Staging your home is an important part of selling your home quickly and for a higher price point. By “staging,” we mean setting up your home in a way that shows off its best features, minimizes its flaws, and generally makes it look as good as it possibly can – just like putting makeup on before going on a big date!

Need help staging your home? The Packer Group’s professional home staging coordinator would love to help you set your home up for sales success. Get in touch with her now by clicking here.

Here are 10 tips for staging your home for quick-sale success

1. De-personalize – Removing knick-knacks and personal items from the home that are “taste specific” helps potential buyers better visualize their own belongings in the home. Begin packing and storing items throughout the home that aren’t used frequently, are non-seasonal, or will not be needed during the selling process. This helps rooms & closets appear larger, which buyers prefer to see.
2. Put away personal photos- Remove personal photos throughout the home so that buyers can more easily visualize themselves living in the home. Buyers will have difficulty imagining themselves living in the home if they see photos of your family throughout. Removing family portraits, signs with your last name, and identifying items that include information such as your children’s school, sports team, or college, should be done for personal safety reasons as well.
3. Replace photos with mirrors – If your budget and the design of your house allows, replace the photos you took off the wall with mirrors. People actually “seeing” themselves in a home makes them more likely to form an emotional connection with the place, therefore upping their chance of putting in an offer.

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4. Clear off your counters – Kitchen & bathroom counter tops should be clear of all personal items. Leave 1-2 small appliances that are used frequently on kitchen counters, and remove all other items. You want both your kitchen and bathroom countertops to look as clean and large as possible, so buyers can imagine where THEIR belongings will go.
5. Let your rooms serve their purpose – Let’s say you use your breakfast nook for an office. When buyers walk into your house, do they want to think about work? Or do they want to imagine leisurely breakfasts on Sunday mornings? Do your best to make sure every room in your house is set up to serve its intended purpose, which will give your home a sense of abundance, not scarcity of space.
6. Let there be light – Maximize the light in your home by changing out old or low-wattage bulbs, taking screens off your windows, cleaning your windows, cleaning light fixtures, and trimming bushes and trees outside that are blocking appealing natural light. Add lamps and spotlighting where possible.
7. Cleanliness is next to Sold-liness – Clean EVERYTHING. Think 5-star hotel clean. Pay special attention to caulk and grout in your bathroom, seams around toilets and sinks, light fixtures, fans… you know, the stuff that usually gets forgotten about. Consider hiring a professional cleaning person to do a thorough deep cleaning of your home prior to listing it on the market.
8. Put on your paint clothes – Not only does it smell clean, but a fresh coat of paint gives any room an instant facelift without a lot of time/money. If you have bright or bold colors in your home, now is the time to paint over them with neutral tones that everyone can agree on. This isn’t an attack on your personal style or color preferences. It is all about appealing to the broadest base of people.
9. Freshen your floors – Buyers know that replacing flooring is time consuming and expensive, so make sure your floors look the best they possibly can! Get your carpet professionally cleaned (smells great, too), have your wood floors refinished, and make sure all tiles and grout are clean and in good shape.
10. Boost curb appeal – The outside of your home is your “first impression” to prospective buyers – so make it count! Make sure your plant beds are weeded, your sidewalk is swept/shoveled, and any clutter/trash cans/garden tools are put away. Adding a wreath to the front door and clean welcome mat can give buyers a great first impression.

The Packer Group’s professional stager would love to help!

Whether you just need a little advice or have a full-on, five-alarm staging emergency, our professional home staging coordinator would love to give you a hand! Just give us a call today at (734) 335-0416 to speak to her now!