Home Staging Tips

When you have been in the business of home staging for as long as we have, you get to know some tricks of the trade. Here’s our top tips when you are considering selling your home.

Selling Do’s

1. Find a reputable Real Estate agent and let them price your home based on their market knowledge, research and comparable homes in your area.    Defer to your Realtor and trust they understand the market and are experts at pricing homes!
2. Take out the guess work for buyers and give every room a purpose.  If you’re selling your home as a 4 bedroom, but have been using one for an office, playroom or home gym, return it to a bedroom.
3. Paint the interior of your home in neutral colors. Nothing cleans, deodorizes and brightens up a home more effectively than a fresh coat of paint. Moreover, it yields the highest return on investment at 150%.
4. Take down heavy, dated window treatments. Buyers love natural light and it’s better to have no window treatments than dated curtains that block the light.
5. Open all your windows and air out your home even if it’s cold out.  20 minutes is all it takes to rid your home of musty, stale air and replace it with fresh, clean air! And yes maybe pop the coffee machine on as everyone loves the smell of newly ground coffee beans!
6. Shampoo your rugs (area and wall to wall) so they are clean and order free. You can hire a local carpet cleaning company or rent one from your local grocery store.
7. Invest in a LivingEdge Homestaging Consultation! Home stagers are experts on preparing your home for the market. We understand and can implement all the necessary changes that will yield the best for your investment, while giving your home the competitive edge it needs in today’s market.

Here’s our selling Don’t!

1. Play Realtor and insist you know what your home is worth. Hire a professional Real Estate Agent and let them do their job!  They are the experts and know the market.  This is the most important “don’t” when selling your home.
2. Neglect curb appeal – it’s a buyer’s first impression of your home . Hire a landscaper or do it yourself. Don’t forget to trim hedges, add fresh mulch and blow debris clear from walkways, porch and driveway.
3. Clean your home by stuffing your junk into every available storage space. Once your home is on the market, it’s a given that buyers will look in your cabinets, pantry and open closet doors to determine storage space. If your storage areas are crammed with “stuff”, you’re giving the impression that their things won’t fit either.
4. Wait until the week of open house to discard or store unnecessary furniture, personal collections and family photos. Storage units are available for short term hire.
5. Assume buyers are going to take on your deferred maintenance like, leaky taps, broken doorbells, chipped skirtings, running toilets and/or torn blinds.  You don’t want to give buyer’s the impression your home isn’t well maintained.
6. Assume buyers are pet lovers – many aren’t or are allergic to cats and dogs.  During open houses, temporarily take pets and all traces of them out of the home. Yes, this is a hassle, but it’s temporary and your goal is to sell quickly.
7. Make buyers guess a room’s purpose. If you’re selling your home as a 4 bedroom, return an office, playroom or a gym back to a bedroom.