The first impression of your home is important when you are putting your house up for sale.You’ll want to do a deep clean, some minor repairs, and there is almost always painting to be done but one important thing you will not want to miss is staging. A great home can be quickly passed over before potential buyers even walk in the door with bad or no staging. There are many benefits to staging your home - you’ll have better photos for the listing and potentially a faster sale with a higher sale price. This is a crucial part of selling your home and our goal is to help equip you with all the tools and information you will need. So here are my top tips to make sure your home is staged and ready for buyers.

Step 1: Create a Neutral Atmosphere - You want potential buyers to enter into your house and have it feel “homey”, but it’s important to put away all personal items. Take personal photos for instance: the buyers want to envision themselves living here and seeing a stranger’s family photos can actually have the opposite effect. You will want to make sure that items like toiletries are removed from the bathrooms so that people do not feel like they are in someone else’s personal space. Do a walkthrough and remove all clutter and personal items throughout your house before the showings begin.

Step 2: Set the Scene - The perfectly staged home will have buyers wanting the furniture to come with the house when they buy! I have seen from personal experience people buying a home and replicating the furniture and decor from the staging because it really did fit the space well. You want them to imagine themselves in the house with the decor and have their stuff seamlessly fit in. Removing anything with bold colours and keeping the colour palette neutral can really help people with that process.

You want to make sure your home is comfortable so make sure you pay attention to the temperature outside and remember if you are someone that likes it hot or cold that may throw potential buyers off, you will want to keep the temperature right in the middle. Another important part of setting the scene is keeping the space bright.Open all the blinds and turn on all the lights. There is nothing worse than walking through a dimly lit home and it will show best and look larger when it's bright.

Step 3: Move Out - This one may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel that moving out can help the selling process go smoother and faster.It may not always be possible for some families and it’s not a deal breaker when it comes to selling, but it allows for more frequent showings, especially when first listing the house. Most people will be requesting showings in the evenings and weekends when you are more likely to be home and if you have kids with early bedtimes this can further limit the windows for showings. Moving out means that the staging is left untouched and the house is available for any last minute visits. You won’t have to put away things like toiletries only to bring them back out when you get home and potential buyers will feel more of a ready to move in vibe in the home.

So remember these three things: Create a neutral atmosphere, set the scene and try to move out when it comes to staging your home for a quick and easy sale. If you are getting ready to sell and not sure where to start, give me a call and I can come to your home and do a walkthrough with you to help you get started.