Staging Your Home To Sell

Home staging is preparing a home prior to putting it on the market for sale.

Why stage your home? Staging a home can ensure a quick sale.

You may love the way your home looks, but potential buyers may not. When selling your home, staging it professionally can make your home more appealing and more attractive. It depersonalizes your home, reduces its flaws and very often, raises the value of your home. Very often it can bring a higher purchase price.

With shows like HGTV's ‘Designed To Sell', "Bought and Sold",  "Get It Sold", "Buy Me" and TLC's "Flip This House" home owners looking to sell  their home, can learn valuable staging information that could be the difference of one's home being sold quickly, or sitting on the market for a long time.

As a professional real estate agent, I have seen buyers cringe at red walls, pink bathrooms, clutter and other people's pictures and momentos. Although this is important to the seller, sellers should not take this personally. Buyers want to see neutral, clean and uncluttered living spaces that they can envision themselves living in.

You can find professional home stagers in most cities by searching the Internet or letting your fingers do the walking in the yellow pages. You can also find these stagers from an accredited home staging school. One of the best ways to find a good professional home stager is to ask your broker. Brokers know the best stagers in their area.

Let the stagers do their job ... regardless of whether you agree with their choices or not.

If you prefer to do the staging yourself:

• Get rid of clutter
• Put away photos and momentos
• If you have children, their toys should not be visible
• Clean and light fireplaces so they look inviting
• Clear kitchen and bathroom counters
• If it's outdated, it should go
• Walls and carpeting should be neutral
• If furniture is oversized, put some in storage
• If you have pets, be sure to vacuumn away all pet hair and dander, remove kitty litter boxes, bowls of food and water, and spray your home. There should be no telltale signs of pets in your home.

Make your home appealing. Keep it neat and clean and light scented candles when potential buyers are coming over to see your home. The seller should not be present. Only the brokers and potential buyers should be there.

Add value to your home so it sells!