Getting Ready to Sell? 10 Home Staging Tips

Nowadays, it is almost impossible to find a private owner putting his home out in the estate market without home staging.

Since it was introduced, it has maintained its presence and in fact, opened up a new profession in the field of realtors.

Training courses on Professional Home Staging are now being offered just to package a house for pre-selling and viewing.

Middle-income homeowners, who can’t afford to hire a professional home stager, resort to DIY. The underlying problem is most homeowner’s lack of experience and training needed for the project says Albert from Design Principle.

In order to avoid unnecessary expenses along the way, or worse, end up actually hiring a professional to repair your own DIY disaster, it is important to take note of common strategies all stagers employ.

In taking notes, it is also practical to do some personal research and get as much information in home staging.

10 Home Staging Tips

The whole approach is pretty much summed up in 3 stages: (1) pick one neutral color for your theme, (2) lose as many fixtures for lighting and ventilation, and (3) make sure every corner is squeaky clean.

For first-time home stagers, here are 10 tips for you to begin with:

1. Take a Look from the Outside

Paying the bills, catching up with deadlines, and sending the kids to school reduced your house into a mere lodging place that you forget that it is a property of value.

It wouldn’t hurt to take an outsider’s perspective to be able to see how much of your house has changed from the first day you started living there.

Before offering it for sale, you need to appraise its current market value, before and after taxes.

You will appreciate it further once you’ve realized that, owing to industrialization, services have become more accessible and the quality of life within your area actually improved.

Getting the time to think through these things will help you conceptualize a home staging theme that is desirable to investors and, at the same time, compatible with the current lifestyles sustained by your community.

Popular themes include minimalistic designs, shabby chic, Victorian summer homes, or any design that will carry out a singular or neutral tone.

2. Take Everything Out

You need to take out all the movable fixtures in order to introduce your design theme. Packing up and moving out is a process on its own, so your moving-out plan will largely depend upon your present circumstances and needs.

In everything, planning and timelines always come in handy.  The goal is to put everything in the right box.

Stripped of clutter, you can now see the details in architecture, woodwork, and the structure of the house. Now is the best time to do some deep cleaning, vacuuming, and polishing.

3. Not All Boxes Go to the Moving Van

When packing, keep an eye on items that you already have that will work with your theme.  The rule of thumb is to strictly abide by a list of items that are either too big or heavy, yet essential in staging your home (artwork, hard bounded books, bookshelves, headboards, removable lighting fixtures).

In doing so, do not forget that you are transforming for home staging and not just decorating.  The purpose of your inventory is downsizing and not hosting a garage sale.

4. Your House is As Blank As a Canvas

It is essential that you stick to your theme of choice and pick out neutral backdrops.  Monochromatic yet classy tones of grey, beige, and ivory are highly advised.

Not only are they elegant and luxurious, but these color schemes are also intended to give the viewer an opportunity to see his dream house in your home.

Decorative accents and modest furnishings are there just to cut through the barren house.  You do not want to create a melancholic atmosphere, inasmuch as you do not want your viewers to feel restless.

5. Identify Those that Need Repair, Restoration, or Replacement

Cleaning is done. The paint is done. Now it’s time to assess built-in fixtures, details in walling and flooring, and other installations to the main structure.

Classifying which needs repaired, restored, and replaced will entail some necessary expenses along the way.

Repair those permanent fixtures that, if removed, will leave the house in an unpleasant status and decrease its value.

Restore those fixtures that raise the market value of the house such as intricate moldings, hardwood fixtures, or detailed wood skirtings.

Finally, replace removable installations that prevent the free flow of light and air around the house.

6. The Parts Make Up the Whole

Little details contribute to the overall impression of your home.  Take an account of the areas where viewers would be settling or passing through when they finally visit your house.

Take time to stage your exteriors first. A manicured lawn is sure to give a lasting first impression.

Pick out low-maintenance plants for your front yard and accent them with clay pots.

Check the condition of the house from the pathway, fence, porch, main door, hallways, and patio up to the most negligible rooms such as the laundry room, storage rooms, and bathrooms.  Nothing is more desirable than a well-maintained home.

7. Fill it Up But Bring it Down

Furniture, ornaments, and hangings should be subtly positioned to produce an overall feeling of fortune, comfort, cleanliness, and satisfaction.

Employ strategies such as shelving recipe books in between displays of dinner wares, placing plants in dull corners or tightly bundled bouquets of flowers on top of the dining table, or hanging mirrors where more lighting is needed and creating an illusion of a bigger space.

Group your movables according to height.  That way you can control the visual extent of your viewer and draw their attention to the best features of the house even without verbal suggestion.

8. What is Under Matters Too

Dressing up your house for potential buyers does not mean that the utilities should not be forgotten.

Routine checks should be done to assess the functionality of your electrical system, air conditioning or heating system, water system, drainage and sewage system, etc.

9. You are Selling Your House But Not Your Home

The advantage of hiring a professional stager is being able to emotionally detach yourself from the whole preparation of the sale and the home staging process.

You would have fewer episodes of dwelling over-sentimental moments upon exit.

For every homemaker, there should exist some inner war between trying to decorate based on personal preferences and home staging for possible buyers.

Mind-setting would really be of help before taking on the project.

10. Leave the Keys When You Go Out

After all, is done you are now ready to view the property to real estate agents.

Luxury residential real estate brokerage like Malta Sotheby Realty offers tremendous advantages but only accepts exceptional properties.

Hence, it is very important that your property becomes worthy of a high-end property listing.

The house and everything in it will be owned by someone else.  Home staging demands that you remove yourself and avoid imprinting your personality in the whole setup.

You’ve already packed your home 9 numbers ago, but the time has now arrived to collect yourself.  So, when you go out the door to move on to another chapter of your life, do not forget to leave the keys behind.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)