Ten Easy House Staging Tips!

Everyone’s heard of curb appeal but does it stop there? The outside is manicured to catch a potential buyer’s attention but is it enough?  The answer is simple; No. It’s like buying a cake because the frosting is so appealing but when you cut into the cake and it is not that great inside. The inside needs to be special as well, to entice an offer. This is called staging and depending on your market can put your house far ahead of the competition especially in Bangor Maine and the surrounding areas.  

If you have a limited budget to work with, there are still many simple things you can do that will improve the appearance of your home. Staging your home can make the difference between a sale and your home sitting on the market for a long time. Following are the ten basic areas that can make a difference when selling your home. Plus utilizing self storage will help you towards your goal of selling your home. 

#1 House Staging Tip: Brighten your Exterior

This will be the first thing a potential homeowner sees. It may be the one thing that determines their interest on the inside. Spend some extra time making sure your lawn, trees, hedges and other plants are well-maintained. Trim, prune and eliminate any weeds in your yard. Add color with some flower boxes and brighten your windows with a good cleaning.

Inexpensive Touch: Purchase new door mats for the doors to add a fresh clean look to the entrance way. 

Pro Tip: Pressure wash the exterior of your home to give it a freshly painted look.

#2 House Staging Tip: Clean your Home

Make sure your rooms sparkle, take extra care in the kitchen and bathrooms! If you can’t replace your kitchen appliances, make sure the ones you have are immaculate. No one wants to see crumbs, spaghetti splatter or grease in their potential home. Pay extra attention when cleaning your shower, tub and those hidden places behind the toilet. Your goal is to make it all look new. 

Inexpensive Touch: Replace the shower curtain to freshen up the bathroom, keep it to a neutral color, no prints. 

Pro Tip: Replace the kitchen appliances, buyers are looking for new appliances that come with a home.

#3 House Staging Tip: Declutter your Space

Clutter distracts buyers from seeing your home’s great features. The other aspect is it gives the illusion your home doesn’t have enough space or storage. Remove all knick knacks and non essential items. Remember that buyers will be checking out your closets so finding a self storage unit to store these treasures in will benefit you two ways. It will declutter your home and give you a head start on your packing after your home sells.

Inexpensive Touch: Put all non essential items in self storage, throw away things you won’t be taking to a new home because it’s beyond its prime. Hold a yard sale or donate the other things that still have value to them. 

Pro Tip: Hire a moving company to come pack up your home except for the basics.

#4 House Staging Tip: Depersonalize your Home

This may sound harsh but buyers need to visualize their possessions in your space. Remove all family photos, refrigerator art and items of a personal nature. Put away the children’s toys and anything else that is highly personal. 

Inexpensive Touch: Add these to the boxes in your self storage unit to keep the house more impersonal. 

Pro Tip: Use a moving company to pack up your belongings.

#5 House Staging Tip: Remove Odors from your Home

Any potential buyer will be put off by odors in your home. Identify odors and remove their source. As we are immune to our home’s smell, ask a friend to help you. Deep cleaning will eliminate a lot of the smells.

Inexpensive Touch: Just before showing your home bake apples with cinnamon or cookies to fill your home with their inviting aroma. Burn scented candles with a homey feel and grind a lemon in your garbage disposal. Remove any garbage and open the windows for some fresh air. 

Pro Tip: Hire a cleaning company to shampoo your carpets and deodorize your home. This is recommended if you smoke inside your home. Start going outside to smoke to keep your home fresh smelling.

#6 House Staging Tip: Wallpaper and Paint Tips 

Fresh warm neutral tones on the walls helps a buyer envision their own decor in the rooms. Remove all wallpaper or custom paints, each person has their own taste in decorating and custom paints and wallpaper may put off a buyer because their taste is totally different. 

Inexpensive Touch: Remove wallpaper and freshen walls with warm neutral colors. DO NOT paint over wallpaper. 

Pro Tip: Hire a painter to freshen the paint in your home.

#7 House Staging Tips: Lighting is Everything 

Show off your home’s beauty, open the curtains and let the natural light in. Supplement this with additional lighting where necessary.  Your freshly cleaned windows will add sparkle as well. 

Inexpensive Touch: Wash all fixtures and replace any broken or damaged ones.

Pro Tip: Upgrade any outdated fixtures with fresh warm lighting to add to the ambience. 

#8 House Staging Tips: Flooring 

Dirty rugs and linoleum will deter a potential buyer from your home. Consider which rooms would benefit the most from a flooring upgrade and consider hardwood floors for added value. If a carpet can be easily cleaned rent a carpet cleaner and freshen the rugs. 

Inexpensive Touch: Upgrade the bathroom floors, they have relatively small areas therefore are the least expensive to do. Use high-quality vinyl flooring that mimic ceramic or stone tiles.

Pro Tip: Replace bad flooring with hardwood floors, ceramic or stone tiles to add long term value to your home.

#9 House Staging Tip: The Furniture

Use the right size furniture to give your space the homey feel. Too much furniture will create a small, cluttered looking space. Using furniture that is too small will make a space feel cold and impersonal. The goal is a warm and inviting living space. 

Inexpensive Touch: Rent nice furniture to stage your home. This will give it a new bright look without breaking your wallet with new furniture.

Pro Tip: Hire someone to stage your home to give it a homey feel. 

#10 House Staging Tip: Define your Rooms

Make sure each room has it’s single defined purpose. This helps buyers see how to maximize the home to it’s best potential. If you have finished rooms you are using for storage, clean them out and turn them into an office or another simple bedroom. Utilize every space to it’s potential giving the buyer an overall experience that will have them submitting an offer so they can put their decorating twist on the house. 

Just before an open house or showing, make sure your staging efforts have the maximum impact. Use some last minute touches to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Fresh air and cut flowers are the top two last minute touches that can put your efforts over the top. Open your windows at least 15 minutes prior to a showing! Another tip is the fresh baked smell of cookies, it conveys the warm home feel that often leads to an offer. Purchase some “slice and bake” cookie dough, bake and let the aroma fill your home.  Overall you want your potential buyer to visualize themselves in this space.  Specifically, to get the most out of your staging efforts your home should appeal to a broad range of buyers. The more people it appeals to the more offers you will receive for your home.