It’s important to learn about staging your home. You make the decisions when buying a home, and it’s an exciting experience. Selling a home is a different story. There are a lot of variables that go into closing a sale, and you won’t have complete control over some aspects of it, such as buyer financing. Things can fall through at the very last second, and you’ll have absolutely no say in the matter. So, it’s important to take control of the things you can to avoid problems and sell your home in no time.
Make your home attractive to as many buyers as you can from the beginning so offers will continue trickling in case your buyer doesn’t work out. Start by decluttering, depersonalizing, and staging your home for beautiful listing photos and open houses. Here are a few reasonable suggestions you can use to boost your home’s likelihood to sell and possibly its selling price.
Bring Out the House’s Best
Something about the home you’re now selling first drew you in. Whether it was the open spaces, original hardwood flooring, or abundant natural light, one or more features attracted you to buy the property. Now it’s time to show off those strong features. Staging a home is all about accentuating its features without dressing it up too much. Plan on staging the home for photos as well as open houses. Agents and sellers everywhere have started including virtually staged photos alongside originals so buyers can realize a room’s potential with sellers footing a huge bill. Good listing photos bring in more traffic during open houses, and 92 percent of buyers search for homes online, according to Inman, so you have to make a good impression as soon as possible. Stick to the affordable basics of staging and still see an impact by updating the exterior of your home and completing yard work before pictures and open houses. Also, arrange your home’s furniture in a way that doesn’t interfere with its natural paths from one room to the next, use the natural light that comes into the home to brighten up each room and polish it off with a good clean throughout.
Deep Clean and Declutter
Deep clean and declutter the entire home before selling. Do you want buyers remembering the thick dust on your light fixtures, or do you want them remembering the warmth and brightness of each room? Presenting a clean home to buyers lets them know it is well-maintained. When cleaning, pay attention to the details and leave no smudge behind. As you go through the home, clear each room of clutter as well to transform your once-cramped space into a relaxing sanctuary. Decluttering makes it easier to clean, but you’ll also save yourself the trouble of additional packing when the home sells.
Start with the closets and storage in your home, tackling sentimental items last. Bring a bag for donating and a bag for trash to fill as you go, avoiding piles that can easily overwhelm you.
Donate or trash duplicate items.
- Donate or trash anything you haven’t used in the past year.
- Toss outdated décor and worn out items that others would not want in their home.
- Recycle old mail, magazines, newspapers, and other paper products.
- Limit what goes in your junk drawer to useful items that you will need at some point.
While you’re decluttering, take the opportunity to depersonalize your home at the same time.
Make It a House, Not Your Home by Depersonalizing It
One of the most important parts of staging a home is depersonalizing it. Make the entire house a neutral space by removing your personality from it. This gives buyers a blank canvas to work with, so they can easily picture making the house their own home. Remove family portraits and anything that might distract buyers from daydreams of moving in. Neutralize the space by painting over your colorful walls with a neutral gray, white, or beige color that most décor and furniture will match. Remove personal items so buyers will feel like they’ve entered their new home rather than invaded your old one. You’ve committed to selling your home, so give it your best shot and depersonalize it. All of these tips go hand in hand to boost a property’s overall allure.
Written by Alice Robertson
