Are you staging your home to sell?
We all know that first impressions can make or break a relationship. When staging your home to sell, you want to be sure you are giving your buyer the best first impression you can!
Most home sellers in the professional industry are familiar with the term “Staging”, but if you are a first-time seller or if you are simply not as experienced with home sales, this might be a new term for you.
What does “Staging Your Home” mean?
Staging a home is more than cleaning and organizing your personal belongings. It’s also different than “decorating” your home.
When you decorate your home you are showing the buyer your sense of style and personality.
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When staging a home to sell you are arranging furniture, picking paint colors and changing decor to better show off the home and all of its benefits.
Here are a few tips on staging your home to sell in the most beneficial way for the buyer:
Clean it up and clean it out!
Be it interior or exterior, the ideal outcome is a “move-in ready” level of clean. This means organized cupboards, cobweb-free corners and an”eat off the floor” level of clean. We all lament the de-cluttering of our homes, but when it comes to selling your home you really want to be sure to have as many clean surfaces as possible. This allows the buyer to see the potential for their decor. Of course, ensuring your home is clean is an important tip, but often times when you’re getting ready for an open house or preparing for a showing, it’s worth hiring a cleaning service to come in and help out with the dirty work.
A fresh coat of paint goes a long way!
Not only does a fresh coat of paint give everything a new look, it also forces you to move your furniture in the process. Picking the right color also can be a tricky step depending on what your ideal impression of the home is.
“Home sellers are often advised to slap on a fresh coat of paint before listing their properties, but they shouldn’t overlook the impact of color.” – CBS News
“7 Paint Colors That Can Boost The Value Of Your Home”
The above article is super helpful in this area, since not only will a coat of paint freshen up the home in cleanliness it might also have an emotional impact connecting with your buyer!
Furniture and layout- Less is more!
While you might love all of your furniture, you want to be sure to allow the home buyer to see their furniture in the space as well. You would be surprised how different a room can look and feel with just a few less pieces than you might normally have. It’s important to allow the buyer some physical space to envision themselves in the home.
As for layout, simply placing all of your furniture up against the walls can make the room feel “boxed in”. However, you don’t want to have all of the pieces in the center obstructing the flow of the space either. There are a number of tips online that reference the best layout options for your rooms.
“Square footage is important to homebuyers, so when you’re selling a house it’s important to maximize the space to appear bigger and highlight each room’s dual functionality to enhance buyer appeal.” –Tori Toth, Contributor w/ US News
“A Fool-Proof Plan For Setting Up Furniture When Selling Your Home”
Hopefully these steps will help you in this often overlooked yet crucial part of selling your home!
P.S. Once you are ready to advertise your home, MHVillage offers a one-time fee option for listing the home until you mark it as SOLD. If you have any questions about how you can advertise with MHVillage, contact us!
