One of the most important things to consider when selling your home is how to stage it.
“Staging” a home means more than just cleaning it up. A properly staged home is more likely to attract serious offers than one that’s not.
We have a list of tips for when you’re trying to decide how to best stage your home for a quick sale. Not all of these tips apply to all homes – select the ones that are most appropriate for your situation.
1. Highlight your home’s strengths.
There are good reasons you bought your home, to begin with. You may have chosen your existing home for location, price, decor, neighborhood, schools, or convenience to shopping.
When you’re staging your home take into consideration its strengths, and highlight them. If your house has a remodeled master bathroom, for example, ensure the bathroom is decorated with light colors, smells clean and fresh, hang decorative towels, make sure shower doors are clean and free of streaks.
Use your imagination, but don’t go wild. Stick to tasteful, neutral colors that highlight the physical strengths of the living areas.
2. Remove bulky furniture.
If you’re selling a smaller home, remove any oversized furniture to storage before opening it to potential buyers.
With furniture removed, once-hidden flaws may become more noticeable. If necessary, replace wall outlets, patch nail holes, and apply a new coat of fresh neutral, off-white paint to any areas that need it.
3. Give walls a fresh coat of paint.
Paint walls with a fresh new coat of off-white paint. Before repainting be sure to apply a primer. Paint the walls with a flat, off-white or other neutral paint. Put a light, neutral paint on the walls to make the room appear larger.
4. Declutter the house.
You may be living in your house while it’s staged, but consider what items you can live without.
Typically, realtors want sellers to remove up to 50% of furniture to maximize the appearance of available space. Anything you don’t need to live while your home is for sale, move to storage or another location.
5. Reposition furniture.
Float furniture away from walls and reposition sofas and chairs into conversational groups to give the impression of coziness and comfort.
6. Consider the lighting.
Boost the wattage in your fixtures and lamps, and shoot for around 100 watts per 50 square foot.
Replace fluorescent bulbs with incandescent or LED. Remember the three types of lighting: ambient (general/ overhead), task (under-cabinet or reading) and accent (table and wall).
7. Keep it odd.
An odd number of similar fixtures and decor items staged together has been shown to increase attention and interest. Keep the number low (5 at most), and don’t go overboard.
8. Clean and empty closets.
Studies have shown that empty storage spaces help to sell houses fast, so remove unnecessary clothing, boxes, and anything else that’s taking up closets or storage spaces, including unused hangers.
9. Make it serene.
Decorate the bedrooms with warm colors, comfy-looking bedspreads, and luxurious bedclothes. Your bedroom should invite the potential buyer in an inviting and warm way.
10. Finish all repairs before the first showing.
Don’t wait until your realtor calls you to tell you about an upcoming showing before pounding in loose nails, fixing floorboards, oiling hinges, and the hundred other little things you’ve meant to get to.
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