For Sale By Owner Home Staging Tips

A properly staged home sells more quickly and for a higher price than a home that is not staged. In order to be successful in staging it is important to avoid the sales ploys claiming to stage your home. A seller must be aware of what works and what does not work.

Defining Staging

 There are three ways to stage a home. The first and most successful way to stage a home implements easy to do steps the home owner can use himself that include landscaping, making minor repairs, de-cluttering, cleaning, and de-personalizing their space. Another form of staging sellers employ is paying rent for a company to put furnishings in their vacant home. The least successful form of staging is paying a company to furnish their vacant home and placing a house sitter in the home.

What Works

The most successful staging is using a variety of sensible techniques that can be done by most home owners. The key to successful staging is enhancing your home's appearance not hiding the flaws. Successful staging utilizes the existing décor making minor adjustments to make a home more modern.

• Curb Appeal: First impressions are everything, and the outward appearance of your home should leave a positive impression. Trimming the lawn and shrubs, adding flowers for color, and painting the exterior are all inexpensive and easy methods that beautify and improve on your home.
• De-Clutter & De-personalize: It is important to open up your home and take away distractions. Removing bulky furniture and unnecessary items in odd places creates more space. Cleaning and organizing places in your home like closets also improves your home's appeal. Personal belongings like family photos present distractions, and by removing them your buyers can focus on the space for themselves. Further, getting rid of excess belongings helps you get a head start on cleaning and packing up your home.
• Cleaning & Repairing: Before showing your home it is essential to clean it up. Washing windows, vacuuming carpets, and clearing dirty dishes are a few things to do to rid your home of more distractions. Getting rid of odors and messes may seem minor but it pays off. Further, fixing holes in walls and various simple repairs pay off in a big way. Fixing small issues means less work for potential buyers making your home more attractive.

What to Avoid

There are some staging traps sellers should avoid because they end up costing more money and these methods will not help the home sell quickly.

• Avoid Renting furniture to place in a vacant home Many companies will lead you to believe your vacant home should be set up like model homes for builders. Builders, however, only furnish one home out of an entire neighborhood. They can afford to set up one model home because they are selling an entire subdivision full of homes. Instead of paying to furnish your vacant home you can save the money you would have used and lower the price of your home. A lower price tag is more appealing than modern furniture to buyers.
• Avoid Companies that supply furniture for the vacant home and an occupant. Sellers should avoid this staging because furniture does not sell a home. It is easier to show a vacant home and it can be as successful. The money used to pay for the furniture and the added expense of housing a tenant could be saved and the listing price lowered instead. Also, having an occupant makes the home harder to show because appointments must be made around the occupant's schedule. Many sellers end up losing valuable time due to this arrangement. Also, there is incentive for the occupant for the house not to sell because he has a place to live. Once the home sells, the occupant is essentially homeless.

In order to sell your home quickly you must avoid these traps. They will end up costing you more money than it would to have simply lowered the sales price of your home.