Because a high percentage of home buyers –up to 44% — look for available properties online, one of the first things they see is your house’s curb appeal and outside appearance. Not only that, but many looking for homes for sale will be more open to buying a house for sale that’s slightly out of their price range if they’re able to see themselves in the interior of the home.
For this reason, an important component when you sell your own home without the help of a realtor is knowing how to stage your house. With the following tips, you can increase the chances of your potential buyer pool and get your home on and off the market all on your own.
- Clean your house of clutter.
Before you can properly stage your home in a way that’s aesthetically pleasing to potential buyers, you need to clean it. Clutter can make your house appear smaller than it actually is and can make even the prettiest of rooms look drab.
If you haven’t moved out yet and you have a basement, place boxes down there where it makes more sense for buyers to see them. After all, you need to ensure that your potential buyers can envision themselves currently living in the house, not already packed up to leave.
- Clean the face of your house.
You don’t need an expert landscaper in order to sell your own home and make the outside of it look beautiful. Mow your lawn a few days before a showing to make sure that your yard looks clean and isn’t covered in leftover mowings. Freshen up your garden with flowers already in bloom and get rid of dead bushes or weeds. Wash the windows re-stain the porch if necessary.
- Make your home look lived-in, but not chaotic.
When your house is too clean during a staging it can make the house look stale. By placing fresh flowers and fruit on tables, you create the image of someone having been there and someone coming back to them. For the potential homebuyer, they can envision that that person is them.
If you have specific places or rooms where an activity is done or performed, strategically stage that place. For instance, don’t have your child’s toys strewn messily around their playroom. Instead, have the room clean save for a well-placed coloring book and crayon to give the appearance of life interrupted.
When it comes to selling a house, looks may not be everything but they’re certainly something. Staging your home in a flattering and aesthetically pleasing way is one of the most important parts of getting to sell your own home. When selling your house on the market, make sure your rooms are clear of clutter and that your buyers can see themselves living there. With these tips in mind, you can increase your pool of potential buyers without the help of a realtor.
