Often times as a REALTOR, I go on listing appointments to consult with home sellers, to find one or more bedrooms that are no longer a bedroom. The bedroom is empty, has been converted to an office or has become a catch all room.
It is important to show potential buyers the true use of a space. Take that unused bedroom and make it look like a bedroom. Buyers will walk away thinking your house only had two bedrooms instead of the three that are listed. Or if you have converted a bedroom to a use that is specific to you, say a sewing room, again the buyer will have a hard time seeing that space for what it is truly intended for.
Its Easy to Take The Unused Bedroom and Show Its intended Use
Its much easier then you think to take an unused bedroom and show the space as it was intended for….. a bedroom.
In the photo below this room was actually used for the dog! It had a big dog bed (an old mattress) and a few toys for the dog. So what did we do? The sellers borrowed a bed frame from a family member, snagged an end table and a lamp from else where in the house, re-purposed some old crates they had lying around and threw up a curtain and made up the bed (with the old mattress the dog used) with a comforter and some pillow shams. If you notice the bed doesn’t even have a box spring, just the mattress.
It works! The bedroom now looks and feel like a bedroom. The bed helps give the buyers a sense of the space as a bedroom. The furniture is neither elaborate or expensive, but the space is clearly defined.
There is also no dresser in the bedroom, but that is fine…. guess what the buyers don’t even notice. The bed is what defines the space.
Don’t have a bed for that unused bedroom? For $53.00 at Wal-Mart you can buy a raised full size inflatable mattress. You can buy pillows for 2.50 cents a piece as well…. so no head board? Dress out the top of the bed with coordinating pillows. Night stands and lamps can be bout cheaply at tag sales or discount stores, but I would say many people can re-purpose an item they already have lying around the house as a night stand and can usually scare up an extra lamp from somewhere. The above bedroom to this Methuen home was simple but showed nicely and helped the potential buyers see the space as intended.
So with a little creativity, my client furnished this unused space for $0!!
Not only did this space show well for personal viewings it allowed potential buyers to see the space as a bedroom on the internet instead of an empty room or a space that made no sense at all.
This Advice Goes for All Rooms in Your Home Not Just Unused Bedrooms
Don’t just stop at bedrooms, this advice is good for every room in your home. Show dining rooms as dining rooms, living rooms as living rooms and so on. It is critical for the sale of your home to show each room as there intended use. Lead the buyers down a path, don’t leave it to them to assume.
This post, The Unused Bedroom, Show Its Intended Use, was provided by Kevin Vitali of EXIT Group One Real Estate.
I have been helping homeowners successfully sell their homes for years. I understand home buyers and how they will typically react to your home. One of the services I provide is a home preparation consultation, where we will go though every room in your home and discuss what can be done to maximize the “merchandizing” of each room in your home. Thinking of selling and want to maximize the selling potential of your home? Call me at 978-360-0422.
