How to Stage Your House for a Quick Sale

Staging a house is the practice of representing a house in an aesthetically pleasing way so it will attract the potential buyers. It sets up the house with a precise design and balanced furnishings. You can quickly get hold of it once you understand the important features of the home. The best areas of the house are the ones that will grab the attention of the buyers, so you need to upgrade them with suitable materials. Along with it, you should cover up the flaws in the house with such creativity that the buyer feels comfortable with its representation.

Home staging takes time and effort, but what is home staging?

Staging a home for sale is like decorating a house with a well-adjusted strategy. You have to artistically elevate its outlook with neutral colors so it balances perfectly with the furnishings.

A broker named Gordon Roberts defines good staging as a visual merchandising form that lures on some of the rudiments of interior designs.

In other words, home staging is revamping crowded rooms into comfortable spaces where buyers can imagine spending the best days of their lives. It prominently represents the house's best features while covering up the defects. Home staging reshapes your house's interior and exterior look, but why give so much importance to it?

Potential buyers look for a house where they can live peacefully. They are on the outlook for a place that requires minimal effort for improvement and provides maximum relief to live a fulfilling life. That's where staging comes in handy. It recreates the interior of the house into a comfortable space with emotionally attractive elements that win buyers' hearts. When potential buyers visit the house for a tour, they focus more on finding the faults in the house, which might hinder them from living peacefully. That's why staging helps you fix the damaged interior in the house before placing the home for sale in the marketplace.

You can either do home staging or hire a professional home stager to do all the work for you. Home stagers are experts in renovating the house with proper equipment. They improve the house's outlook and provide good finishing to attract potential buyers. However, there is always a price to pay for such services. You must be prepared to pay between one to three percent of the property's sale price on staging. If you want to save on the sale price of your property, you can go for DIY home staging instead of hiring a professional home stager.

Follow these home staging tips and you will learn how to stage a house for sale like an expert.

1. Clean

Home buyers will feel more comfortable making an offer if they see that you've taken pride in maintaining a spotless dwelling. You should thoroughly clean the house from top to bottom, including the floors, ceilings, and surfaces. Keep all the essentials neat and ensure everything looks tidy. Check for tiny details and fix them, like if the mirrors in the bathroom are damaged from the edges. Ensure you replace it with a new one or decorate it with stickers to hide the defects.

2. Remove Unnecessary Materials

Potential buyers prefer houses that are free from the personal belongings of others. Remember to pack away items like family photographs and certificates. Clear everything that might remind the buyers of someone else present in the house. Try to keep minimal things and remove extra and irrelevant items that might drive away buyers.

3. Refresh Home with Nature

Adding some greenery from potted plants may enhance a room's overall atmosphere. Place your plants wisely, so they don't smother one another or the space they're in (unless you have a greenhouse). Freshly watered plants will give a lively impression to your house. They also eliminate unpleasant scents like pets, children, and food odor. Another way to drive off the smell from home is using vanilla-scented candles. They are inexpensive, work best in removing smell fast from the rooms, and look good as decoration pieces.

4. Enhance Each Room Differently

Each room has its vibe, so you have to ensure when buyers visit them, they all have a unique welcoming ambiance. Each space can be uniquely decorated. The crucial thing is for the buyer to understand that every square foot of the home is livable, even if they plan to utilize the room for a different reason.

5. Neutral Colors and Wall Paints

Home purchasers prefer a house that comes with low maintenance costs. In all likelihood, prospective purchasers share this sentiment regarding unique paint schemes. While orange may be your favorite color, it's important to remember that color preferences are pretty individual.

White walls, you may believe, are excellent since they function as a blank canvas on which potential purchasers can easily picture themselves imposing their style. They will likely consider a home with walls that are in plain hue. If your house has a colorful paint wall, it is advisable to repaint it with a warm neutral color. It will ease the work for the buyers as they won't have to think about repainting the house after purchasing it.

6. Flooring

Carpets are the worst when they become dirty and discolored, and no one likes to dwell in a house where someone else's dirty feet have already been walking on them. Not to mention, linoleum is old and tacky. Hardwood flooring is expensive, but it is well worth it because of the value and beauty it adds to a home. They are ideal for customers who suffer from allergies because of their low care requirements, high resale value, and high-value retention. In other words, they are liked by most people; if not, the buyer may lay carpet over them to protect them for the future tenant.

The main focus of installing hardwood flooring should be in public spaces like the kitchen, dining room, and living room. There should be a similar improvement to the bathrooms. Because of their small footprint, their price tag will be reasonable. If you have the means, ceramic tile or stone should be used in the kitchen and bathroom. If not, you could choose high-quality vinyl tiles that look like the pricier options.

7. Lighting

Maximize the effect of natural light throughout your home. When exhibiting your property, ensure all the blinds and drapes are open. Fixtures should be installed as needed. All lights should be on when a buyer is touring the house (including those in the closets). Lightening makes your home look more appealing and provides a clear view of the house. If you're content with your current lighting, give it a good dusting and wipe out the gunk. In any case, replace old or broken light fixtures, which is simple and inexpensive, to enhance your house.

8. Furniture

Avoid overstuffing rooms with furniture. Oversized furniture or too much of it crowds the space. It creates an unpleasant environment. Likewise, the rooms should not be left empty with minimal furniture that could make one feel claustrophobic. Maintain balanced furnishings, so the rooms feel airy, comfortable, and easy to move around. For instance, seating in the living room should be set to promote pleasant discussion, and when buyers visit, they feel welcomed.

Make sure to skimp on the furnishings, too. Moving around your current furniture is inexpensive, and you may even be able to rent additional pieces for staging your home. Make sure the dining table is neat and presentable in either case. Throw pillows are a great way to mix things up and inject color into a room.

9. Ceilings and Walls

You should fix foundation issues in the house before you stage your property for sale. If the cracks in the walls or ceilings are prominent, you should fix them all. If the buyers witness these evident marks on the walls, they'll probably prefer to avoid buying them.

10. Focus equally on Exterior and Interior

The home exterior needs as much attention as its interior. It would be best if you put considerable effort into the home's "curb appeal," which includes the façade and the foyer. When a buyer visits the house, they first see the exterior. If it is well kept, they'll prefer to see it from the inside, but if it's not, no one would like to waste their precious time. Therefore, enhance the home's exterior so it looks welcoming and pleases the buyers to tour it.

You can keep your weeds at bay and your grass, hedges, trees, and other plants well-manicured. Clean windows and plant flower boxes may significantly improve the house's appearance. When you power wash the outside of your home, it might look like it's been newly painted without the time and money commitment.

Get some new doormats for the front and rear entrances and clean up the walkway going up to the house. Make sure your pool is spotless if you want to amaze guests. Adding a deck or patio in the backyard and furnishing it with outdoor furniture is another fantastic option to make the most of your home's exterior.

11. Final Touches

Take a few minutes before an open house or showing to add final touches that will make the home more welcoming. Place new, fluffy towels in the bathrooms, light some candles (mild, faint scents only), and fill vases with fresh flowers.

Overall, your house staging effort should appeal to potential buyers to instantly think about buying it. Applying a good staging strategy will likely attract more buyers and increase your house's value, benefiting you from selling it for a higher price.