There’s no one way to sell a home. Some people will choose to sell their home while they are still living in it, and others will wait until they’ve moved elsewhere. Home staging is that happy medium – while the owners no longer reside there, the home is “staged”, or decorated with furniture and products to make it look and feel as it would when the new resident is all moved in.
Tip #1 – Paint The Walls – Neutralize your home for Buyers
Buyers have a tough time visualizing themselves living in a home that has a different design scheme than they’re used to. So make it easy for buyers by giving them a neutral color palette to work with. Fresh paint will also brighten the home, make it appear new, and mask any offensive smells.
Tip #2 – Create more Space – Open Floor Plans are In!
Anything that opens the space and creates a sense of flow in the house is generating a response from buyers right now. Just by rearranging or removing furniture pieces, you can really modernize the look and feel of your home.
Tip #3 – Hire a Gardener – Curb Appeal Counts
Mow the lawn, trim the shrubs, and cut the trees. Unsightly curb appeal can easily lower the perceived value of your home. A $400-$500 investment in landscaping can yield four times that!
Tip #4 – Define the Space – Remove All the Question Marks
Undefined spaces create doubt in the mind of a buyer. And doubt can kill a sale before it even starts. Instead, make sure that all spaces are clearly defined. Remove the treadmill from the living room, convert the office back into a bedroom, and hide the toys that have been playing in the dining room.
Tip #5 – Clean the Bathrooms – Bathrooms Can Be Deal Breakers
It may not be economical to do a full bathroom renovation. However, it is possible to spend a few hundred dollars on a bathroom refresh. Replace frosted glass with clear glass, clean the grout, remove rust stains, apply fresh caulk, update doorknobs, replace faucets, and install a low-flush toilet.
Tip #6 – Spruce up the Floors – The First Thing A buyer Will Notice
Broken tiles and squeaky floor boards can be fixed easily and make a huge difference in a buyer’s impression. Remove wall to wall carpeting and vinyl flooring. Instead, opt for hardwood or tile, if the budget allows.
Tip #7 – Hire a Handyman – Basic Maintenance Goes Far
Repair leaks, replace rusty rain gutters, inspect the furnace, caulk the corners, replace the drawer pulls, and weed the flower beds. These kinds of repairs go a long way toward value.
If you would like to have your home professionally staged my go-to stager is Deanna with Peek Interiors. She is FANTASTIC at making the space look clean, bright, modern and open.
Home staging doesn’t just help land sales – it can also increase the final sale price. When people buy a house, what they’re really shopping for is a home. Staging helps buyers visualize what their future home could be – instead of an empty house, they see a fully-furnished living space.
Often, staged homes stand out in buyers’ minds. Think about it – wouldn’t you rather see photos of homes that actually look like homes?
How do you go about home staging? There are a number of techniques you can utilize to get your home staged, and which ones you use will depend largely on the type of home you’re trying to sell, and which features you want to help stand out within the property.
Home staging doesn’t have to be an expensive process. If you’re wanting to stage your home on a budget, we’ve compiled 38 home staging ideas you can implement right now, to get your property into shape before it goes on the market.
These techniques can range from simple things like hiding family photos to large-scale projects like re-painting old rooms. Whether you want a few quick fixes or a full-scale staging project, there’s a tip in this guide you can implement right away to improve the value of your home.
You don’t have to invest in model furniture or massive renovations to properly stage a home; there are plenty of little things you can do, from cleanup and repair to decorating, that will increase your home’s worth in your buyers’ eyes.
