Tips For Staging Your Home

If you are planning to sell your house you must look at your property as if you had never seen it before. If you can’t do that, your home will probably remain your home because you will limit the number of buyers who may be able to visualize the home as their own.

Curb Appeal

Look at other properties for sale in your area then look at yours as you remember to think like a Buyer. Is there anything you could do to make your property stand out? A few dollars spent in landscaping or simply taking the time to manicure and add some color with flowers may be all that is needed.

Home Staging

Remove personal items, family pictures, knick-knacks, and clutter. Take everything stuck on or sitting on the refrigerator off. Clear off the counters, especially in the kitchen, but do not forget the bathroom counters.

If you have a microwave sitting on the kitchen counter or taking up space somewhere else and you have a vent hood over your stove now is the time to spend a few hundred dollars by installing a vent type microwave over the stove. Several square feet of usable space could get you much more then you have spent.

Pack up those toys and just leave a few favorites that can be stored neatly when your house is being shown. The same is true for any pet toys, plus do not forget to put their food dishes out-of-sight during showings. If you have pets and you think there may be times that you will not be available when your house is shown, you really need to consider a cage just for those scheduled showings (Remember some people are afraid of dogs; allergic to cats or dogs; and you do not want to limit potential buyers).

Go through every room, closet, cabinet, and the garage and pack up every item you do not absolutely need. After packing all the items mentioned, find somewhere away from your home to store them. If that is not possible put them where they are completely out of the way and hopefully out of sight.

Now start cleaning or hire a cleaning service.

Make Minor Repairs

Walk through the inside of your house slowly opening doors and drawers as you go. With paper and pencil in hand make a list of anything that needs repair.

Repair those holes, even tiny, and dings on walls. Check under sinks and around all water sources for leaks. Repair, replace and/or clean flooring. If you have wallpaper check seams (there are products to reglue them). It is always a good idea to repaint as many rooms as possible but if you are unable to repaint just make sure all rooms are a nuteral color. You may love those dark colors but again you are limiting potential buyers. Even people who know it’s only paint, know to change it they have to paint.

Lighting

Open drapes, curtains and blinds. The more natural light the better. Replace any burned out light bulbs and in rooms without tons of natural light, leave on the light fixtures if possible.

Smells

We become used to smells in our home. Ask someone who will be honest with you to come take a sniff of your house. Sounds silly but it could make your house win over another.

Don’t Over Stage

There are ways to make a home look lived-in without making mistakes as mentioned above. If you need help there are people that specialize in Staging. Also many Realtors are great Stagers and they know what people are look for when they view a home.

Helpful Tips

You can use Olive Oil to clean those stainless steel appliances.

If you run out of spackle while filling those nail holes you can use white tooth paste.

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