How to Stage a Home for Sale

When it is time to put your house on the market for sale you want to make the best first impression possible to potential home buyers. This is particularly true in a buyer's market. There is plenty of competition to catch the home buyer's eye. Make your home draw them in. Staging your home for viewing makes the initial impression a positive one, keeps the potential buyer there and helps your house stand out when it comes to making a decision as to which home they will buy. You want the buyer to be impressed enough to come back for another look and to make an offer.

Think model home when you begin to stage your home for sale. If you are not sure how that feels, visit a new development. Go into their decorated model homes to see how they look and what they make you feel like when you are there. Return to your home and keep that picture and feeling in your mind as you prepare your home for sale.

Look around your home and view it from the buyer's eye. That wonderful Elvis collection you have added to for 20 years, or dozens of music boxes that fill the rooms may be a source of pride and inspiration to you. However, a house full of knick-knacks filling every corner may look more like the local antique and collectors store or a funky museum than a home that someone wants to live in. Remove excess and leave a few pieces out that compliment the overall look and feel of your home. The point is to make it look like an inviting showroom, not your grandmother's treasure filled home.

Antiques are beautiful, but worn out couches and Dad's favorite beat up lounging chair that has been around for a few too many years are not visually appealing. Get the upholstery cleaned, cover it with something fresh and new or remove it altogether. If the room looks too crowded, remove some of the furniture to give it a more open and cleaner look.

The collection of family photos in many different frames on every table and wall surface may make your home more welcoming to you but to a buyer all those photos may make them feel like they are intruding into someone's private space instead of making them feel as if they are stepping into their own home. Put the photos away. You can put them back up in your new home.

Thin things out and either get rid of them or pack them away. Dust and clean all surfaces. Do not forget to clean the windows. Get rid of the piles of papers and miscellaneous items that need to be put away. Take down your children's many renditions of people and events portrayed in various shades of crayons and finger paints that are stuck up all over the house.

Paint the walls if they need it. This relatively inexpensive staging technique can brighten up a home. Paint gets dirty. Old colors are dated and make the house feel worn instead of fresh.

Clean the carpets and drapes. Make sure the bathrooms and the kitchen are clean and clutter free.

Do not forget the very first impression the buyer will have begins at the front of the house before they even enter the building itself. Clean up the front yard. Trim back over growth on bushes and trees. Clean up messes, dead growth and out of season plants. Add color and visual appeal to the front entrance. Adding a few bright seasonal plants can brighten up an entryway.

Staging involves more than the sense of sight. It is not only a visual experience. Think all around sensory impression for the potential buyer. You home needs to look well decorated, but warm and inviting as if the buyer was stepping into their own home.

When you know the house is being shown to a prospective buyer, make sure all the lights are on, the temperatures are comfortable, the curtains are open to let full light in, and everything is picked up, in place and clean. Empty the trash and wastebaskets. Put the laundry away.

Bake some fresh cookies or baked goods right before they arrive. That will leave a smell in the air that leaves a subconscious feeling of home. Put fresh flowers or potted plants in the entry way or at a focal point in the dining or living room.

Take the kitty litter box out and put the dog bowls away before they arrive. Take the dog with you when they come to see the house. No one wants to deal with the family pet while they are house hunting.

If nothing you own is appropriate or if you need help staging your home properly, consider hiring a professional home stager. Not only do they have the training and the eye to know what is current and appealing, they may have a storage area with plenty of items to fill your home on a temporary basis that will give it the look you need to help get it sold. They also know where to go for local furniture rentals. A professional stager can work with you to pick what is the best out of what you already have and remove the worst, plus they will add some of their own touches. They may have many more resources than you do to help make your home appealing to a home buyer.

When it is time to put your house on the market for sale you want to make the best first impression possible to potential home buyers. This is particularly true in a buyer's market. There is plenty of competition to catch the home buyer's eye. Make your home draw them in. Staging your home for viewing makes the initial impression a positive one, keeps the potential buyer there and helps your house stand out when it comes to making a decision as to which home they will buy. You want the buyer to be impressed enough to come back for another look and to make an offer.

Think model home when you begin to stage your home for sale. If you are not sure how that feels, visit a new development. Go into their decorated model homes to see how they look and what they make you feel like when you are there. Return to your home and keep that picture and feeling in your mind as you prepare your home for sale.

Look around your home and view it from the buyer's eye. That wonderful Elvis collection you have added to for 20 years, or dozens of music boxes that fill the rooms may be a source of pride and inspiration to you. However, a house full of knick-knacks filling every corner may look more like the local antique and collectors store or a funky museum than a home that someone wants to live in. Remove excess and leave a few pieces out that compliment the overall look and feel of your home. The point is to make it look like an inviting showroom, not your grandmother's treasure filled home.

Antiques are beautiful, but worn out couches and Dad's favorite beat up lounging chair that has been around for a few too many years are not visually appealing. Get the upholstery cleaned, cover it with something fresh and new or remove it altogether. If the room looks too crowded, remove some of the furniture to give it a more open and cleaner look.

The collection of family photos in many different frames on every table and wall surface may make your home more welcoming to you but to a buyer all those photos may make them feel like they are intruding into someone's private space instead of making them feel as if they are stepping into their own home. Put the photos away. You can put them back up in your new home.

Thin things out and either get rid of them or pack them away. Dust and clean all surfaces. Do not forget to clean the windows. Get rid of the piles of papers and miscellaneous items that need to be put away. Take down your children's many renditions of people and events portrayed in various shades of crayons and finger paints that are stuck up all over the house.

Paint the walls if they need it. This relatively inexpensive staging technique can brighten up a home. Paint gets dirty. Old colors are dated and make the house feel worn instead of fresh.

Clean the carpets and drapes. Make sure the bathrooms and the kitchen are clean and clutter free.

Do not forget the very first impression the buyer will have begins at the front of the house before they even enter the building itself. Clean up the front yard. Trim back over growth on bushes and trees. Clean up messes, dead growth and out of season plants. Add color and visual appeal to the front entrance. Adding a few bright seasonal plants can brighten up an entryway.

Staging involves more than the sense of sight. It is not only a visual experience. Think all around sensory impression for the potential buyer. You home needs to look well decorated, but warm and inviting as if the buyer was stepping into their own home.

When you know the house is being shown to a prospective buyer, make sure all the lights are on, the temperatures are comfortable, the curtains are open to let full light in, and everything is picked up, in place and clean. Empty the trash and wastebaskets. Put the laundry away.

Bake some fresh cookies or baked goods right before they arrive. That will leave a smell in the air that leaves a subconscious feeling of home. Put fresh flowers or potted plants in the entry way or at a focal point in the dining or living room.

Take the kitty litter box out and put the dog bowls away before they arrive. Take the dog with you when they come to see the house. No one wants to deal with the family pet while they are house hunting.

If nothing you own is appropriate or if you need help staging your home properly, consider hiring a professional home stager. Not only do they have the training and the eye to know what is current and appealing, they may have a storage area with plenty of items to fill your home on a temporary basis that will give it the look you need to help get it sold.

They also know where to go for local furniture rentals. A professional stager can work with you to pick what is the best out of what you already have and remove the worst, plus they will add some of their own touches. They may have many more resources than you do to help make your home appealing to a home buyer.

Stage your home when you put it up for sale and get an advantage when buyers come to look. If they feel at home, you may have made the impression you needed to make a sale.