If you’ve ever sold a home before, you may know how important it is to have your home staged properly to encourage new buyers to sell. Staging a home is a much different task than decorating your home. When you decorate your home, you’re looking to add stylistic touches that match your personal style. Home decor and furniture are selected strategically to suit your needs and make you feel like you’re at home – because you are! Alternatively, staging a home for a sale is a much different endeavor. The most important thing to keep in mind when staging a home is what home buyers are looking for. You aren’t staging a home for yourself, but you’re staging it so potential buyers will be intrigued and impressed by how the home accents look in the space.
Hiring a home stager is a smart idea because it can be tough for homeowners to understand what elements go into staging a home for a sale. Professional staging companies may bring in new decor pieces just for the home selling process, and these pieces will replace certain pieces in your home that aren’t the best fit for staging. If you have a very unique or eclectic style, the stager may select items that are a little more traditional so that the potential buyers who are attending your open house or doing a home walk-through with a real estate agent aren’t distracted by your style choices.
One thing to keep in mind when staging your home for a home sale is to limit or remove all personal effects. People who are looking to buy a home aren’t interested in looking at the current homeowner’s wedding photos or baby photos hanging on the walls in the house. They want to picture themselves living in the home, and having a range of personal items that are meaningful to your family, but not to strangers, can pose an issue.
Another thing homeowners looking to sell the home should be aware of is the time of the year in which they are looking to sell. If it’s the middle of summer and your family frequents the beach or the pool. it may be normal to leave beach towels and other accessories in your mudroom, for example, but it’s best to remove these items before a potential home buyer comes to visit. If you’re selling in the wintertime and your family is keen on decking the entire house with fun Christmas decorations, you should rethink your decorating strategy for the holidays. You may want to leave some lights up along with some simple holiday decor, but avoid too much decoration as it can be very distracting and turn potential buyers away.
For those looking for help selling or buying a home, you can learn more here about best practices and strategies.
