You want to sell you home quickly and for the highest possible price. But professional home staging can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. The good news? There are plenty of things you can do to stage your home yourself for much less.
De-clutter. Start your home-staging journey by getting rid of the clutter. Don’t neglect the areas behind closed doors! Go through your closets and shelves. Home buyers look in there! Give away what you can, and store knick knacks and even extraneous furniture while your house is on the market. Too much furniture can make a room appear smaller.
Clean. After you’ve de-cluttered, give your property a deep cleaning. Dirt is a huge turnoff for home buyers. Don’t just do a basic cleaning. Clean your baseboards, your walls, (magic eraser products can do wonders for crayon and scuff marks!) the inside of your refrigerator and especially your bathrooms. Steam clean the carpets.
Assess curb appeal. Consider giving your front door a fresh coat of paint. At the very least, clean it! Put out some potted plants and make sure any hedges are trimmed straight. Keep the lawn neat and edged.
Get a second opinion. Invite an honest friend or relative to give your home a walk-through. Take notes on things you may have been overlooking. Ask them if they smell anything offensive anywhere in the house. You may be used to the smell of the room with the litter box and pet food but buyers won’t be! Remember, buyers want to visualize their own family in your house. That means you’ll want to remove any trace of anything that’s too personal, such as a huge family portrait collection or your husband’s collection of animals heads on the wall from all of this hunting trips.
Let the sun in. Get as much light in your home as possible. Clean the windows inside and out. And even when the curtains and blinds are all open, keep the lights on in your home while it’s being shown.
Questions? Your listing agent can be an invaluable resource with many more tips that can help you get your home ready for buyers!