Top Ways to Stage Your Home When Listing it For Sale
Getting your house in tip top condition before listing it on the market can mean securing a quick and reasonable offer. When figuring out the top ways to stage your home for sale, it is so easy to get lost on the thousands of Pinterest boards that showcase everything from DIY fix ups to lavish home renovations. It’s a ton of fun to daydream, but if you’re ready to list your home, then you need to figure out what is hot this year.
If you are looking to get top dollar for your home, then hop off from Pinterest and check out this list that will help get your home sold quickly.
Staging your home for the market is much like arranging a stage for a play. Everything needs to have a place and it needs to appear inviting at every first impression. You may not need to spend a lot of money to make it appeal to the market, however, you need to know these top decorating trends for re-selling your home in 2018.
1. The initial clean up
You might be one of the lucky few that just needs to clean up and declutter your home. Most of the time, it is near impossible to completely empty your home before listing it, so you want to work on reducing the amount of pictures hanging on the walls, toys strewn about the rooms and anything that makes your home seem messy. Also, hide any junk and take out the trash. Whether you have a Mt. Everest-like mound of dirty laundry or a buffet of tools laying around that you used to fix a leak, make them disappear. You don’t want to show any dirt, junk or unnecessary items in your home.
Be sure to remove all valuables. Homes listed for sale are often targets of robberies, since many times the house is vacant for showings. You can expect many people to be walking through your home, often times not completely supervised.
2. Rearrange your furniture
The way your furniture, especially in your living room, is setup may not appear inviting. It might be very functional the way it is, but you can make it more attractive in other ways. Consider moving the chairs closer to the center of the room, instead of up against the wall. You may even want to rearrange pieces of art or wall hangings to give new life to a room.
3. Size matters
Trying to make a room appear larger can be tricky. Sometimes, a small kitchen can look huge just by painting it the same color as the room it is adjacent to. Additionally, match the paint to the drapery and you’ve got an even larger appearing room. Open the windows and let as much light shine through to open the space up.
4. Stay basic
Having a basic home still stands the test of time with regard to paint. If you’re able to, repaint rooms to give them a fresh, neutral look. You’ll want to get rid of any wallpaper, decorative walls or anything that screams trendy. Buyers want to see themselves in this home and even if you have similar tastes, they still prefer to see more of a blank canvas. Tone down your home for a quicker sale.
5. Grout
It can be easy to look right past how dirty your floors and the tile in your bathroom might really be. If you are in a competitive area, consider having the grout in your tile floors and bathrooms professionally cleaned. Grout that is cleaned up can really make your floors sparkle and shine.
6. Finishing Touches
When you have your home ready for finishing touches, it can be an exciting time. You are just about to get listed and let buyers dream of their life in your home. The finishing touches should include flowers, food and fragrance.
A nice touch to your kitchen or dining room table is a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers. It’s also great to offer a snack, especially during an open house. This can include cookies, a cheese tray or something light with bottled water. Lastly, you want your home to smell nice. Be careful with which scent you choose, as you don’t want it to be overpowering. The flowers or cookies might already give your home a nice smell.
Final Thoughts
The disadvantages of selling in today’s market are all the TV shows touting easy and amazing renovations. Many homes on the market are 20, 30 or 40+ years old and will not look like what is on TV. Your best bet is to make your home as simple and basic as possible. Give the buyer the chance to envision the home for themselves and the opportunity to put their personal touch on things.