If you have put your home on the market, at some point, you are going to have to show it. Real estate experts recommend staging your home to make it more appealing to home buyers. Whether they are looking at houses or condos for sale, you want to do certain things to make your home more attractive.
7 Tips for the Proper Staging of Your Home:
- Make it look good from the outside. When people are looking at their real estate options, before they even tour a property, they go by. They may drive by or walk by, either way, getting it to look good from outside can play an important role. Of course when you are talking about luxury condos such as Trump Tower Chicago condos, there is no need to do anything but if you have other real estate for sale, you may want to think about it. At the very least, make sure the front is clean and clear. Go by yourself and see what you think.
- Clean your home. This may seem like a given but a number of people do not take this step. Before you have anyone come by and look at your home, you need to either clean it top to bottom yourself or have a cleaning service come in and do the job for you. You want the grout in the bathroom to be totally scrubbed, get the windows sparkling clean, your floors need to be done and every surface of your home should be shiny and new. This is a simple step that can go a long way in the world of real estate sales.
- Declutter your home. Most homes that have been lived in have clutter. It is a fact of life. When you are selling your home, you need to get rid of as much of it as you possibly can. Some people go as far as to get a storage unit where they put a bunch of their belongings and family stuff. It will be worth it, in the long run. If you have great closets, for instance, people will not see that if yours are bursting with your belongings. Empty spaces look larger, that is just a simple fact of life. You are not selling you style, you are selling your home. Just keep this in mind. And this is not a personal thing against you, everyone has clutter, but getting rid of it will help sell your home.
- Check out your floors. Of course, you will clean these at the same time that you clean your entire home but you may also want to have hardwood floors refinished. If you cannot do this but have areas that are not great, the strategic use and placement of area rugs can make a big difference. You can buy inexpensive and nice looking rugs to cover those areas.
- Put a few decorative items around. You want your home to be clutter free but a few nice items placed in the right spot can add a lot to any real estate listing stand out more. This can include some fruit in a basket or a vase of fresh flowers. A few plants that have been well taken care of will add something to any home. A bowl of fruit such as lemons is visually appealing and has a nice smell.
- Look at how your furniture is arranged. Your living room is especially important for this task. Symmetrically arranged rooms look best. In your living room, you should put some space between the furniture and the walls. Create warm gathering spaces.
- Look at your dining room. The kitchen is often viewed as the heart of the home but the dining room is also an important space as well. If you have a larger dining room table, you can make it look more inviting by dressing it up with small candle holders or floral arrangements. Keep in mind that a large floral arrangement can look formal and stiff.
When you are looking to sell real estate, you want buyers to see themselves in your home. That is one of the reasons you stage it to look like a nice, clean, open space.
