Staging Your Home: Getting Your Home Ready to Sell

8 Staging Secrets for Selling Your Home

An open house is an excellent way to get your home seen be many potential buyers, but it's more than just opening your door. Our REALTORS® often get asked for advice on how to get a home ready for sale or for an open house. Staging is essential! You'll want to make sure it looks appealing and inviting to as many buyers as possible. That ensures your home sells as quickly and at the best price. These tips will have your home looking amazing and ready to sell.

1. First Steps
   Before you start it's important to know what helps sell your home and have a plan. Identify what kinds of buyers you're likely to see. Different types of buyers will be looking for different features and that can give you an idea of what you can highlight in your home. You've probably taken care of repairs, decluttering and curb appeal. But there are a lot of other smaller things you can do to make your home look inviting.
   
   
2. Go for Neutral
   Sellers are often told to repaint in a neutral color. The point is to make it universally appealing and give an overall stylish and cohesive look. You'll also need to make the décor more neutral. Bedrooms may need special attention. Many linens and décor items for bedrooms contain lots of patterns, frilly accents, and trendy colors that can look dated or be distracting.
   
   Remove your vacation photos, collections and anything that is uniquely you. You don't want to distract buyers with personalization. Leave a few strategically placed décor items to help draw visual attention to your home's best attributes, but don't go overboard. Color should be used as an accent for interest, and not look overwhelming.
   
   
3. Rearrange the Furniture
   You may have already removed extra and bulky furniture, so consider rearranging what's left. You can create an inviting area for socializing in the living room with a symmetrical arrangement that sits off the wall. Or you might want to arrange the furniture to help draw visual attention to a particular feature.
   
   
4. Style the Dining Room Table
   Remove table extensions and extra chairs to make the room look bigger. Add some style with a vase of flowers or centerpiece. If you have stylish dinnerware, a couple of place settings may look nice and help the buyer envision everyday life in the space.
   
   
5. Style Extra Rooms with a Purpose
   If you have an extra room or two, make sure it doesn't look like you've been using it as a dumping ground. Make it have a specific purpose. Another bedroom, an office, or a workout room are some options. You can borrow or rent furniture if necessary.
   
   
6. Encourage Buyers to See the Entire House
   Visually engage potential buyers and encourage them to continue through the home. Place something that draws the eye at the end of a hallway, top of the stairs or in a corner. A piece of artwork, a window seat or accent lighting are some examples.
   
   
7. Light It Up
   Natural light is always appealing so open blinds and curtains. Turn on lights and consider using brighter bulbs if your fixtures will accommodate them.
   
   
8. Do a Last-Minute Check
   Before you open the doors do a last-minute check for toys or other misplaced items on the floor, clean counters, and sinks, vacuumed floors, and offensive odors.

When you're ready to list your Mansfield home for sale, contact Haring Realty to get your home-selling journey started.