Staging Your Home for the Quick Sell
Most home sellers know that in order to sell their home quickly and for top dollar, their home has to look it's best. Here is a basic checklist of things to do and focus on to make sure your home staging is successful.
5 Home Staging Tips
- Get everything clean. I do not mean everyday clean, either! You need immaculately clean. Consider getting a cleaning crew, and if need be, have them touch up every week or so until the house is sold. Clean the walls, clean the floor, clean the windows. Clean, clean, clean!
- Perform repairs. Anything from drooping gutters, missing shingles, dripping faucets, ill-closing doors- get it all fixed. A poorly maintained house will give an instant bad signal to home buyers. You are probably going to have repair many of these items post-inspection, so getting everything in tip-top shape right away is the best thing to do.
- Toss away all the junk. Cluttered homes look small and dark and they are difficult to clean. Buyers have a tough time visualizing their home if they are too busy seeing your trinkets. Think of the 50% rule- get rid of half of your bric-a-brac, or at least pack it away so it's ready to move.
- Keep things neutral. Avoid garish or bright colors- whether it's on the walls, cabinets, floors. Daring colors will certainly turn off some of the buyers that tour your home. Don't let personal taste get in the way- you are selling the home, remember?
- De-personalize. Remove anything that makes your home personal. I'm not just talking about family items here, either. Avoid leaving political or religious items in view because once again, some buyers may be turned off by them. They need to be able to picture the house as their home, and if it's covered with reminders of you, it's just that much more difficult.
Visit Home Staging Examples
Look at other examples of staging, such as at a tile store, furniture store, or even a builder's model home. It's easy to notice how clean, uncluttered, neutral, and 'unpersonalized' these staged scenes are. Can you picture yourself in that kitchen, living room, or dining room? Of course you can, and it is supposed to be that way! Copy their techniques in your home.
Areas to focus on within your home
Entranceway - A buyers first impression will happen here. Keep all the lights on in the house to give a light & bright impression. Avoid heavy cooking smells, or even better cook something like cake or cookies before a showing.
Kitchen - Probably one of the most important rooms in the home, a properly staged kitchen can sell a home quickly. Clean everything! Keep the entire counter and floor space open- and that means even the coffee pot must disappear. Take everything off of the refrigerator. Shelves and pantries must be neat and clean. Buyers will look inside, so don't try to 'hide' anything.
Bathrooms. Do not display any personal toiletries- shavers, toothbrushes, etc. Keep your soap dishes pristine. If you have bars of hand soap, they should look new. Another tip is to buy a new set of high-quality towels for display.
For the rest of the house, stick to the 5 tips above. Cleanliness and lack of clutter can not be over-emphasized! Get to it! And good luck!