Selling Boston real estate, or real estate anywhere in the U.S., right now can be a daunting task. But properly staging your home can increase your chance at a swift sale. You may be thinking that your home is already nicely decorated, but "decorating" your home focuses on your personal choices and personality. Whereas staging your home focuses on buyers and how you can help potential buyers envision themselves living in the home or condo for sale.

Steps to Staging Your Home

· Pack away any mementos, photos of family and friends, children's artwork, to-do lists, and basically anything that would remind the potential buyer that someone else lives in the home.

· Eliminate odors. Smell is a huge factor for buyers. And the tough part is that homeowners may be accustomed to certain smells-like pet odor or smoke. If in doubt, have a friend do a smell test for you. Don't cover odors with air fresheners or by baking cookies, instead do a thorough cleaning, steam clean carpets if necessary, and have air vents cleaned. Also, remember to not cook pungent dishes right before a scheduled showing.

· Pack away the clutter! This a hard step but one of the most important. Part of the difficulty, besides the time investment, is the fact that many people have trouble being objective when evaluating their own homes. Even if your decorating style includes many decorative pieces on mantles, side tables and bookshelves, go through and minimize-it will make your home look larger.

· Now that the clutter is packed, make sure it has a place to go. If you have an attic or basement, place neatly packed boxes in these areas-if not, investing in a storage space for a few months is a great way to go. (Placing boxes in the top of your closet will make your closet look smaller.)

· Think about your lighting situation. Dark rooms appear smaller. But rooms that are too bright or use florescent lights can be off-putting as well. Consider using "daylight' bulbs to create an open, airy feeling. Right before a showing, open windows and/or turn on lights.

• Treat your walls to a fresh coat of neutral paint. Color walls are popular right now, but neutrals may be a safer way to go. And a fresh coat will make any room look newer and cleaner.

The main thing to strive for is creating a clean, open, inviting space that a potential buyer can imagine moving into. Your real estate agent should be able to give you specific advice as it pertains to your particular home for sale. If you are looking for a Boston real estate agent with staging know-how, give me a call!