Staging your home yourself can save some money on the process and make the sale happen faster and for more money. While professionals can stage it perfectly, you can do a whole lot yourself and keep that warm inviting feeling of a home vs. a house or condominium. Here are some tips to help you stage your home yourself.
No. 1
The best, most important advice is the simplest to follow. De-clutter your home. Use the opportunity to donate some items, throw out some others and pack most of the knick-knacks that you’ve collected over the years. In addition to creating that simplicity where less-is-more that you can see on many home-related websites (e.g. Better Home and Gardens or look at the photo at the top of this blog post), this invites the potential buyer to see the home as their own.
No. 2
Clean every single window-pane and glass sliding door. You want to bring in as much exterior light as possible. Sparkling clean glass will do this beautifully and only cost you some glass-cleaner and old newspapers (using paper-towels will lead to streaks showing up on the glass. Safety tip: buy some butterfly appliques for the sliding glass door and its fixed pane partner. This prevent anyone walking into your perfectly translucent glass.
No. 3
If there is a smoker in the house, place a plate filled with vinegar in each corner of the room(s) where the smoker indulges their habit. Allow to stand for at least 24 hours, more if a heavy smoker for many years. Then ask the smoker to enjoy their smokes outside. Again, where ever the smoking happens, you need to be carefully cleaning afterwards. Imagine a non-smoker walking up to your front door only to be greeted by the smell of stale tobacco as they approach your front porch. You may have become accustomed to it but your prospective buyers will not appreciate it and this will completely undo all your staging efforts.
No. 4
Potpourri will invitingly scent an interior but will not mask pet odors. Replace pet bedding, professionally launder drapes (or replace them) and sprinkle baking soda in areas with heavy pet traffic. Use a brush to work the baking soda into the carpeting. Having the carpets professionally cleaned will make a big difference, not just for odors but also for returning the carpet to it’s original color or some reasonable facsimile.
No. 5
Set aside a weekend for painting the home before putting it on the market. Even interior paint will yellow as it ages and walls that are exposed to the sun will experience fading color. Paint is relatively cheap and can really brighten up a room.
No. 6
Make sure the exterior makes a great first impression on every single potential buyer who drives up to the home. Mow and weed the lawn, especially on Fridays in preparation for those weekend showings, and consider planting some fresh flowers.
This may sound like a lot of work but as you stage your home yourself, think of the thousands of dollars you are saving over using a professional and the additional thousands you will make on the buyers’ offer.
If you have any questions or need any advice on staging (including where to find a professional stager), call or text me at 760 622 5087 or email me here.
Beautiful staged kitchen room in a modern house with granite countertops and antique finished cabinets.
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