When you put your home on the market, you’re hoping for a quick sale and to get your asking price. And to achieve this you have to impress potential buyers, which is where home staging comes in. This is a way of organising, decorating, and designing your home to highlight its assets and make it more attractive to customers. Homebuyers are more likely to make a purchase when they can envision living in your house as opposed to showcasing an empty house that usually comes across as lifeless. There are so many home-staging tips and tricks that if done right maximise your profit potential and help your house to sell faster. Here are a few to get you started:
Declutter
One of the key components of home staging is to showcase your home’s space and not your stuff. Clutter is not only unsightly but also makes spaces seem smaller than they actually are, so if you have far too many items, reduce them to just the basics. This means removing excess furniture, things that normally sit on top of counters and furniture, knickknacks, and anything that is not essential to your daily life. Part of decluttering is also depersonalising the space. Buyers will not be able to envision themselves in your house if there’s so much of you in it. Therefore, remove family photos, unique pieces of artwork, refrigerator art, items with your names on them, toys, and anything else that is highly personal.
Deep Clean
While this might seem obvious, it is more than the regular cleaning you do at home. In fact, spring cleaning has nothing on the kind of cleaning you should do when putting up a home for sale. Be sure to dust, vacuum, scrub, mop, and wash everything. Homebuyers will look under the sinks, inside closets, in the corners of your ceilings, grout lines in the shower, and everywhere in between, so make sure every square inch of your home is spotless.
Another thing that’s often overlooked is the odour. Numerous things, including the sink, mildew, pets, and food can make your house smell. You may not notice these smells because your body is probably immune to them, so ask a friend or neighbour to help you out with this. If you find the source of a bad odour, get rid of it. You can also give your home an inviting aroma during showings by burning scented candles, brewing coffee, or baking cookies. Avoid spraying your home as it may give it cheap smell.
Rearrange Furniture
You want there to be as much open and walkable space as possible to allow buyers to navigate the space. Start by ensuring the furniture you use for staging is the right size for a particular room since too big furniture will make your house look small while too small/little furniture will make it feel cold. Then get rid of damaged pieces and those that don’t match the rest of the interior. Rearrange the furniture that’s left in an attractive way that also shows how the room can be set up.
Define Rooms
Each room in your house should have a single and clearly defined purpose to help buyers see how they can maximise the entire space. For instance, if you have been using the spare bedroom to dump boxes of junk and old furniture, it’s time to clean it up and showcase its rightful use. You can also show how one can repurpose rooms and use awkward spaces. An attic, for starters, can be made into an office while a basement can become an entertainment room. If you have alcoves, window seats, a nook, or any room beneath the stairs, try to find a unique way of showcasing it. This will show potential buyers that every space is usable.
Lighting
One of the most effective yet free home staging tips is to let in as much natural light as possible. This will not only brighten up your space but also make it appear bigger. Open all curtains, shades, drapes, or blinds on all windows during showings to make the house more appealing and welcoming. Lighting fixtures are also a great way to make your house stand out. Some of the unique lighting fixtures to add include chandeliers, pendant lights, hanging accent lights, vintage lamps, etc.
Once you do everything possible to show your house in the best light possible, you can rest assured that the right buyer will come along. With staging, you will be able to sell house without agent as it markets itself. Remember that the exterior will be a potential buyer’s first impression, so keep it clean and well-maintained to attract buyers to view the inside.
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