Get It Sold | 7 Tips For Staging Your Home Like A Pro

Selling your home can come along with a long list of worries. Things like, how fast will it sell, will you get your asking price, do other homes on the same block appeal more to buyers…are all questions and concerns that can creep in during the home selling process. But there are two main things you can do to lessen your worries, get the best price for your listing and sell your home quickly. 

1. Hire a good realtor 
2. Stage your home properly. 

Hiring a good realtor will ensure that your home is listed in all the right places, priced fairly and only seen by those with a proper budget and good intentions to buy. They do a lot of the work for you, leaving you with only one super important task…staging your home. 

YES! Home staging is a real thing and oftentimes, a realtor will stage a listing that is sitting empty. Why? Because so many people are very visual. They can’t just imagine what their stuff will look like in the master bedroom, or how they can rearrange the rec room to suit their family’s needs, so it’s staged to show them. It helps give a home a sense of well…homeyness. 

But what about when the home (your home) is still being lived in? Do you still have to stage it? It’s already full of furniture, the clown collection from great grandma and all the clutter you’ve accumulated over the years, so shouldn’t that give it the nice homey feel you’re going for? 

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of fine detail that goes into staging your home and it’s more than a quick sweep of the floor and fluff of the pillows before a showing. Things like large collections, too many photos and tons of clutter can actually be hurting your chances of selling during the showing process. Follow these quick home staging tips and have your house ready to wow the next buyer that walks through the door. 

1. Boost curb appeal

This is a buyer’s first impression of your home and the only time that they WILL judge a book by it’s cover. Often times, the exterior of a home is not so easily changed (compared to the inside) so if you’re home’s exterior isn’t going to win #1 at the block party, then we suggest sprucing things up. 

• Power wash the entire outside (you’ll be amazed at the transformation)
• Clean all exterior windows and screens
• Clean out gutters and replace broken eavestroughs 
• Power wash walkways, the front steps and the driveway
• Add some nice potted plants and a clean door mat outside the front door
• Try adding a few solar garden lights and keep the porch light on for possible evening showings
• Mow the lawn and pick out any major weeds
• Shovel walkways/driveway during the winter and salt or sand them
• Plug in the Christmas lights for evening seasonal showings

2. Remove clutter

We know you love your model car collection and the trinkets collected from family over the years are meaningful to you, but to a potential home buyer they are distracting to the eye and take away from the house and space itself. Pack away any clutter, organize drawers, clear counter tops and put away the laundry. You want a buyer to be in awe of your home and notice its best features. Not be distracted by clutter.

3. Decorate your dining room table

Dining rooms are often one of the most popular gathering places in a family home, so spice yours up to really make it feel like a space the buyer wants to potentially invite their own family into. Clean dining room chairs if they need it, add a nice table runner and rug, choose a nice centerpiece (but not too oversized). Ensure the lights in the fixture are replaced and open up the blinds if there are any. 

4. Consider freshening up the walls

If you’re moving out anyways, consider painting over the “fun” colours you’ve had for so long and making the home more neutral and bright. Light greys, tans, off-whites and soft blue are neutral and inviting colours that really give a cozy feeling to any home. A fresh coat of paint will also cover up years of wear and tear and can make an older home look brand new again. 

5. Open and organize closets

Adequate closet storage can make or break a sale. Once your home is listed be sure to include closets when you’re staging your home. Showcase how well they can be organized and remove excess clutter to show buyers the amount of space inside.

6. Scrub, scrub and scrub again. 

Okay, so not the most fun part of staging your home, but probably the most important. Just like clutter, a dirty home will make it nearly impossible for a potential buyer to look beyond the dirt and see the home and it’s potential. Here’s a quick checklist of things to scrub before a showing: 

• Bathtub grout and shower doors
• Tiles
• Carpets
• Blinds
• Polish up wood flooring
• Wash cabinets and appliances
• Scrub toilets, sinks and laundry tubs
• Wash windows and doors

It’s hard work but well worth it when your home sells quickly. Add some gentle air fresheners in each room for an added touch. 

7. Keep the decor simple and neutral

Consider removing some of your home decor if you can, to keep things clean and simple. Set up your kitchen counter with a coffee maker, maybe a canister or two and some flowers on the island. In the bathrooms, put out clean hand towels, empty the trash can and replace the bar of soap with a new one. Pack away toothbrushes and cleansers and keep the counter space clutter free. 

When your house hits the market, you need to do what it takes to stand out amongst all the other listings. Following a few home staging tips can be the difference in selling or having your house sit on the market for months. If your buyers have some houses in their top 5, wow them with yours! Is your home already prepped and ready to be listed? Contact CENTURY 21 Poirier today.