Staging Your Home Before Selling

You have just put your home up for sale. How can you help the process to be as quick as possible? Stage your home!

77% of buyer’s agents say staging has an effect on how buyers view your home, and 39% of seller’s agents say staging decreases the amount of time a home is on the market.

So what exactly is Staging? Staging is a method of decorating that highlights your home’s best features, and creates a "clean slate" for potential buyers. The purpose of Staging is to make the home appear almost as if it already belongs to the buyers - make them connect with the property.

The first and most important steps are to clean and declutter. Make your home looks its best! Focus on the three main living areas: the living room, the kitchen and the master bedroom. A clean house will give the impression that the home was well taken care of.

Clutter causes distractions and makes a room appear smaller. A decluttered house will make it look spacious and inviting to others. In the living room, move the furniture around so that people can see the best features and walk through easily. Turn on all lights, and open the blinds. You want it to look light and airy. Spruce the place up. Clean scuffs, scratches and holes in the walls. You may want to add a coat of paint to refresh the walls. If so, make it a neutral color. Your goal is to create an “empty canvas” that is ready for the buyer’s personal touches.

Another thing you want to do is make your home “less personalized.” Remove family photos from the walls and toothbrushes from the bathrooms. In the kitchen, make sure the refrigerator is clean and organized. If there are any pictures on the refrigerator, remove them. Place a vase of fresh flowers on the kitchen table. Take out the trash. The home should be as odor-free as possible, with the exception of an air freshener. If you are able to get more involved in the process, consider replacing any old appliances with new stainless steel appliances, and potentially getting new granite countertops.

While decluttering the bedrooms, don’t stuff everything into your closets. Potential buyers may open them to see how much storage space is available. If a bedroom window doesn’t have an “ideal” view (poor landscaping, or house next door), open the window blind, but only enough to let light into the room and not see the view outside. A nice benefit of all this cleaning and decluttering is that you will have less to do when it comes time to pack up for your own moving process.

Staging your home is not just for the inside - don’t forget about the garage and outside of your home. The outside is the first thing buyers will see, and will give the first impression of the property. Clean up the front door and stoop. Lay a simple new welcome mat and a place a fresh new potted plant outside the front door (don't place a dying plant at the entrance). Remove any holiday decorations. Wash the windows, power wash the siding.

Once complete, take photos of your staged home for the online tour. Be sure the photos have proper lighting. Take shots of various angles of the rooms. Make them appear as bright and clear as possible. 

If all this seems too daunting for you, you can hire a professional stager. When done correctly, staging will entice buyers to make a quick sale.

If you are selling a home in the Milwaukee, Madison, Waukesha, or Greater Wisconsin and Midwest areas and are planning to purchase a new home, contact ProVisor to guide you through the home loan and mortgage process.