Tips for Staging a House for Sale

Staging your house for sale is a much bigger deal than many sellers realize. Not only will you attract more buyers, which statistically means more offers, but you will also increase the value of your home, which means higher offers. Don’t worry. Staging does not have to be a huge hassle or even an overwhelming amount of work. If you’ve got some time to spare before listing, you can get each of these tasks here and there over a few weekends. It also helps to get experts involved, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

First and foremost, when you start thinking about selling your home, you should always think about the first impression. What will your potential buyers see when they pull up to your home? This impression makes its way from the curb to your entryway.

 

You might not technically “own” the curb in front of your house.” But if there is a patch of grass, dead flowers, or dirt, you’ll want to clean it up. You can plant some ground cover and entirely change what pulling up to your home looks like.

 

If you have a lawn, is it trimmed, green, edged, and otherwise well-maintained? These care practices are immediate attention grabbers. If you have trees or shrubs, they should be landscaped.

 

Your fence may need to be whitewashed, your gate should be painted or polished, and if it is electronic, it should function. These touches make a home look and feel particularly luxurious.

 

If there are any broken window frames, peeling paint, or damaged siding, you’ll want to repair them and then add a fresh coat of paint. Even better, hire an expert house painter to ensure every little detail is taken care of.

 

It may seem silly to mention, but the roof and gutters are almost invisible when they are in top shape, but when they are run down, full, or dirty, they seem like a blight on your property. Simply get up there with a power washer, hose it down, and clean out those gutters, ensuring they are in good condition and attached to the house well.

 

The windows facing the front of your property should be cleaned to sparkle both inside and outside. They shine and make a home feel upscale when they are cleaned well.

 

While you’ve got your power washer out, hose down your walkway, driveway, and entryway to your house so no debris or grime is visible in the bricks or concrete. Your front door could probably use good power-washing and maybe even a fresh coat of paint.

 

Finally, make sure your buyers feel welcomed home by a nice mat on the front stoop and maybe even some potted flowers to breathe nature and life into your entryway.

As to the interior of your home, the first thing you can do is get rid of all the clutter and take down all of your personalized items and photos. You want to create the most neutral space possible, even adjusting the arrangement of your furniture to make sure your buyers can picture themselves in your open and welcoming space. You don’t want them to feel like guests; you want them to feel like this is their future home.

To go a bit deeper, you can start making all those little repairs around the house you’ve been meaning to get to but haven’t because you weren’t bothered by them. Now, as you imagine someone else coming into your space, think of every little scratch, broken fixture, hole in the wall, damaged lock, or loose doorknob they will see.

For this step, it might be helpful to invest in a home inspection so you will not have to deal with any surprises when you do get an offer. A great inspector will tell you every minor detail that could affect the value of your home. A preemptive home inspection can go a long way toward getting your home in tip-top shape to get you top dollar.

Before you have professional photographers come in, give your home a thorough deep clean so it shines. This step means lots of elbow grease or hiring an accomplished house cleaning service to get everything from the baseboards to the corners of the ceiling.

Next, you can ensure every closet looks tidy and almost empty except for clothes, towels, and neatly organized games, toys, or boxes. Put all the toiletries, soap, and shampoo out of site. You can also plug fragrance infusers into each room and make sure fresh air circulates through the house to make the space feel fresh and airy.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, work with a realtor who specializes in staging homes to sell. Lori Olson has worked in real estate for more than 20 years, and she got her start in design with her family’s construction company. She has spent her time over the last two decades in San Ramon, Dublin, and Pleasanton real estate gaining additional education and certificates in her field to ensure she provides a top-quality experience to her clients.

When you work with a top-performing realtor like Lori, you get not only an agent to represent you and negotiate for you, but you also get her entire network and resources, which includes the best contractors, house cleaning services, and professional photography services in the area, and so much more. Contact Lori Olson to stage your home and get it sold today.