You want your home to sell, fast. Wouldn’t it be a dream come true if you had multiple buyers fighting over it, giving full-price offers? Well, the possibility of this happening goes way up if you follow some simple staging secrets.
Now, don’t think that you have to pump hundreds of dollars into new furniture to stage the house perfectly. While you could replace your countertops with granite or completely redo your back deck, many of these staging secrets are very cost effective or free.
More important than hiring a professional to come stage your home for you is some good, old-fashioned TLC. Just following these tips and putting a bit of effort into staging your home will help it sell quicker than you could believe.
Pack up personal items and clutter
When you officially decide to list your house, it’s time to start packing. There’s nothing that makes the perceived value of a house drop more quickly than having a well-sized home buried in clutter. You might love having a couch and four arm chairs in your small living room, but is all of that really necessary?
Put excess furniture in storage or keep it at a family member’s house for a short amount of time. These staging secrets will help make the rooms look much bigger.
Additionally, all family pictures should be taken down or replaced with generic artwork. People have a difficult time imagining themselves in a house that’s full of pictures of someone else.
Essentially, make sure all of the clutter is gone. Anything that you can live without should be packed, sold, or donated. Just getting rid of unnecessary excess can go a long way in making potential buyers fall in love with your house.
And, just think, you’re getting a head start on all your packing!
Make the kitchen feel homey
When people stage a house without professional help, the kitchen is something they often ignore. This area is always very important to buyers, so make sure you add those tiny extra touches.
To help people imagine themselves hosting guests or enjoying family meals, set out a couple beautiful plates, a vase of fresh flowers, and possibly a bottle of wine. Things you already have sitting around can help the dining room and kitchen feel a lot less empty and cold.
Bright lighting
More staging secrets include making sure the lighting in every room is bright! If any light bulbs are burnt out or dull, replace them immediately. For rooms that don’t have much natural light, add a couple more lamps and make sure they’re all turned on when the potential buyer comes to visit the home.
Bright lighting makes the home appear more welcome. Additionally, you can strategically mount mirrors to dark, smaller areas. This simple fix will help the rooms appear larger.
Curb appeal is important
I already mentioned the staging secrets of placing a vase of flowers inside of your kitchen and/or dining room, but don’t neglect the outdoors! Some blooming flowers and plants on a front porch or in the yard do wonders to boost your curb appeal.
In addition to this, make sure your lawn is always well mowed and the yard is raked, depending on the season. Pressure wash your driveway, walkway, and porch, and make sure all the windows are clean! If you need to, you could also consider repainting or staining your porch.
Finish unfinished projects
It’s okay; we all do it. We decide it’s finally time to repaint that spare room, so we tape everything, roll up our sleeves, and get to work. Now it’s two years later, the tape is still up and only half of the wall was painted.
It’s time to finish these projects. There aren’t many people who want to buy a house knowing they’re going to need to do work on it from day one. And just imagine the sense of satisfaction you’ll feel knowing you finally finished your goal.
These simple projects should all be done before you start showing your home to potential buyers.
Make each room have a clear purpose
So, your spare room somehow became an office/junk room/play room/gym all at the same time? Don’t worry–this is more common than you think. Unfortunately, buyers don’t like this confusion. Make the room structured with a clear purpose.
You already have a desk in there because the room is partially an office? Great. Take everything else out, clear the clutter, possibly add some decoration, and make this room nothing more than just an office.
Even if the new buyers would prefer that this space becomes a guest room instead of an office, it doesn’t matter. With a clear focus devoid of messy confusion, it’s easy to see how this room can be shaped into whatever they decide in the future.
You love your pets, but others might not
Okay, your dog might be the sweetest angel who ever lived, but he also might be very stinky. Maybe he’s mostly an outdoor dog and only comes inside sometimes, or maybe you’ve just had him for so long that you don’t smell him anymore. But trust me, other people can.
This usually has nothing to do with you as a pet owner or how cleanly you are, but sometimes it’s just difficult to keep your house from smelling like pets.
Make sure you do everything you can when selling your house to avoid this! Get your carpets cleaned, take your pet to the groomer, and get some air fresheners. The best for this is the plug-in fresheners that automatically spray every so often.
This way, you won’t have to worry about constantly spraying the house or making sure candles are out. This simple secret will help buyers love your house even more.
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