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Home staging has become very important in today's real estate market. It's like detailing a car --- you want to make it "shine" when you put it up for sale. Home staging makes your home more desirable.
It doesn't have to take a lot of money to stage a home. But, most of us live in homes that are filled with memories and momentos, and generally is home to too much furniture.
What do you do to best stage your home before putting it on the market? Read our home staging tips. And, don't be afraid to ask a friend or your realtor to help.
1. Think like a buyer. Try to be objective when looking at your home. Walk up to your home, and up to the front door. What do you see? Is it looking a little "tired"? Does the paint look "old"? Is the landscaping overgrown and unkept?
2. Maximize curb appeal. Trim, weed, plant fresh plants and flowers, eliminate dead trees and branches, remove debris, repair fences and gates (repaint if necessary), wash driveways and sidewalks, wash windows and screens, remove trash cans from the front yard, pick up trash and newspapers, have exterior lights in working order, and have a working doorbell. Put out a fresh front doormat.
3. Interior staging - living room and family room. The living room and family room are important rooms to a home buyer. Make sure the furniture is neatly arranged, not cluttered. Remove extra personal items so that the rooms appear spacious. Clean fireplaces.
4. Interior staging - kitchen. Remove unnecessary items from the counters. In fact, remove as much as you can from the countertops! Clutter on the counters says "there is not enough storage space in this kitchen so it's kept on the counter". Make sure the kitchen is very clean, including the oven interior. This is an important area for "smells". Make sure your kitchen does not have unpleasing smells. Keep the trash emptied.
An each update to the kitchen is new cabinet knobs. It may be necessary to paint or stain cabinetry for a fresh, updated look.
5. Interior staging - bathrooms. Clean, including grout cleaning. Make sure the bathroom smells fresh. Remove kid's bath toys. Pick a color scheme and put out coordinating pretty towels and soaps, and new shower curtain.
6. Interior staging - bedrooms. Bedrooms are an important place to remove clutter. It's easy to have too much furniture and too many toys in a bedroom. But, it's equally important to have your home in show-ready condition. Again, remove clutter, make sure the bedrooms are fresh. Maybe invest in an inexpensive yet pretty new bed comforter or bedspread to coordinate with the room. Closets should also be cleaned out. Box extra items --- you're moving!
7. Interior staging - doors. Make sure the path to any doorway is clear. Move or remove furniture that interfers with or crowds the path to a door. Make it easy for a buyer to walk in and out of the home.
8. Bookcases - a special consideration. Don't load bookcases and bookshelves with books. Rather, make the bookshelves and bookcases light and airy (just like the rest of the house). Box up the extra books --- you're moving!
9. Appeal to all. Keep your home's decor "neutral" --- neutral in color and also neutral in design.
10. Donate. This is a good time to donate unused or unwanted items. Put those items to use. Donate them.
11. Ask your realtor for help! Realtors can help you with another point of view. They can help you know what will appeal to a potential buyer. It's what they deal with every day. Let your realtor help you too.
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