7 Home Staging Tips Before Selling Your Own Home

If you’re selling your own home, you’re in good company. In fact, almost 25% of all homes are now sold with no help or minimal help from a realtor.

But success in selling your own home begins long before potential buyers start pulling onto your drive.

You have a golden opportunity before going to market to make your home as appealing as possible. There are several simple things that you can do to make your home scream ‘buy me’ when people walk through the door.

Read on for 7 home staging tips that will maximize the return on your investment and prevent your home stagnating on the market.

1. Clear the Clutter

Over time, many of us build up a lot of personal possessions that are not strictly needed for living. These can make the most spacious home seem cramped and claustrophobic – not the message you want to send out when trying to sell your home.

Top decluttering tips include:

• Keep kitchen counters as clear as possible
• Clear your bathroom of bottles of lotions and potions. Take a look at PlumbWorld.co.uk for their complete guide
• Make good use of storage under beds and in cupboards
• Don’t be afraid to throw away or donate to charity things you don’t need any longer

It may sound drastic, but if you’re serious about decluttering it could be time to hire a storage unit. This means that when buyers open your cupboards (and believe us, they will) they won’t face an avalanche of junk.

2. Depersonalize Your Home

Our homes are our private galleries, libraries, and museums. We treasure items and photos that have sentimental value and bring back happy memories for us.

The problem is, when a potential buyer walks in and sees them, they’re offputting. It makes it hard for them to imagine themselves living there. All they can see is that this belongs to someone else, and they can feel like they’re intruding on your privacy.

Although it can be painful, carefully box up any family photos, heirlooms, and trinkets that are purely personal. Don’t worry, they’ll be adorning your new home soon enough.

Then potential buyers will be able to visualize themselves living there – and that will get the offers rolling in.

3. Make It Sparkling Clean

How to sell a house 101 states that your home must be immaculate, eat your dinner off the floor clean at all times during the selling process.

It not only needs to look clean, but it also needs to smell clean.

Anything potentially malodorous, whether it’s a beloved pet or a dodgy drain, need to be sorted before you start showing the property.

4. Consider Virtual Staging

If you’re selling your own home in a vacant state, then it can be costly to go out and furnish it simply to stage it.

Now there are virtual home staging options that give you most of the benefits of home staging at a fraction of the cost. This means working with a service that takes a picture of an empty room and digitally adds in the furniture and accessories.

It can cost as little as $35 a photo to create a look that would run you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in actual furnishings. It also helps buyers to visualize how their existing furniture would work in the space.

5. Give It More Curb Appeal

You only get one chance to make a first impression.

Nothing makes people think ‘Get me out of here’ faster than faded siding, overgrown landscaping or moldy windows.

You have to weigh up the costs versus the returns, but remember, your home is probably your biggest asset. You want to maximize its value and its outside appearance is key to getting people through the door.

Click here to see how new siding can make all the difference to your home, giving an older property that new home feel. Getting your lawn neat and tidy will also help make a great first impression.

6. Finish Your Snagging List

Most of us have a list of jobs ‘we’ll get round to’ one day. When thinking of selling your own home, that day has come.

Go around each room and look at it with a critical eye. Enlist a friend to help, as it can be hard to disassociate ourselves from places we know and love. They will be able to spot things you’d otherwise miss.

Put together a detailed list of small jobs that you can do that will enhance the appearance of your home without blowing the budget.

This could include giving rooms a fresh coat of paint, addressing stained grout or sealant in bathrooms and kitchens and steam cleaning carpets and furnishings.

Keep paint colors light, bright and inviting. Dark colors make spaces look smaller and can be offputting, especially on the ceiling.

7. Consider Refreshing a Key Room

The most important rooms to most buyers are the living room and kitchen. Staging them well is the key to how to sell a house easily.

If your living room is cluttered with furniture, don’t be afraid to put a few pieces into storage while showing. Keep it clean, minimal and fresh. Allow plenty of space for buyers to walk around the room without bumping into things.

Stage it simply with a vase of fresh cut flowers, or simple accent pieces.

In the kitchen, a simple fix could be repainting the walls or even sprucing up the cabinet doors.

You don’t have to buy a new kitchen to make a big difference. A more modern, neutral paint color on the existing doors and some contemporary new hardware can make all the difference.

Staging Success in Selling Your Own Home

Selling your own home can be daunting. But if you follow our simple tips, your home will really sing, both in photos and in person.

Remember to keep it clean, free from clutter, fresh and inviting. Help people see how they would live in the space.

Consider a major refresh, like replacing the siding, if you feel it will make the difference between achieving top dollar, or lower than its worth.

When trying to sell your home, forewarned is forearmed.

Check out our blog on ‘The Top 7 Buying and Selling Challenges Most Homeowners Face’ so you can nail your preparation and get top dollar for your home.

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