DIY and Pro Help With Your Home Projects

Staging Your Home

Staged home with rental furniture
Staging your home is really about getting the most cash out of your house. Staging can start with simple changes that make the house more attractive and go as far as renting furniture to make the house look like a show home. Staging consultants can just give advice or they can supply you with a complete set of matching furniture that really makes people go wow when they tour your home.

The key to staging your home is to try to view the property through the eyes of a potential buyer. After years of living in a house, many people just can?t do that. They are too adjusted to seeing the house as it has been and can?t open their minds. If this is your case, then you should hire a professional. Their years of experience and ability to keep an open mind will allow them to make suggestions that can really increase the selling price of your house.

Here is a quick list of things to do if you are staging the outside of your own home:

1. Remove all clutter from the outside of your house. This includes potted plant on a patio, trash cans and piles of things you have collected over the years. If you don't have a beautiful grill, get rid of it. Remove everything possible. Hide things in the garage if you must or rent a storage area.

2. Clean the gutter and roof, sweep the walkways and patios, remove any cobwebs from the corners.

3. Remove any weeds, leaves or debris from the yard. Mow the lawn (on a diagonal) to show fresh cut lines in the grass.

4. Wash the windows inside and out. Clean windows make a house brighter and everyone likes a bright house.

5. Trim, prune or remove any plants the hide the house from the street or block any light from entering the windows.

6. Make sure that the condition of the front entryway including the front door is super clean. Repaint if needed. Many buyer will make a bay/pass decision before they even enter the house.

7. Try to remove any grease ,oil and dirt stains from the driveway and walkways.

8. If the landscaping is all old an tire, plant some new smaller plants on either side of the entry. Fresh plant can give the image of a recently upgraded house.

9. Install fresh mulch in any area that does not have grass.

Once you pass the muster on the outside of your home, you need to seal the deal with the inside touches. Here are some staging suggestions for inside the home:

1. Remove all clutter from the home. Rent a mini-warehouse if you don?t have enough storage space. Even your closet will look bigger if they are less packed. Hide your refrigerator magnet collection. Move your collectables into storage. Display only the best 1 to 3 pieces of your collection in one area. Table should only have one, three or five simple object on them. Clear all unnecessary object from your countertops. Remove appliances and decorations from the kitchen countertops and make sure they are spotless.

2. In the bathroom, remove all clutter. Display one soap, one shampoo and one conditioners. That is it. Have a maximum of 5 things on the counter. Group them together.

3. Display fresh flower in the entry, kitchen and bathrooms About 40 dollars in flowers will make your home smell and feel like a special place. . 4. Remove any excess furniture. Keep objects in groups of 1, 3 and 5. The smaller the room, the more critical it is to simplify.

5. If you still have your college furniture in a $500,000 home, pay a staging expert to bring in appropriate furniture

6. .If you don't have any furniture in the home, pay and expert to bring in select pieces to make the house look lived in.

7. If you have a pet (dog or cat), move them into the garage if possible and shampoo the carpets and furniture. Many people are sensitive to pet smells.

8. Patch and paint area that stick out as needing maintenance.

9. Leavethe lights on and soft music playing during open houses.

Everyone wants to sell his or her house as quickly and smoothly as possible. Staging is one way to make that happen. Many realtors will give suggestions on how to improve the value of your home with free staging advice. If you can?t to do it yourself, hire a pro but expect to pay $1000 to $2000 if you want them to partially furnish your home.


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