Home Staging Tips for How to Sell Your Home

Whether you simply want to make your house look good inside and out, on a budget, or you are trying to sell your home fast, there are several low-cost things that you can do to make it more appealing to you and potential buyers.  If you are trying to sell your home, you of course want to get as much as you can for it while spending as little as possible to make improvements.  With a little bit of elbow grease and a small budget, you can easily improve the appeal of your home by focusing on what’s seen by potential buyers on their first visit. Proper preparation – or home staging – of your home is more important that you think to make it more appealing.  Staging homes has been shown to help sell a home more quickly.

Just like when you meet someone for the first time, the first impression counts more than you think.  Buyers have been known to not even leave their car if they pull up to a house that’s for sale that they don’t find appealing from the curb.  Freshen up your exterior by:

• Repairing or replacing trims, shutters, gutters, shingles, window screens, walkways, driveways, and even mail boxes if necessary.
• Paint siding, trim, shutters, mailbox posts or anything else that needs to be touched up.
• Pressure wash the house, roof, walkways, and driveway if needed.
• Wash the windows!  

Experts say that people will make assumptions as to your home’s interior based on the appearance of the exterior, or curb appeal. If your curb appeal looks bad, potential buyers assume the inside is probably just as bad. That being said, you can really affect a potential buyer’s initial impression simply by fixing up your lawn. Some good ways to accomplish this are:

• Mow the grass and also edge the lawn.
• Keep the lawn fertilized and remove weeds.
• Make sure you water the lawn regularly to keep it green and healthy.
• If your lawn has trees and shrubs that are overgrown, trim them back or remove them all together.
• Clean up planting beds – replace or add mulch if necessary and pull out any weeds.
• Plant seasonal flowers in your planting beds that are colorful.
• It may seem obvious, but you must make sure also to remove any trash that’s lying around, especially along fence lines and under shrubs.

Make your front door a focal point, one that invites people into your home. To improve your entry, you can:

• Paint the front door a glossy, cheerful color – something that complements the exterior.
• Clean, polish, or replace your door knocker, as well as the door lock and door handle.
• If you have a screen door, repair and clean it if necessary, or just get rid of it. Replace the doorbell if it’s unsightly, and repair or replace any porch lights and your house numbers, too, if needed.
• If your welcome mat is old or non-existent, get a new one and buy a few potted plants and flowers to group near the entry.

Potential buyers have to be able to picture themselves in your house and to do that they need to see it. If your house is cluttered or has too much furniture, it is distracting and doesn’t allow buyers to see how they could use the rooms in the house. If your home is short on storage space, you may want to consider temporarily renting a storage unit to keep items that you want to save but get out of the house; when selling your house you don’t want potential buyers to notice that you’re short on storage areas. There are several ways that you can declutter:

• Hold a garage or yard sale to get rid of things you no longer need and don’t want to bring along to a new home.
• Pack up things that add to a cluttered look like books, magazines, toys, tools, craft supplies, and anything else that’s mostly unused. Also de-clutter countertops, shelves, the garage, and even closets.
• Store clothes that aren’t in season to make the closets in the bedroom feel more spacious.
• Get rid of any furniture pieces that are damaged.
• Organize bookshelves and closets, as well as cabinets and any pantry you may have – remember that buyers will open those doors to inspect everything!
• Pack away personal photos – buyers can more easily picture themselves and their family living in the home without being distracted by pictures of someone else’s family (yours.)
• De-personalize rooms as much as possible – if you love cats and have a room with lots of “cat décor and decoration”, try and get rid of most or all of the cat stuff. A potential buyer that hates cats may be turned away by something like that.

How clean your home is can be hugely influential on prospective buyers, especially how clean the kitchen and bathrooms are. The perception of the overall condition of the home is influenced greatly by how clean (or dirty) the home is. Improve the cleanliness, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms by:

• Clean the windows, fixtures, all hardware, the ceiling fans, vent covers and appliances.
• If needed, clean the carpets, any area rugs, and curtains.
• Clean the inside of the fridge, stove, and the cabinets.
• Remove stains where obvious, like from carpets, floors, counters, sinks, showers, tile (and grout), and walls.
• Get rid of odors, particularly if you have pets in the house. Put out some potpourri or air fresheners that are subtle.

Don’t sweat the small stuff? Wrong! The small details do count to potential buyers, particularly first time buyers. Focus on those details that will make your home the most visually appealing, like fixing cracks in the ceiling or walls. Here are some more things that may need to be improved:

• Repair leaky faucets, loose or broken banisters and handrails, cabinets, drawers, doors, floors, and tile.
• Caulk or grout bathtubs, showers, sinks, and tile floors.
• A fresh coat of paint can do wonders to change the look and feel of a room, whether you paint the walls, ceiling, trim, doors, or cabinets.
• Make sure door handles aren’t loose, as well as cabinet drawer and door pulls or knobs. Check light switches and electrical plates for needed repairs.
• Lubricate door hinges and locks so there’s no creaking or squeaking.

We have all heard it before - the kitchen is the heart of the home and it is a very important factor in a buyer’s decision whether or not to make an offer.  If you plan on doing any renovations, the kitchen should be the first (or only) stop; this is where you will see the greatest return on your investment.  Even if you don’t have much of a budget for renovations, you can focus on a few key things that will make a difference:

• Consider replacing cabinet doors and/or hardware.
• Install lighting under the cabinets.
• Replace outdated light fixtures.
• If you have outdated shelving, replace (or add to) them with pantry and cabinet organizers in order to maximize the use of the space.
• If you know you will be having a showing of your house, or have an open house planned, bake some cookies – experts say that it makes prospective buyers feel “at home” when they smell the baking.

The placement of your furnishings can enhance or detract from your home’s appeal. Proper placement will allow buyers to be able to have an idea of how they can utilize the space with their own furniture best. Think about how different areas of your house can potentially be used.

• Move sofas and chairs away from the walls; this helps to create cozy spaces that are conducive to conversations.
• If you have the space, create a reading area in a corner of the master bedroom.
• If you have an empty room, create a cozy reading area in it.
• Turn an awkward space into a home office, if suitable.
• Keep your dining room table set with your best china or dishes and a nice centerpiece.
• Set out wine glasses near a fireplace or spa tub.

Houses feel more open and cheerful when they are well lit.  These things will help you improve the lighting:

• Keep the drapes and shades open so the sunshine can brighten up the space.
• Use brighter light bulbs in the rooms that may tend to be a bit darker than others.
• Add ambient lighting with more lamps where necessary.
• For a showing or open house, turn on all of the lights.

Color and style can get an easy, inexpensive boost with some fresh touches, like:

• Display a nice flower arrangement in the entryway and master bedroom.
• Place a bowl with bright colored fruit in the family room as well in the kitchen.
• A potted plant that’s leafy can easily and very nicely fill an empty corner – make sure you use a real plant, no fake plastic stuff!
• Put out new, fresh hand soap in all of the bathrooms.
• Place fresh towels near the sinks.