Tips for Staging a House for Sale
Most real estate agents will tell you the importance of staging a home when selling. Here are some helpful tips on how to successfully stage your home for sale:
Try to make yourself "invisible." Buyers should not see any of your personal items, such as pictures of your family, mementos, clothes, or personal-care products. Put away all of these items when there's a showing. You want potential buyers to imagine themselves and their own family in your house.
Make sure the house is spotless. If you can't have your closets empty, at least be sure that they are organized. Ideally, kitchen cabinets should be empty. If you must store food and dishes in them, be sure the cabinets are perfectly organized, not overcrowded, and free of dust. Eliminate all evidence of pets or smoking as some buyers will take a home off their consideration list because of this.
Clean the windows, and if you have heavy curtains, take them down. Make repairs. Fix any damage to walls, floors, tiles, and plumbing. Oil squeaky doors; make sure they all open and close properly. Paint the interior in neutral colors. Avoid white and any bright colors. Don't paint the exterior. Unless the exterior is in very bad shape, let the buyer paint it.
Store your furniture. Leave only as much furniture as necessary to get by, or to show the intended use of each room. If you haven't moved into your new house yet, have your additional furniture stored. Also, eliminate books, CDs, and DVDs, which easily create clutter.
Remove the items you love. Keep favorite fixtures and items out of the buyer's sight. Otherwise, they might insist that those items be part of the sale. Clear out the basement. A buyer might want to do something with it. Especially, make sure there are no cobwebs or critters.
Keep the yard neat; keep the sidewalk, front walk, and front porch immaculate. This is the first impression. Decorate your front yard with flowers, especially using bright colors.
To see ratings on real estate brokers among home buyers and home sellers, click here:
http://www.jdpower.com/Homes/ratings/home-buyer-ratings/
http://www.jdpower.com/Homes/ratings/home-seller-ratings/
Try to make yourself "invisible." Buyers should not see any of your personal items, such as pictures of your family, mementos, clothes, or personal-care products. Put away all of these items when there's a showing. You want potential buyers to imagine themselves and their own family in your house.
Make sure the house is spotless. If you can't have your closets empty, at least be sure that they are organized. Ideally, kitchen cabinets should be empty. If you must store food and dishes in them, be sure the cabinets are perfectly organized, not overcrowded, and free of dust. Eliminate all evidence of pets or smoking as some buyers will take a home off their consideration list because of this.
Clean the windows, and if you have heavy curtains, take them down. Make repairs. Fix any damage to walls, floors, tiles, and plumbing. Oil squeaky doors; make sure they all open and close properly. Paint the interior in neutral colors. Avoid white and any bright colors. Don't paint the exterior. Unless the exterior is in very bad shape, let the buyer paint it.
Store your furniture. Leave only as much furniture as necessary to get by, or to show the intended use of each room. If you haven't moved into your new house yet, have your additional furniture stored. Also, eliminate books, CDs, and DVDs, which easily create clutter.
Remove the items you love. Keep favorite fixtures and items out of the buyer's sight. Otherwise, they might insist that those items be part of the sale. Clear out the basement. A buyer might want to do something with it. Especially, make sure there are no cobwebs or critters.
Keep the yard neat; keep the sidewalk, front walk, and front porch immaculate. This is the first impression. Decorate your front yard with flowers, especially using bright colors.
To see ratings on real estate brokers among home buyers and home sellers, click here:
http://www.jdpower.com/Homes/ratings/home-buyer-ratings/
http://www.jdpower.com/Homes/ratings/home-seller-ratings/