17 Mar 10 top tips on staging your home
If you are selling your home, the Experts in Property have 10 top tips on how to get your home looking the best for buyers. These tips are all cheap and effective things you can do yourself – doing these could also increase the value of your home! Why not give them a go?
De-Clutter
The last thing a buyer wants to see is all your stuff! It makes it harder to imagine how they’d use the space and making your home look bigger is what sells.
Items we recommend packing away are clothes, magazines/papers, generally anything that you don’t use frequently.
Remember that buyers will be exploring storage space so don’t pack your miscellaneous items into cupboards, pack them away into boxes and store in a place completely out of the way.
- De-Personalise
To help your buyer envisage themselves in a space, it’s best to de-personalise rooms by creating a blank canvas. Having personal photos, cluttered work surfaces, clothes and personal items on display makes it harder for the buyer to feel at ease in that space.
Whilst it might feel strange having your home cleared of most of your things, it is proven that the clearer the space is, the quicker an offer will come in.
Renovate and Rejuvenate!
Selling your home is a great way of getting those little niggly things you’ve been putting off for a while, out of the way! Painting tired woodwork, fixing cupboards and getting rid of scuffs on walls will show the buyer that your home is well cared for and there’s going to be minimal work to do on their part after they move in. You’ll be surprised what a lick of paint will do to make your home come alive again!
- Stay Neutral
Whilst you’re renovating, remember don’t go too mad with bright paint and bold wallpaper. Try and keep the decoration neutral as it’ll help buyers focus on what they’ll do with the space after they’ve moved in.
White, grey and beige are the top three colours when it comes to re-decorating.
Even if your buyers want to do something bold later on, it’s best to give them the blank canvas to do so.
Re-arrange furniture
To help your buyers visualize their own furniture in your house, it’s best to create as much space as possible.
Pieces of furniture which have seen better days, anything that you’re not using frequently needs to be removed.
It’s all about creating that blank canvas to help your buyers.
- Spring Clean!
It’s a lot of effort but cleaning your house, top to bottom really makes a huge difference, especially in the kitchen which is the most important space in a house. Dusting blinds, cleaning the fridge, deep cleaning carpets (or replacing tired flooring), cleaning windows and cleaning skirting boards all goes a long way to making the right, first impression.
Once you do it the first time, it becomes easier each week to keep on top of this. Introducing plants and a bowl of fruit into the house will give it a fresh feeling which goes a long way with buyers (also the old trick of baking bread before a viewing helps but you’re probably tired from all the cleaning to do this!).
Getting rid of any pet smells is also vitally important which leads us to our next tip…
Pets
Often homeowners become unaware of their pet odours and hairs so it’s always worth keeping on top of this as no one wants to see or smell this when they come through the front door.
When it comes to having your photos taken and viewings, keep your pets out of the house and tidy away toys. Keep them in the garage (with treats to keep them calm!) or with someone you and your pet knows and trusts.
- Lighting
Lighting is important and is often overlooked. No one wants to see a sad, dark room when they view a house. Open blinds and curtains, keep lights on in all your rooms (including any closets you have) to make it easier for your buyer to navigate around the house. Keeping a house nice and bright will go a long way in making your buyers feel at home.
- Judging a book by its cover… Curb Appeal
The outside of your house is what will bring your buyer in – having a messy front garden, a tired front door or with bins on show will put any buyer off.
Try and hide bins, tidy up the front garden and if it needs it, give your front door a lick of paint. Simple things that goes a long way.
- Keep Doors Open
Buyers will want to feel that they are welcome in your home when they are viewing so keeping internal doors open helps with this. It also creates a nice flow as they wander around the house.
If your doors needs upgrading or painting (if you have children, look out for stickers and pen marks!), it’s best to get this all sorted before your photos are taken and buyers come flooding through your door!
If you want to speak to an agent about selling or buying, please see here for our list of independent, award-winning agents.
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