Selling Your Home Quickly? Get A Better Price With Home Staging

30 March 2017
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If you want to sell your home quickly and for a good price, it's vital to present it with its best face forward. One of the best ways to do this is to do what the pros call "staging". Staging for a more aesthetically pleasing interior design can transform your home from a quagmire of personal effects and a "lived-in" look to a home that potential buyers can envision filled with their own belonging and lifestyle. So, how can you do it?

Start with the Front. The first view your home buyers will have is of the exterior. So, start your home staging by sprucing up the front yard and exterior of the home. This could be as simple as cleaning up the yard, fertilizing the lawn to make it green, and adding fresh mulch to garden beds. Remove excess stuff from the yard, such as toys, unnecessary lawn ornaments or yard art, and less-than-stellar shrubs. Add inexpensive flowers to liven up the space. If you have the time and budget, consider giving the exterior a fresh coat of paint, adding a pop of color to the entrance door, or updating hardware. 

Purge Personal Items. Buyers want to envision their life in your home rather than your own life. So, start by purging the house of most personal and sentimental items. This includes inside closets, where you should clear about half of items to leave a clean and uncluttered space. And don't just hide things in drawers or cabinets; assume that every space inside the house will be looked at. You can rent a storage unit to hold things you don't want to get rid of, but this is also a great opportunity to downsize your belongings before moving. Get rid of signs of pets in the home, as well. 

Minimize the Rest. Once you've rid the house of personal belongings, it's time to minimize what remains. For many homes, this means removing up to half (or even more!) of the furniture and artwork on walls. It can be hard to know what to remove from a room, so you may want to use a "rule of 3": take away at least one of every three types of items in a room, such as seating in the living room, pictures on walls, small tables, or decorate knick-knacks. Opt to keep newer or matching pieces, and stage with smaller furnishings rather than the larger ones.

Regroup. With the home de-personalized and de-cluttered, it's time to stage what remains. Group furniture in pleasing, simple arrangements. Allow for an easy flow from one room to another... both physically and visually. Maintain a soft, neutral color palette and open windows to brighten rooms. And make sure rooms are returned to their intended use if you've been using them for something else (such as a makeshift home office or kids' play room). 

Hire a Pro. If your budget allows, the best way to stage a home is to hire a professional staging service, such as Stagethis. A staging service will know how to maximize your home's potential and minimize its drawbacks. They may be able to bring in temporary pieces of furniture or artwork and use your existing pieces to create a clean and modern look. And they will be able to tell you what to remove from the house until it sells.

Taking the time to stage your house before showing it to buyers, you can help increase the selling price and get it sold quicker and easier. And then, you can move on to the next chapter of your life!