle labels out so that they are visible. It may seem inconsequential, but it can have a positive effect on how organized the refrigerator is perceived.
Remember that buyers are trying to envision their new life in the house. Staging the refrigerator this way gives them something positive and generic to focus on. Since buyers are going to look inside the fridge anyway, these tips will help you make the best of it.