Many of the tips for showing your home online hold one important piece of the puzzle above all else, especially in the early stages of selling a home—staging. Good staging is the best way to sell a home fast, and to the right buyer at the right price.
What is home staging? It’s the art of putting your best foot forward with a potential buyer—by dressing your home to the nines and optimizing it with the right décor, you’re much more likely to make a more valuable impression.
It’s about more than just curb appeal, too, although that’s also important to consider—here are our top tips for showing your home to potential buyers and putting the package of a lifetime together for them:
1. Remove All Clutter
If you’re still living in the home you’re selling, a clean sweep of the entire premises is one of our most important tips for showing your home. Your kitchen is a great place to begin—clear off your counters, islands, and tabletops entirely.
Once your space has been successfully decluttered, you might consider using a few high-quality selects to sell the idea of it to anybody passing through. Use this same strategy for any furniture that you have staged in the home, as well.
Good taste is key. Many realtors can also recommend staging companies offering furniture rentals, so never feel limited to only what you own.
Your fancy Kitchenaid mixer, accompanied by a beautiful ceramic vase with a few new, clean wooden utensils, makes the area feel like a home without overwhelming. Try similar tactics in your bathrooms, bedrooms, living room, and dining room.
2. Scrape up the Grime
Small DIY projects like eradicating any dark spots in your bathroom grout and painting over the baseboards make everything feel pristine and spotless. Any fixer-uppers present will become all too obvious after giving your entire property the scrub-down of its life.
Even very small things like re-sealing the edges of your kitchen sink can make the home feel more expensive and luxe. Squeegee the windows and really get into all the nooks and crannies—addressing any signs of disrepair may increase your home’s perceived value greatly, especially in the eyes of your eventual appraiser. Leave no stone unturned in this regard.
3. Don’t Forget the Outside
Many tips for showing your home to potential buyers involve depersonalizing the home’s interior. However, the exterior is just as important, especially for covert drive-bys.
A well-manicured front lawn, a fresh coat of paint, and a few choice landscaping considerations make your home look like a winner from the get-go. Curb appeal is one of the most economical ways to make the property shine, and it takes little time to do on your own.
Often, it takes little more than a bit of elbow grease to polish everything up. Take some time to replace any unattractive lighting, the numbers on the house, or perhaps old welcome mats.
4. Let It Shine
You may currently have the curtains drawn in your home office, but when it’s time to show the place off, you’ll want to utilize as much natural lighting as possible. A clean, well-lit living space is the perfect blank canvas for potential buyers to ruminate upon, making this one of our favorite tips for showing your home to others.
Natural lighting is one way to freshen up your home after it’s been staged; a delightfully fragrant room spray and even vases of freshly-plucked flowers can also make a great sensory impression. It truly is the little things—reed diffusers, beautiful art, and small accessories like a clean stack of sticky notes on your desk—that paint a picture and tell a story.
It’s your home. Show potential buyers all the memories they can build under this roof, just as you did. Their journey begins here.
Take Home Staging to the Next Level
Whether you hire a professional home staging company or are adamant about doing it all on your own, there are many ways to make a positive splash. Begin with the character of your home, and do what you can to emphasize everything you love about it.
After the hard part has been taken care of, we invite you to find a free quote for your upcoming move. Colonial Van Lines can help make every move an adventure—our reliable team of moving pros have everything you need to find success in your new home.
