How to Turn Any Home into A Showpiece That Buyers Will Be Fighting Over

Want to sell your home at a premium price, fast? Your home is a magical place waiting for the right buyer to fall in love, you want to show it in the right light. Never mind simply tidying up and opening up the blinds: home staging is the way to go. But hiring a professional staging consultant can cost you. Thankfully, we have all the secrets and techniques to turn any home into a showpiece that buyers will be fighting over.

Find out what to do, keep, toss, fix, paint, replace, avoid, update, highlight, hide, and more. Learn how to focus on your potential buyers’ tastes (not your own), create a positive first impression with curb appeal, drive interest online with photos that flatter your home, de-clutter and pre-pack all at the same time, clean and repair your home and keep your home sale-ready…without being afraid to live in it.

Make a Match Happen with Home Staging That Works!

On average, staged homes sell 88% faster and for 20% more than nonstaged ones. Here are 6 simple home staging secrets that will make any buyer fall in love.

1. Focus on Your Potential Buyers’ Tastes (Not Your Own)

Over the years, you’ve lived in your home and designed it to your own taste. Most likely, whoever is going to walk through your home is going to have different tastes (and expectations) than you do. In essence, staging your home is like packaging a product. If you can stage your home into one that fits into your buyer’s dreams and expectations, you can sell your property.

The first step to stage your home is perhaps one of the hardest. Taking out the “you” from your home and transforming it into a property that speaks to the desires of your buyers. Prepare yourself for a wave of emotions as soon as staging begins, but it gets easier with practice. You may eve find yourself enjoying the process of simplifying your life once you get started.

2. Create A Positive First Impression

Since the majority of our decisions are formed in just a fraction of second, it’s important to capture the attention of prospective buyers with a positive first impression right at the curb. The first rule of home staging outdoors is to make your property appear easy to maintain. Pruning, edging, weeding, mulching and mowing your lawn are critical in the success of yard staging.

Use the power of split-second decision making to your advantage when selling your home. Based on their impression of your home, buyers will make assumptions about the rest of your property that may or may not be true. This means your goal is to make sure that nothing interrupts that first impression as they walk through your home.

3. De-Clutter and Pre-Pack All at The Same Time

When you’re trying to entice prospective buyers to fall in love with your property, you must offer them enough space that they can easily imagine their own belongings in the space and you will sell your home. Call it decluttering, simplifying, weeding out or spring cleaning– whatever you’d like – as long as you don’t skip this critical step. And the best part about it is that in doing so, you’ll get a head start on the packing process.

Start by counting the pieces of furniture in each room and reduce that number by one-third. Then, pack up artwork on the walls, personal pictures on the mantel, books in bookcases, souvenirs scattered throughout the home, baskets on the kitchen cabinets, and any items with written sayings, like: “Dog lover lives here.”  Sure, the rooms may look empty to you, but your buyers will think that they look open and airy.

Rent a storage space to store your items off the property. Don’t pile them in the basement or garage since these are both parts of the property that need to be staged as well.

4. Clean and Repair Your Home

As you declutter, you will most likely reveal dust bunnies and nail holes throughout the home. If you want to sell your home fast, you must clean your home like it’s never been cleaned before. Invest in a professional cleaning service for a deep thorough cleaning (including the windows) and then keep it maintained in between showings.

Patch up holes, apply a fresh coat of paint and be up-front about any issues. Staging isn’t about covering up existing problems. If you’re aware of something that needs repair, don’t try to cover it up. Offer full disclosure to reassure buyers that you’re not trying to trick them and that everything else in the home is in good repair. Put a price on the problem; for example, get a professional estimate for a new roof to offer peace of mind for buyers regarding the scope of the repair necessary.

5. Drive Interest Online with Photos That Flatter Your Home

Now that your home is decluttered, repaired and cleaned, it’s time to set the stage. Each room in your home should flow well, have a natural, visual focus based on how furniture is arranged and a balanced choice of warm and cool colors.

Now, hopefully you took pictures of each room in your home before you started the staging process so you have a before and after comparison of your efforts. Because after you made the transformation into a buyer-friendly home, it’s time to take more pictures using the power of the camera’s eye. Even if you’re not a professional photographer, you can greatly boost the quality of your photos with a few simple reminders. Using a good camera with a wide-angle lens (if you don’t have one, borrow one), use lighting to your advantage (keep all lights on and curtains open) and shoot from different angles to highlight your home’s best features.

Remember, before buyers even pull into your driveway, their first impression comes from the images you display online. Make sure they represent your home in the best light possible.

6. Keep Your Home Sale-Ready…Without Being Afraid to Live In It

The final step in the home staging process is to keep your home sale-ready…without being afraid to live in it. Give everyone in the family a heads-up that the next few weeks may be challenging, that you expect their full support and cooperation and that you’re willing to bribe them shamelessly. Pizza party, anyone? Seriously though, every day that your home is actively listed on the market, you need to be prepared to show it at a moment’s notice.

Here are a few daily reminders to ensure that prospective buyers will see you home as their own the moment they walk through your door: sweep front entryways, pick up mail and newspapers (and keep them out of sight), keep fresh flowers in the front hall, open all curtains and blinds, pick up and hide all personal items, make all beds, wipe down all sinks and counters, close toilet lids, hide evidence of pets, and crack a window to let fresh air inside.

Moving On

That’s it! You’ve now done everything you possibly can to help prospective buyers fall in love with your home. Enjoy living in your clean, spacious home while it’s on the market…and then embrace the move to your new home when the time is right.