Home staging is a perennially popular subject, even in a hot real estate market. If you can't afford to hire someone to stage your house for sale, there are still many tricks anyone can do to make their house appeal to buyers. Virginia homeowner Carley Hamilton blogged about staging her own home; it was so successful, she sold her house within two days of listing it with a bidding war. We've excerpted some of her more interesting tips here; the full post can be found on her site. Carley did a lot of work, but hey, she got results.
Get a great agent and also a great photographer
We can attest to the latter—we look at a lot of real estate listing photos, and good photos make all the difference today; everyone looks at listings online first. Carley also says that a good agent will tell you what needs to go from your house: out-of-season clothes, knickknacks, and so on should go to a storage unit.
Minimize visual clutter…
While this is something everyone says, Carley goes the extra length. She removed extra pieces of furniture, removed rugs, and rearranged every room to maximize floor space and highlight the floors. After all, the floor is the first thing you notice in any room—make it count.
…Especially in the kitchen
We can't even tell you how many real estate listings we see with so many tiresome tchotchkes cluttering up the kitchen and distracting the eye. Carley went hardcore in her kitchen: she removed all her extra appliances (ice cream maker, blender), made sure her countertops were clear, and removed all the clutter around the sink, like the soap, dish rag, and so on. Put them under the sink—buyers probably won't look there anyway.
Dump those bath products
Especially for your listing photos, buyers don't need to know what brand of shampoo you prefer or see your loofah. Get rid of the excess and stash the stuff you actually use out of sight.
· How to Stage Your Home for Selling Fast [U-Fab]