Home Staging Tips

Let's change the sign in your yard from For Sale to Sold!

Show Your House in the Best Light
When a buyer walks into a nice bright room, they feel happy. And you know what happy buyers do? They make offers! Turn on all lamps and lights to the brightest setting. If you have a 3-way light bulb turn it to the highest watt. All lamps should have at least 100 watt bulbs in them. Remove heavy curtains to let the natural light in.

Create Space in Your Home
Get your furniture off the floor by removing all skirts. Showing the legs of furniture will visually make the room appear larger. Using neutral colors in paint and décor will make rooms seem larger. Add crown molding. It will make the rooms flow and expand the space. Ceiling fans should be the same color as the ceiling as it will make the ceilings seem higher. A darker fan will make the ceiling appear lower. Area rugs need to be proportional to the room size. A large room needs a large rug because a small rug will make the room seem smaller.

Make Your House a Home
Adding plants is a great way to add life to a room, but only if the plants are lush and full. Any old and dreary plants need to be replaced with new ones.

De-Clutter
Removing clutter doesn’t just apply to things on the floor. If you have a lot of pictures, decorative plates, etc. group them on one wall as a focal point and free up wall space. Pots hanging in the kitchen area are a bad idea as it makes the room/ceiling seem smaller and cluttered. Remove items from your kitchen counters like cutting boards, fruit baskets, etc. Also get rid of things in the sink area. No potential buyer wants to see your dirty dish sponge! Buyers will open your drawers and cabinets; clean them out so they can see the space instead of your junk. Buyers associate messy drawers and closets with a poorly maintained home.

Showcase Your Home’s Exterior in its Prime
If selling your home in the winter, make a photo album with photos of the exterior in the springtime

Upgrade the Kitchen
Buyers don’t give you the courtesy of saying they want a new appliance, they simply don’t make an offer on your house. The smartest thing you can do is make your kitchen look fresh and bright. Refrigerator is the least expensive appliance to upgrade and it will make the most impact.

Staging your home is necessary in this competitive market. You want your home to stand out in potential buyers minds as a place they could see themselves living in, not a house that needs work. The effort you put in to making your home look as perfect as possible will be worth the effort.

Take The Time Now to Review Your Homeowners Insurance

Trying to get just the right amount of homeowners insurance for your house and possessions seem like a difficult task. If you underinsure your home and suffer a devastating loss — flood, fire, theft — then you risk not being able to return to the lifestyle you’ve worked hard to achieve. Yet if you over-insure, you’re throwing money away every year on unnecessarily high premiums.


All homeowners insurance isn’t created equal. That’s why it pays to review your coverage periodically to ensure your policy meets your evolving needs. Begin by understanding the types of coverage available.

Actual cash value coverage reimburses you for the value of your home based on its current condition. If your home was built 10 years ago, you’d receive only the depreciated value of decade-old windows, cabinets, appliances, and so on. Most insurers recommend the more comprehensive replacement cost coverage. With it you’ll be reimbursed for the amount it will cost to rebuild your home like new with the same kind and quality of materials. Depreciation doesn’t factor into the settlement equation.

To get the full benefit of replacement coverage, you need to purchase enough insurance to cover the total cost to rebuild your home, excluding the value of the land. Many people make the mistake of insuring at the market value. But the amount you could sell your home for today isn’t necessarily the same as how much it would cost to rebuild.

Be sure you’re also insured at the right value for your home’s contents and for personal liability. Most insurance polices provide only actual cash value on contents. To get replacement cost coverage, you’ll need to purchase an endorsement. If you have valuables not covered by your policy—silverware, jewelry, furs—purchase endorsements for those, too.

Many people pay no attention to the liability coverage limits in their policies. If you have a dinner party and a guest falls down your front steps, you don’t want to be underinsured.

If you’re concerned about increasing your premiums by adding endorsement after endorsement, ask whether you can save money by splitting your deductible, paying a higher amount for certain claims and a lower amount for others. Bundled endorsements can save you a few bucks, but only if you require them all.

Make sure you have the right coverage for you, your family and your home!

Client Testimonial from Michael M.

We're excited anytime we can help someone buy or sell a home here in Savannah or refer them to a great agent in our network across the country. We recently sold Michael and Amanda a home on beautiful Tybee Island. Our Buyer Specialist, Mark Gugliuzza, took the lead at showing them homes and successfully guiding them through to closing. Read what Michael and Amanda had to say about The Don Callahan Real Estate Group below.

"Everyone I worked with at your office was friendly, courteous and more than willing to help in any way they could. I was also impressed by Don's nearly "instant availability" to meet with me for more complex questions and scenarios. I was very impressed that Don showed up for my closing even though we weren't working with him directly. I thought that it displayed good character and a dedication to his clients. I can't recommend you guys highly enough. I also put a shout out on Twitter about you guys right after closing! Great work and thanks again!!!

Mark did a truly outstanding job as our Buyer's Agent. He was very flexible, knowledgable friendly and professional. He provided excellent service with an emphasis on attention to detail and personal attention. He was also very patient with us as our taste in houses changed almost daily. He provided insight into the benefits and potential negatives of each house and neighborhood we looked at. He is very well informed in the real estate market and even provided a wealth of information about historic homes and financing. Mark's attitude was always positive and upbeat and we really enjoyed working with him. He truly took a lot of the stress out of the home buying process. I wish he was our listing agent back in Virginia!!"