How Staging Helps Sell Your Home

First impressions really can mean everything, especially when trying to sell a home. According to Sandra Rinomato of the popular HGTV show Property Virgins, “Get it clean, clean, clean! If your house isn’t clean, it instantly sends up negative thoughts that the home is not well maintained. If your house is spotless, you’re ahead of the game.”

Cleaning is not all you can do to sell your home more quickly. Staging is an option that really works. Rinomato offers, “Until recently, staging meant pulling out all the stops-setting the dining table with your best china and crystal, arranging flowers, lighting candles. Now we take the minimalist approach. Basically you want to strip the house to its bare essentials, depersonalize it so buyers can superimpose themselves and their lifestyle on the house.”

Here are some tips for working to stage your home;
•Visit model homes and examine shelter magazines for inexpensive decorating ideas. Always keep in mind you are not decorating for yourself but for the general public.

•Start with the outside. Give the house a fresh coat of paint, add shiny hardware to the front door and plant a few flowers to send a subliminal message the house is loved and well cared for.

•Declutter every room to make it look larger. Get rid of family pictures, trophies, knickknacks. Closets and drawers should be no more than 30 percent full.

•Invest in eco-friendly but bright lights. Open the drapes or remove them completely. “Light, bright rooms give the impression this is a happy place — and everyone wants to move into a happy place,” said Rinomato.

•Feature only a few pieces of furniture with mainstream appeal. Pull pieces away from walls to make rooms look bigger.

•Make sure a room’s primary use is obvious. A bedroom should look like a bedroom, not an office, hobby center or gym.

•Bedrooms and kitchens are difficult to stage because they are in daily use, but make the effort. Clear everything off counters and nightstands, roll up the rugs and hide the laundry hamper. Buff the cabinets with car wax and clean under the sinks. Invest in pristine white bed linens and towels.

•Minimize the “pet effect.” Remove food bowls and litter boxes to the utility room. Deodorize thoroughly.

•Organize the utility room and garage. Hang up the bicycles, roll up the hose. Renting a storage locker is worth the cost if it helps you sell faster and for a higher price.

•Once your house is staged, invite your friends or Realtor over and walk them through to get an objective opinion.

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty agents can help you with tips on staging your home for the best sale possible.

Information for this post was obtained from The Orlando Sentinel article entitled, “”Staging” Helps Sell Homes” written by Jean Patterson and appeared on March 12, 2010.