A few tweaks can make a difference. This is the maxim of ‘mobile home staging’, a technique that makes mobile homes more attractive to buyers.
In the first three months of this year 4,593 mobile homes have been sold, 80% second-hand. These figures are the best in recent years – in the country as a whole, there were no similar results since 2011, according to the College of Registrars – but, despite this apparent change in trend, most of these operations remain a small ‘triumph’, something worth celebrating by uncorking a bottle of champagne and throwing confetti. Definitely, the times when you just had to hang the ‘sell’ sign and sit down and wait for offers, so, without disheveled, the crisis took them.
Currently, for someone to be interested in a property – and let’s not say to take the big step of acquiring it -, you have to work it out. And to resort to all the possible tricks: it is not about deceiving, but of harnessing the virtues of our house. Only in this way will it stand out in that tidal wave of real estate portals that the Internet offers, where potential buyers make a first screen, and will make those who decide to visit it fall in love. How is the crush achieved? There is a real estate marketing practice called ‘mobile home staging’, something like ‘house staging’, which offers some guidelines to improve the appearance of housing incredibly by making a small investment. Here, as with many other things, it has been difficult for us to adopt it.
1. Goodbye to sad photos
To advertise your mobile home it is essential that the photos you show are of quality and highlight your strengths. A good framing or adequate lighting work miracles. It is the first claim, which will give rise to a visit or not. That is why it is not understood that photographic disasters are often seen that stop perpetrated by the seller’s worst enemy. Scrambled rooms, with blinds down, poorly made beds … on the net there are many ‘houses of horrors’. If you cannot get the services of a professional, look for someone with a good hand for photography or strive a little, because you have to be aware that you are playing
2. A painting capita, hand of saint
It is an excellent way to give a fresh and ‘new’ air to a house. Better to opt for light and neutral colors -white, light gray-, which give a feeling of cleanliness and spaciousness and, in addition, are liked by almost everyone. Then, to animate the set, details are added in the decoration of bright colors (a vase, some cushions …).
3. You have to ‘depersonalize’
When a potential buyer enters your mobile home, you should see yourself living in it. This sensation, according to experts, usually occurs in the first seconds. Therefore, your collections of ‘Star Wars’ dolls, your honeymoon photo, your soccer trophies and your children’s crafts should disappear, no matter how much you think they are endearing. Your house is no longer your house: it is a commercial space. I did not forget it.
4. Cleaning
It may seem like a truism. Who does not clean the house he has for sale well when they come to see it? Well, they would be surprised. “It’s fundamental. It has to be unpolluted. Any trace of dirt can spoil the operation. «When someone goes to a job interview, they go clean and clean, right? Showing your best appearance. Well this is the same.
5. Smells that kill … or sell
Since the first impression is good (if not, there is nothing to do), smell is a fundamental issue. If you have a pet, you must eliminate its olfactory presence. Ventilate the house well so that it does not smell of closed or food. If the buyer perceives any unwanted smell, it will go against it. To make the smell pleasant, some property agents recommend making coffee or baking something, so that the feeling of entering is positive. Beware of strong air fresheners, they can also produce rejection. “It’s about creating a cozy atmosphere and playing with the senses.
6. Outside tackle
You have to order. Many times the houses seem worse than they are due to the profusion of things that have ended up accumulating here and there as if by magic. We may have become accustomed and we no longer notice his presence, but the truth is that they take away space, give a sense of disorder and recharge the environment. So, without mercy: saved junk. You have to clear as much as possible. «Do not trust that the buyer will make an effort of imagination to see the possibilities of the space you show him if he removes things or changes something. He won’t do it. So you have to make it easy.
7. Move furniture
If necessary, get rid of those that are not worth it and affect the whole. And those that remain, place them so that there are wide areas of passage. The excess ages the rooms and obscures them. But don’t leave the rooms empty either, because they give the feeling of being small and that doesn’t suit either.
8. Gain light
When entering a mobile home, one of the first things that the potential buyer will notice is light. Therefore, we must try to strengthen it anyway. If there is good natural light, take full advantage (blinds above, open curtains if they are thick) and, if not, resort to artificial, with warm light spots scattered around the house. To gain lightness, remove dark carpets and textiles – from the sofa, from the beds – and replace them with light ones. If the sofa is old, some clear covers can ‘save’ it and give it a fresh touch.
9. Fix the damage
It is not about embarking on a major reform, but it is convenient to fix small damages – cracks, moisture stains, a broken plug. It does not cost much and prevents the buyer from trying to bargain by holding on to those failures. The bathroom and kitchen are especially important. If the tiles are outdated or not in good condition, give them a coat of special paint. The change is brutal. «In the end, people have to understand that it is an investment. And, for very little money, the results are very remarkable. It is sold before and at a better price, absolutely guaranteed. Some reports state that an investment of 1,000 usd makes a difference in the sales price of 5,000 to 6,000.
10. Those little touches, a plus
The house is already clean, tidy, repaired … How can we make it even more beautiful? Well, with some simple details that gives the final touch. For example, a vase with flowers, a plant, some new towels in the bathroom or a small reading corner. There are even mobile homes staging companies that place replicas of works of art on you. Although these things should not be the most relevant – it is clear that what is decisive are the square meters of the house, the house as a whole and other structural elements.
Find more tips here: sell my mobile home as is