Staging a House to Sell

What is the best way to go about staging a house to sell? A well staged home can make the difference between a quick sale, and a house that stays on the market for months.

Well staged, clean, and clutter free.

First, De-clutter

When prospective buyers tour a house, they want to be able to imagine themselves living there. Psychologically they decide there is no room for their belongings in the house.

"Did you see that closet, Ethel? Where would you put all your slacks and tops?" Common sense dictates that the clutter will walk out of the door when the present owners move, but the human brain does'n’t work that way.

You want visitors in your home to open a closet and find roomy shelves with only two boxes on them, one neatly marked “scarves” and the other “gloves”. They see space they can use and they will also note that the homeowner is organized, tidy and clean.

Off to storage with you!

So, you’ve got to get rid of all the excess stuff you can. Pack up or get rid of anything that takes up space, or makes a room less attractive. Get rid or ugly furniture. Pack up all those family portraits over the fireplace. Even organising a book shelf can help make a room look bigger and aid a quick sale.

For more information: How to Declutter Your Home

Clean, Clean, Clean

Then next step in staging a house to sell is getting rid of any dirt, grime, and dust. Unless you’re a true neat freak, consider hiring a professional cleaning company. Hiring a cleaner will eat into your profit a little, but it’s a small investment with a big up side.

Psychologically, a buyer will associate a spotless house with a house that has been well maintained, and well loved by its inhabitants.

For More Information: Home Cleaning Tips

Staging Your House

After you’ve hidden, stored, or thrown out all your clutter, you’ll have more room to move stuff around in order to show off each room. You can stage a house yourself, but hiring a professional stager is never a bad investment.

When you’ve lived in a house for years you can become biased towards how your house looks. Hiring an objective set of eyes can help bring out a room’s full potential, optimizing the chance of selling your house quickly.

Hiring objective eyes works wonders...

For the price (between $100 - $400 usually), you’ll get a lot of value.

If you’re set on staging a house to sell without a professional, start by looking through some interior design magazines. Notice the tactics they use to open up space, and accentuate a room’s assets. Windows aren’t obscured. A room’s light is well balanced. Everything is organized. Do your best to mimic these qualities.

Study, study, study...

After you’ve staged your house to the best of your ability, bring in as many (free) objective eyes as possible, and ask for their imput. Again, you’ve lived in your house forever, so it’s going to be difficult to notice the things a prospective buyer will.

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