Get That House Sold: 5 Tips For Staging Your Home

If you have decided to sell your home, the stress has probably already started. In theory, it should be easy. People are constantly buying houses and you have one to offer. Those interested buyers should be beating down your door. But, even in the best of times, people can see their houses sit on the market for months with no bites. There is no bulletproof formula for getting your house sold as quickly as possible for the highest price possible. Wouldn’t that be great? But, that does not mean you are totally at the mercy of the real estate gods. You can do several things to increase the appeal of your home. Staging is one such strategy that is particularly powerful.

 If you cannot afford, or would rather not pay for the services of a professional stager, there are some DIY techniques that can make a big difference. At the very least, however, you might consider a consultation with a stager to get some valuable input. She can view your home in a truly objective fashion, something you simply cannot do for a variety of reasons, such as a strong emotional attachment to the space. Remember that staging will present a space the buyer can see himself in, make your home look better online (where 90 percent of people begin their real estate search), and may even lead to a quicker sale at a higher price.

This tip may seem obvious, but many people trying to sell their homes leave much of their stuff right where it is. This is not good for two reasons. Remember—people have a hard time looking past what is. It is hard to see themselves being comfortable in a living room that is filled to the brim with knickknacks, a kitchen that is covered with all sorts of appliances, dishes and cooking utensils, or the family room filled with old magazines and books. Secondly, if your stuff is all over the place, it appears that you do not have enough storage space. If they think there is no room for their ‘’stuff,’’ the house will seem very unappealing.

Painting goes a long way in a DIY staging, and the effect is significant compared to the relatively low cost. You may love your purple living room walls and the funky lime green bathroom, but potential home buyers may not be so enamored. Remember, the name of the game is creating a space that they can see as their own. You do not need hospital-white walls to achieve neutrality. In fact, a bit of color is actually better. Go for sophisticated tones like mocha or ‘’griege.’’ Not only will these tones neutralize the space, it will make the whole room looked pulled together.
The ‘’neutral’’ strategy also applies to the master bedroom. But, here I am not talking about colors, rather gender. It should look like a space that could belong to a man or woman. Comforters and wall treatments can be white or neutral shades like beige. Get rid of all personal items.

Every room in your home should have a clearly defined purpose. This is not too difficult to achieve since most rooms probably already do. But, if that spare bedroom or bonus room has become a graveyard for old furniture or a holding cell for stuff you have not decided what to do with yet, this needs to change really fast. Make the room an office, a spare bedroom, an exercise room, craft room, whatever. Think about what potential buyers in your neighborhood might like to see most here. Picking right is not as important as picking something and getting the room transformed. They can turn it into whatever they want.

Lighting can go a long way in making a space look more attractive. Home staging experts recommend 100 watts of light for every 50 square feet of space. Have multiple sources of light in each room. There is ambient (overhead or general lighting), task lighting (such as a pendant or reading lamp) and accent lighting (such as table lamps.)

Flooring cannot be ignored when it comes to staging the home. If you have carpets, at the very least steam-clean them. Depending on the color and state, it may be a worthy investment to lay down new carpet or even hard flooring instead. Refinish wood floors if they look a bit worn. If this is not in the budget, some well-placed accent rugs can go a long way.

Citations:

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Featured images:

•  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Signage_g309-Home_For_Sale_p152041.html

Kelli Cooper is a freelance writer who enjoys blogging about home improvement and real estate; if you are interested in learning more about selling or buying a home in Canada, she recommends visiting Kanetix.ca.