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Staging your home can improve your sale price and get your home off the market quickly. Learn the top five things to do when staging your home for sale.
Home staging is becoming more popular as buyers become savvier and have more options available to them in today’s real estate market. Staging your home involves looking at it from the perspective of a potential buyer. Your color scheme, décor and personal touches are just that—yours. Staging your home so a buyer can see themselves living there can help your home sell faster and for more; in some cases, up to seven percent more.
The five things you must do when staging your home.
These are the absolute “must do’s” when getting your home ready for sale. If you don’t have the time or budget for anything else, be sure to:
- Scope out the competition. Attend open houses to check out homes near yours that are similar in size and price range. Notice what you like and don’t like and then take a closer look at your own home. You want to make sure your home stands out among the others that potential buyers will be viewing.
- Become a cleaning fanatic. Seriously, we’re talking white-glove clean. Clean the moldings, the windows, the floors, the shelves in your closets and cabinets, the light fixtures, the window treatments. Make your home sparkle.
- Depersonalize and de-clutter. Get rid of the family photos, the kids’ artwork and toys, the decorations that scream “you.” Buyers will notice all of this…and little else. You want to draw attention to the features of the home, not your love of porcelain teacups. And be sure to show off your home’s square footage by removing bulky pieces of furniture that are hard to maneuver around.
- Finish the “to-do” list. Finish those repairs you long ago stopped noticing—the chipped paint, the squeaky door, the broken fixtures, the missing cabinet knob. Buyers will assume that because these light maintenance issues haven’t been taken care of, then larger maintenance issues are surely looming.
- Neutralize. Love that red accent wall? Most buyers won’t. Invest in a can of paint of a neutral color (think beiges, whites and soft hues) and start painting. When neutralizing your home, you’ll also want to pay attention to odors. Ask a friend to come by for an honest smell test. If your home doesn’t pass, think of having your carpets professionally cleaned or make sure something pleasant is cooking on the stove top (such as boiling cinnamon) or baking in the oven (bread or cookies) during house showings.
Ready for more? Get tips for how to stage each room of your home.
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