Tips on How to Stage Your Home for a Quick Sale

Home staging is “a form of visual merchandising that draws on some of the fundamentals of interior design”. “The object of staging is to flatter the property but not be too obvious about it, like being dressed without drawing particular attention to what you’re wearing.” Home staging is not the same as decorating. Decorating is about personal style, while staging makes your home appealing to the largest pool of buyers.

When dealing with such a significant financial transaction as selling a home, you do not want to settle for a lower selling price or a longer marketing period than you must. Relative to the amount of time and money involved, staging company Mississauga may be one of the most lucrative projects you ever undertake. Potential buyers are not just looking for a structure to inhabit—they are also looking for a way to fulfil their dreams and improve their lifestyle. Staging can create a more emotional purchase for the buyer, which ultimately can generate more money for the seller. Home staging is also beneficial because potential buyers do not want to see work that needs to be done upon moving into the home. 

According to the NAR report, the most common rooms that are staged are the living room (93%), kitchen (84%), owner's bedroom (78%), and dining room (72%). Try to employ the following techniques in as many rooms of the house as you can afford and have time for.

A clean home shows a potential buyer that you have taken good care of the property. Ideally, you should clean every part of the house, from the floors to the ceilings—and everything in between. If you do not have new appliances in the kitchen, make sure the existing ones are spotless. Likewise, make sure your bathrooms sparkle, from the corners of the tub to the sink drain, to that spot behind the toilet you do not think anyone can see. Your goal should be to make everything look new.

There are two major problems with clutter. One is that it distracts buyers from your home's features. The other is that it makes it seem like the home has less space. Now is the time to box up and put into storage the things you do not need on a day-to-day basis (think: knickknacks, games, papers, seasonal clothes, and messy hobbies). It is also time to get rid of things you no longer need—like the expired food in the back of the cabinets, and the clothes and toys the kids have long since outgrown. 

Buyers need to be able to envision themselves in your home, so remove all the family photos, keepsakes, and refrigerator art. Keep clothes hidden away as much as possible, and make sure the bathroom counters are empty (except for hand soap, of course). Likewise, put away all the toys and anything else that is highly personal or evocative of the home's current inhabitants.

Even if you have plenty of cash, do not put too much money into the staging process. You want to emphasize the home's best features, but keep in mind that what sells the home and what makes the home usable for the buyer are not necessarily the same thing.