Staging Your Home Inexpensively for Home Selling Success
When you are getting ready to put your home on the market, you want to take every step you can to help it sell quickly and for asking price or better. But keep in mind that you’re competing with other sellers and new developers who also want to sell their properties. If you want to gain the upper hand, staging your home can not only makes it look attractive but can also better show how it meets the needs of buyers. Staging your home inexpensively can be achieved by following these 5 tips.
1. Make Visible Repairs
You and your family may be used to the dripping faucet, that burned-out bulb in the closet, or the window that sticks in the family room. But those problems will loom large in the buyers’ minds. They’ll also wonder how many problems your home has that are hidden away. They will tend to overestimate the cost of repairs and deduct that amount from their offers.
Put your buyers’ minds at ease by repairing anything that’s visible. Some of these you can do yourself, such as replacing a non-working bulb, but others like plumbing or electrical repairs may require professional help. When buyers don’t see any visible issues while taking a tour, they will be ready to pounce.
2. De-Personalize
When you decide to put your home on the market, it stops being your living space and becomes a product competing against others on the market. De-personalizing removes traces of you and your family so that buyers can imagine themselves in your home. This makes it more likely that they will want to own your home.
Start by removing family pictures, mementos, and keepsakes. You may love your collection of European shot-glasses or velvet Elvis paintings, but such hobbies are just too specific for the general public to relate to so put them away as well. If your walls and shelves are looking a bit bare put up more generic decorations, such as paintings of landscapes or vases of fresh flowers.
3. Eliminate the Clutter
Buyers often change homes because they want places with more space. Even if your home is small, it can look bigger than it really is if you remove clutter. Pick toys and other junk up off the floor, empty your shelves of books, and remove about half or more of the things you stuff into closets and drawers. Putting only essential furniture in your rooms will increase their available space to potential buyers. Bedrooms should only have a bed, a dresser, and perhaps a side table, and dining rooms should contain only a table and chairs. Ask family and friends to keep the items you clear out or rent a storage unit while your home is on the market.
4. Keep It Clean
Even if you have an older home, you can make it look fresh by keeping it spotlessly clean. While your regular cleaning chores may be adequate for daily living, don’t forget to deep clean in areas you don’t normally touch, such as behind cabinets, the tops of doors and window frames, and under furniture. Buyers like to look in these areas to see how well you keep house. As a bonus, surfaces that are free of dust and dirt also reflect more light, making them look brighter and newer.
5. Staging Your Home with Style
The fun part of staging your home inexpensively is the design aspect. Rearrange your furniture to maximize traffic flow, add modern accessories and décor, and put a fresh coat of paint in a neutral color on the walls.
If you’re not sure what appeals to modern buyers, do some research by visiting model homes in your area. Pay attention to the styles and colors used and what professional stagers do and how you can duplicate. For example, they remove doors and open window coverings so rooms look bigger and brighter. While you won’t be removing doors, you can leave them open along with your curtains and blinds before the showing.
Home staging doesn’t need to clean out your savings. Implement our tips for staging your home inexpensively and you will have a better response from potential buyers whether they are viewing the listing online or touring your home in person.
AWP Home Inspections provides inspection services to West Central and Central Indiana. Contact us to schedule an appointment.