Home Staging Tips
Nowadays, home staging is seen as a necessity. For those who want to see their home sold faster and for more money, home staging is the key. Simply presenting your home as is will not lead to the highest selling price, and may scare off potential buyers.
My first tip when it comes to home staging is to hire a professional. A staging expert will know first hand how to appeal to home buyers and to present your home for all it is worth. Staging experts also have access to furniture that can be brought in to add value to your home. Of course the price of this service is not cheap, but when you consider the advantages and disadvantages, the benefit of your home selling for thousands of dollars more outweighs the cost of hiring a professional stager.
If you feel that you only have minor issues to deal with in your home, are a do-it- yourselfer, or if it is not possible to hire a professional, there are some essential staging tips that must be followed before presenting your home. I find it is easiest to follow these tips if you consider how to make your home appeal to as many senses as possible:
Let’s consider sight and touch:
First impressions count, so examine every aspect of the outside of your home. Does the lawn need mowing? Is the paint on the front door chipping? Do flowers need to be planted? Clean and declutter everything around your home and make it as inviting as possible. You want to give your home curb-appeal and create interest in home buyers.
Inside the home, it should be spotless. Clean, declutter and give the sense of a spacious home. Also, depersonalize the home to allow the home buyers the ability to visualize themselves living in the home and to allow yourself to emotionally detach from the home. Remove personal photos, souvenirs and any other personal items. Also, make any necessary repairs or touch-ups. Fix the broken doorknob, touch up edges with paint and replace any burned out lightbulbs. Did I mention the cleaning? Clean, clean, and then clean some more. Make the appliances and faucets sparkle, so much that the viewers want to reach out, touch and use them, as if it was already their home. The sense of touch is important when you consider that you want viewers to envision themselves living in the home. When the home is clean, decluttered and depersonalized, a home buyer is allowed to feel themselves living in the space, which leads to the desire to actually make an offer and live there.
Next we need to think about smell and taste:
Imagine walking into a beautiful, clean home that smells divine. Something so simple as baking some cookies and allowing viewers to sample the goods will be very appealing, thus enticing the senses of smell and taste. We know that the way to a home buyer’s heart is not only through their stomach but we cannot neglect the importance of smelling good. If there are any pets or harsh odours, a home buyer will be turned off, as much as they may love the home.
Lastly sound:
We all love music and listen to music in our home. Put on some soft background music to create a serene, relaxing and alive home. Music will also help allow the senses to capture the overall feel of what could be the viewer’s new home.
