The one mistake NOT to make when staging a home

The concept of staging a home is simple: allow buyers to visualize themselves living in the home. However, to do so, you must completely remove yourself from the equation.

In fact, leaving remnants of the previous family behind will go a long way toward sabotaging your efforts to sell. Even personal photos, for that matter, can have a larger impact than you might think. They have a way of convincing buyers that the home isn’t theirs and never will be. Your goal is to establish a blank slate — something the buyers can mold into their own living space.

Keep in mind that de-cluttering makes your rooms look larger and more inviting. We all know that a spotless house is almost certainly not a lived-in house, but the reality is, home buyers do not want lived-in houses, they want an ideal houses. Get rid of anything that might suggest the home belonged to someone else. Show them this idea by getting rid of any clutter such as piles of papers and magazines, unsightly wires, remote controls and more. This will also help to give your home the feeling of a spacious area and expansive views.

Of course, there is an entire laundry list of things I could tell you to do, but nothing will contribute to the sale of your home more than avoiding this simple yet critical mistake.

Remember that you have been living in the house and when we look at something every day we get use to seeing it. Bring in a new set of eyes. Ask a friend or 2 to stop by for coffee and get her honest opinion on the house and decor. Sometimes seeing things with fresh eyes makes a world of difference.

Look beyond the to-do lists you have probably seen a million times at this point; and make sure you are checking the boxes on the don’t-do list as well.

If you feel you need help figuring out what are the best things to change, update, remove or add before listing your home call our office! Heather Reardon, our in-house home stager will be glad to stop by and guide you. With her help your house will sell in no time!

Happy Listing!