Seller Tips: Staging Your Home

I heard something in one of my real estate classes that really stuck with me.  We were talking about asking sellers to really clean up their house before putting it up for sale, and how it used to be such a negative thing to have to bring up.  All of a sudden, enter HGTV and the new buzzword of staging, and voila, happy clients, happy realtors. 

Staging your home does not need to be elaborate.  Certainly if you want to go all out and make your house look like something out of the pages of a magazine, go for it.  There are even companies and professionals you can hire who will do the work for you. 

If your budget doesn't lend it self to hired help, think smaller.  There are plenty of things you can do that will spruce up your home without you needing to spend much money.  My mantra:  Declutter, reorganize, repurpose.   

• First step - Decluttering.  There is no way around this.  Buyers will look in your closets, your cupboards, your basement.  When my husband and I had our house for sale we bought many, many rubbermaid totes.  We rented a storage unit, built shelves in the basement and packed up a lot of stuff we weren't using. 

• Have a plan for your junk.  There is no way around this.  If you have kids, they have stuff.  This is where laundry baskets can be wonderful.  If nothing else, throw everything you can into them for a last minute showing and put it in your car.  Clutter needs to be managed.

 

• Paint something.  Two things I would recommend for an instant makeover are your front door and your front steps, if they are wood.  It gives you instant curb appeal, and can make your whole house look better. 

• Look at your furniture differently.  It doesn't have to stay where it has always stayed in your house.  Move around chairs, tables, your couch.  Try a different arrangement, move things away from the walls. 

• Spruce up your bathroom.  Find a basket, pull out some of your nicest handtowels and roll them up, put them in the basket and leave it in the bathroom.  Collect some small toiletries, leave them in a basket in your guest bathroom.  Make your house look inviting.  

• Look at your knick knacks.  Pack half of them away.  Then pack more.  Look at what you have left, and find a new place for it in your home.  Add small arrangements of candles, vases, books.  This is the part where you can try to look like a magazine.  :-)

Your realtor can be a great help, but remember, its not every realtor who can look you in the eye and tell you your house is a mess.  Look at your home with fresh eyes.  Look at it like a buyer.  I know a lot of realtors will recommend you remove all pictures from your house.  I am also a Mom, so I have a slightly different point of view.  You do need to live in your house.  But pare down.  Take the pictures off the fridge.  Pack away all but your favorites.  Think of it this way, for everything you pack now, you don't have to worry about packing it later. 

More staging tips can be found in this article from HGTV.  Enjoy!

Jennifer