(and how to do it)

Selling a home can be a challenge, especially in a competitive market. To make a home look attractive to buyers through photography and in person, most sellers stage their property. Knowing what staging is, how staging can help you sell and what you can do to stage your property can help you sell your home for more money.

---

By Kris Lindahl | Twin Cities Real Estate Expert

Why Should You Stage Your Home?

The goal of staging is to make your home look beautiful, spacious, tidy and well-maintained. Often, staging involves making the home look generically beautiful, like a home in a catalog. Professional decor and absence of clutter are important in homes that have been staged. People stage their home to make it look impressive in real estate images as well as in-person buyers.

Photos Powered by Virtuance

Remove Clutter

Clutter removal is often one of the most challenging parts of home staging, because it’s such a time-consuming project. Many people need months to remove all the clutter from their home. To ensure that you have time for this project, get started early. Purge old bills, magazines, holiday decorations that you no longer use, clothes you no longer wear and so on. Start by going through each room of the house one by one, until all clutter has been removed from the rooms, closets and storage areas.

Update Decor

Dated decor can make your home seem like it will need a lot of work after a buyer moves in. Old paint colors on the walls, for example, often need to be repainted when a person buys a home. Repainting before selling can help improve the attractiveness of the property while making it look more turn-key.

In addition, matching your furniture to the paint on the walls can provide a sense of uniformity that makes your home stand out. Don’t break the bank on this step, though. Staging doesn’t need to be expensive, and overspending will eat into your profits unnecessarily. Make decor updates before home buyers show up at your property.  The following are small updates that can help make your home look beautiful for buyers:

• Replace dark, heavy curtains with curtains that let in a lot of light.
• Buy new comforters and throw blankets that match your wall colors.
• Install lamps that make rooms look bright but cozy.

Make Small Home Improvements

Fix broken things around the house like broken doorknobs or doors, cracked window panes and loose or squeaky hinges. These small details may not be very noticeable to you, but they stand out to buyers. While you’re at it, replace any burned out light bulbs in your light fixtures. This helps ensure that your home will look well maintained as well as bright and spacious.

 

Photos Powered by Virtuance

Deep Clean From Ceiling to Floor

Deep cleaning is the last part of staging. During this phase, you’ll need to deep clean everything you can. Dust and vacuum the furniture, clean the curtains, wash the fan blades, clean the windows, wipe down all the walls and clean stains off of the carpet. This type of thorough cleaning can help make your home look well maintained for buyers, so they’ll be more tempted to make an offer.

Keep It Staged Throughout The Sale Process

Often during a home sale, normal life continues at home. Adults keep working, children keep going to school. Keeping the home staged can be hard because it involves regular cleaning, organizing and purging of clutter.

To make this process easier, deal with small messes as they come up. Eat out more, avoid cooking, and if possible, hire a person to clean your home on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This can be somewhat costly, but for many people, especially for families with children, this is the only way to keep the house looking nice throughout a normal work week. Don’t forget that the costs greatly outweigh the benefits. If your home is properly staged and priced, you’ll likely be able to sell your home quickly.

Work With an Experienced Real Estate Agent

It’s important to work with an experienced real estate agent throughout the purchasing process. Your real estate agent can help you make decisions that will ensure that your home is desirable to buyers, so it can sell as quickly as possible and for a good profit. To find out more about how you can stage your home, contact a reputable real estate agent in your area today.