How to Successfully Stage Your Home to Sell

Once you have made the decision to list your home for sale, it is very important that you take steps to ensure your home is presented in the best way possible. Let's face it, you only have one chance to make a first impression, and homes are sold by first impressions. The first impression begins when a buyer first views photos of your home online, or drives by your home and notices the sign in the yard. At this moment, the buyer has already identified whether or not your home is going to appeal to them or not. The first impression occurs before they ever step foot in the home, and that's if they decide to have a closer look!

One of the most important questions you can ask yourself regarding the preperation of your home is; What do I need to do to stage my home to the majority? When your home appeals to the majority, you win in two ways; it sells in less time and for more money than if it did not. You also have a much greater chance of obtaining multiple offers and having a bidding war on your home...and that's never a bad thing for a seller!

So how do you stage your home to the majority of buyers? Here are ten things you can do to produce excellent results:

1. Give your home a good cleaning, and keep it clean. Wax the wood floors, vacuum the carpet, clean the tile grout and the mirrors, dust, shampoo the carpet if needed, etc.

2. De-clutter the home and remove the majority of "stuff" lying around! Keep counter tops and shelves free of "stuff." And if you leave "stuff" on the counters or shelves, do it by design.

3. Remove excessive furniture. Remember, buyers are looking at the home, not the stuff in the home. If there is too much furniture in a room, it is extremely difficult for the buyer to imagine how their furniture will fit. The opposite is also true, and a vacant home does not show well. Have at least one or two key pieces in a room so the buyer can imagine how their furniture will fit.

4. Touch up the paint. This applies to the interior and the exterior.

5. Remove odors. If there is one thing that will distract a buyer, it is their sense of smell. This can also be true if a seller applies an odor on purpose, such as lighting a candle. A good smell to one may be a bad smell to another. No odor is always best!

6. Strategically position and organize everything. Example: Books on book shelf, lamps/items left on counters, the furniture, the clothes hanging in closet, etc.

7. Ensure everything in your home functions properly! Your appliances should all work properly, exhaust fans should run without excessive noise, toilets should flush without error, etc.

8. Mow, edge, blow, water, de-weed, and keep yard manicured at all times! Mowing, blowing, and de-weeding is self explanatory. But make sure you keep a sharp edge around all your flower beds, side walks, and driveway not allowing plants or grass to extend over onto concrete. This is very important and is often overlooked! Also, adding some fresh mulch to the beds is never a bad idea.

9. Stage rooms as they are intended. In other words, don't set up the dining room or breakfast room as your home office.

10. Depersonalize the home. Remove family photo's, awards, certificates, etc. These items are often destracting to the buyer, and the buyer will often feel more at ease in the home without these items.

Proper staging will produce better results for the seller, and will often result in a quicker sale for more money. Think of these items on the above list as the bare essentials to preparing your home to sell. These techniques are inexpensive and make a monumental difference to the majority of buyers! If you market your home to the majority as a seller, you will win every time!