Two Thumbs Up for Staging Your Home – Less Time and More Money For YOU

Staging is more popular than ever when it comes to selling a home. But, you might wonder if it’s really worth the inconvenience and upfront costs for you, especially if it’s a seller’s market.Staging is more popular than ever when it comes to selling a home. But, you might wonder if it’s really worth the inconvenience and upfront costs for you, especially if it’s a seller’s market.Even with a well-maintained (and well-decorated!) home, staging can increase the price you end up getting for your home and decrease the time it stays on the market.Here’s a rundown of why staging should be on your to-do list as a seller:Staging a home is not like “cleaning your home for guests” but rather it entails coming up with a marketing strategy that will showcase your home at its best for current buyers. You still need to make it sparkle and shine by cleaning but it’s this next step that makes selling your home more of a “business” goal that has a clear-cut purpose. How you live is NOT how you sell! For example, that third bedroom that is part office, part storage closet? That probably needs to be turned into an actual bedroom. Really easy to do with a blow up mattress and some inexpensive, yet stylish bedding from a discount storeStaging creates a positive emotional tug for buyers when they walk through your door. First impressions are so important and will linger after buyers leave your home. We want them dreaming of their perfect life in your home, so sometimes we need to do some decluttering, sprucing, reorganizing and some extra storage space to get buyers to think with their emotions. It can be easy and cost just about nothing. We can walk each room with you to tell you exactly what to put where.Sometimes all it takes is a fresh eye. Your large leather couch or collection of pottery may be gorgeous and look great for your day-to day-life, but to buyers it could mean your home feels tight and cluttered. Remember, don’t take it personally! When you are selling your home, it’s a product for sale, not the home you’ll be living in any more!When in doubt, go neutral. You may love that turquoise wall, but most buyers will be distracted and only see the wall and not the spacious room and everything else your home has to offer. Try to neutralize your home. Right now, the best colors are the whitest white for doors, trim and ceilings, and a light pumice grey for the walls. A calming, soothing, modern, hip and clean slate for new buyers to imagine their life in.Staging can give a room a purpose … create an office, a guest room, a reading nook that usually isn’t there. You don’t want buyers to wonder what they can use this room or space for while living there. Instead, you want to show them what life could be like there, even if it’s not currently the way you are using the space. Think about who the ultimate buyer of your home will be and cater to how THEY would use the rooms in your home and stage accordingly.Take what you have and work with it by paring down, rearranging or relocating furniture and artwork, and also reconsider paint colors. You can prioritize a list of things and then decide what you’ll do and what you won’t do based on your budget. Remember, you can take it or leave it since it’s your home for sale.A carefully staged home looks more desirable in online photos. Your online presence can either encourage buyers to check out your home or could drive them away, so each room needs to look like it has a purpose and is ready to move right into! This will get you more people coming to look at the house, and the more people who come and see it means more offers and a higher contract price.