Do you think you’re ready to list your home on the market? No so fast! There’s a lot more work involved than you may initially think.
Steps for Staging Your Home
Here are some helpful tips to make the staging process a little easier and pain-free.
Step 1 – Clean your home!
This should be priority number one. You can’t just let potential buyers walk in at any moment. What quicker and easier way than to hire a professional cleaning service *hint, hint* to do it for you! Whether you are short on time or not, make your home look like a shiny new penny.
Step 2 – Discard your junk!
If you’ve been procrastinating on going through the boxes in the garage or donating old clothes, you have no excuse now! Regardless if your home is big or small, anything that doesn’t belong can clutter space and make the space feel cramped. Getting rid of things is more ideal but simply organizing will help an open house be just that… an open house! It will help buyers envision how they can make your home theirs.
Step 3 – Let there be light.
If you have curtains, open them up! If you have shutters, unlatch them! If you don’t have any window treatments, investing in even the cheapest sheers will accent the natural light that floods in. Walking into a bright and airy home makes it feel cozy and inviting.
Step 4 – Leave No Room for Improvement
- Give your home a facelift! If you have any tacky memorabilia, now’s the time to get rid of it. Personal items tie into this one too. Remove family photos and awards to make the home more neutral when buyers walk in.
- Time to Feng Shui! Rearrange your furniture in a way that will create more space and functionality. You might want to even consider replacing big furniture with smaller pieces or pieces that allow you to hide your belongings like a ladder bookcase or a storage ottoman.
- More updates! Nobody wants to travel back in time and have a crazy colored refrigerator! If your home has dated carpet or wallpaper you’re more likely to have a hard time selling. Potential buyers tend to look at homes that need little work done after the purchase. Think of what’s currently in style and what can be replaced! This can also add more value to your home upfront.
- Freshen up your entryway! If your budget allows for a whole new paint job, do it! Buyers will appreciate it especially if your home is more than a decade old. If not, don’t worry. Putting a fresh coat of paint on just the front door will take you places. Sprucing up hedges, the lawn, or laying down new rock, if you have no grass, can become a magnet from other listings that may be in the area!
Plan these steps into listing your home and you’ll be on the road to successfully sell your home. You get what you put in, after all!
