Must-Know Tips for Staging Your Home for Sale

Must-Know Tips for Staging Your Home for Sale

A wise person once said, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” While that is true of human beings, it isn’t always a philosophy followed by home buyers. After all, a house is a massive investment, and buyers want to know they’re getting their money’s worth.

That’s why home sellers and real estate agents put such an emphasis on staging a home. Staging is what sets the tone of a house’s first impression. These must-know tips for staging your home for sale will help you make sure that impression is a good one.

Downsize

As potential buyers walk into the house, your goal is for them to feel at ease, as if they’re at home already. And humans—lovers of order that we are—tend to feel ill at ease in a cluttered space. In fact, a study once found that homes with more clutter were associated with more stress.

In other words, the best way to make a home feel comfortable is to cut the clutter. And the best way to cut the clutter in a house is to remove some of the “stuff” that has accumulated in it. Your best bet is to go through and purge the things you don’t need and get a storage unit for things you want to keep but are cluttering the space.

Depersonalize

Another main goal of staging is to set up the space such that buyers can imagine themselves living in your home. And it’s hard to imagine a house being your home when someone else’s personal effects are there.

That’s why agents will typically tell you to “depersonalize” a space. In other words, to make the home feel as neutral as possible so people can imagine their own lives spent there. Here are a few ways to depersonalize:

• Put away items related to hobbies like posters or trophies.
• Don’t display too many personal photos.
• Limit the number of statement pieces.
• Avoid displaying art that’s overly “kitschy.”

Another trick of depersonalization is to paint the walls neutral colors, such as beige or gray. However, a bad paint job will lead to a bad impression. Be sure you avoid any beginner painting mistakes or hire a professional.

Refresh

But just because a space is depersonalized doesn’t mean it should be characterless or dull-looking. Most people would rather move into a visually appealing place. Here are some helpful tips for staging your home in a stylish way:

• Rearrange the furniture.
• Add style motifs that repeat in different rooms.
• Include modest color accents.
• Display neutral artwork.
• Put out fresh-cut flowers.

You can’t judge a home’s book by its cover, but we can still make sure a house’s cover is polished when we put it up for sale. When it comes to selling your house quickly, staging can make a world of difference.