How to get your house ready to sell ‒ The benefits of home staging
Are you interested in learning ways on how to get your house ready to sell and get the most money out of the sale of your home? Then learning the benefits of home staging is a must!
In this article I’ll be sharing the 7 steps to preparing your home for sale, tips and steps to reaching your desired goal. So read on to get inspired and make your home stand out from the rest!
Staging your home and taking steps to prepare it before putting it up for sale is especially important when your area is full of other properties that are for sale.
How I get houses to sell quickly and at premium price
During the 25+ years of being involved in interior design and home styling, I’ve lost count of how many properties I have staged to sell. But I do remember that every single one sold within a couple of days and for a lot higher than the asking price.
This was simply because these homes had been prepped and staged to attract as many people as possible. Some buyers even paid a significant additional amount to purchase all the furniture and décor inside the properties. That is the power and benefits of staging a home!
When you stage a home, you are helping prospective buyers imagine themselves living there. You can do this by highlighting the features of the home and making the space look attractive, welcoming, and comfortable.
So, if you’re wondering how to get your house ready to sell, make it stand out, and make buyers choose to put in an offer on your house instead of the property that is down the street from you, you’ve come to the right place!
This is where the benefits of home staging come into play.
Should You Hire a Staging Company?
If your home and furnishings appear outdated or worn out, you might require additional assistance to revitalize its appearance and enhance its appeal before listing it on the market. You can hire a staging company to do all the work ‒ which involves them getting tradespeople to fix things that need attention. A staging company will also bring in key furniture and accessories to upgrade the look of your home.
The cost of professionally staging your home can vary significantly based on factors like your location, your home’s condition and size, as well as the style of your existing furniture. As a rule of thumb you can expect to spend as low as one thousand dollars or between 1 to 1.2% of list price. Home staging can be a worthwhile investment because according to studies most staged homes can see a return of over 7%. This means your home will sell for much more than if you don’t stage it!
However, you might not be ready to cover that expense. So, what do you do when you want to reap the benefits of home staging but want to do it more economically?
If you are serious about learning how to get your house ready to sell for a premium price and are willing to put some effort and time into it, then I have some guidelines and tips that will help you make your home appealing to prospective buyers.
You will still need to spend a bit of money to enhance your home, but it will be way less than hiring a professional home stager! So, by using your own furniture and accessories and the home staging knowledge you gain from this article you can become your own home stager!
The 7 steps for how to get your house ready to sell
Disclaimer: As you go through these tips, some may apply to you and some may not. This is meant to be a guide to help you put things into perspective so you know how to proceed.
The key point is to work with the style of your home, its features and your existing furniture and make the most of what you already have to attract buyers. That of course starts with knowing who those house hunters are most likely to be.
Benefits of home staging step 1: Know your buyers
A little research and effort go a long way when preparing your home for sale.
Check out your area demographics to understand who your likely buyers will be based on your house size and location and what they are looking for. Are the house hunters in your area first-time buyers, young singles, couples, families with kids, or empty nesters?
This is information that your real estate agent can share with you, but if you are selling your house without an agent (something you can do, but is not advisable) you need to know your buyer pool. This will not only help you make your house stand out but also enable you to focus on things to make it most appealing to the specific kind of people looking to buy your type of home in your specific area.
Knowing the type of buyers that may be interested in buying your house, is an important element of how to get your house ready to sell. Knowing your buyer can determine whether you need to play up the childrens rooms to appeal to families; or adjust the look of your home to attract working professionals that are working from home, or those retirees that are looking to downsize.
Make the most of these benefits of home staging by checking out other properties for sale in your area first. Do some detective work by going to that open house down the street and seeing what your competition is offering. This can inspire you and motivate you to go the extra mile to prep your home.
Benefits of home staging step 2: Look at your house through the eyes of the buyers
After living in your home for a while, you get used to the way it looks and stop noticing certain things. The trained eye of a home stager or an experienced real estate agent can identify areas of your home that need to be fixed or enhanced. But you too need to see your home with fresh eyes.
Stage 2: tip 1
To help you identify the areas in your home that need fixing up, take photos of the outside of your home and inside each room from different angles. You want to see what buyers will see when they are walking through your property.
Download the photos to your computer, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and take your time to look through the images carefully.
This will help you:
Notice specific areas that need to be spruced up
Write them down to create a “to-do” list
Do you see that front door or exterior shutters that look faded and worn, or the backyard that needs some attention? What about that wall by the stairs that has nail holes or scuff marks? Do your baseboards need patching and touching up with paint because your puppy decided to use them as a chew toy? Does your kitchen look cluttered, dark, and dated? Does your ceiling have a stain that may indicate an old water leak? These are all things that can put buyers off or make them write a low offer.
If you still need help seeing things for what they really are, then ask a friend or a relative to walk through your home and point out things that need attention. The more observant and critical the personality, the better. And try not to take their criticism personally. Remember, the end goal is to learn how to get your house ready to sell!
Focus on your desire to make the most of these benefits of home staging. With some “fixes” and strategic “beautification”, you can get a lot more money for your property than if you don’t put in the effort.
Make the most of the benefits of home staging with a few tweaks
Now, I am not saying you need to do a full renovation before putting your home on the market. But there are some small and big things that you can do to make your property more sellable.
Sometimes all it takes is a few tweaks to set your home apart in a good way. This is where a real estate agent can really help because they can narrow down what improvements or fixes will bring you the best return on investment and effort. Learning how to get your house ready to sell is about focusing on what will make the most difference in the eyes of house hunters. Be careful though, because there is such a thing as over-improving your property based on your neighborhood and market. Over-upgrading means you may not get a good return on the money you invested in updating your home.
Your agent can also refer you to a trustworthy handyman, or other tradespeople, who can make the necessary repairs if that is something you cannot tackle yourself.
Benefits of home staging step 3: Make a good first impression
The saying “You only have one chance to make a first impression” holds true in many situations but is especially important when someone is considering buying a property that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. And since you only have 7 seconds to leave a good first impression, your goal should be to make your home an exceptionally memorable one that sets it apart from the crowd.
Prospective buyers will remember the nice smelling, tidy house that looks well maintained. And will take note of your home’s “special features” that you took the time to emphasize.
So, what will those prospective buyers see when they drive up to your property?
Step 3, tip 1: The exterior is as Important as the Interior
A key element for how to get your house ready to sell is starting from the outside. If the outside of your house is attractive, your chances of attracting buyers to look at the rest of it is greater.
If the exterior of your property looks a bit dingy, quite often all it needs is a good wash to remove the built-up grime. You can rent a power washer from a local hardware store to clean the exterior walls, trim work, walkway, porch floor, etc.
If the paint on the body of the house is in good condition but the exterior looks a bit blah, you may want to consider painting the trim and front door a contrasting accent color to give it a fresh new look. Paint is a very powerful tool when you are staging your home.
Photo by At Home With Dia ©
The light-colored stucco of this house was freshened up by simply power-washing it. The trim and other exterior elements were then painted olive green and terracotta color to complement the home’s Spanish style and make it stand out. Instead of spending money replacing the not-so-attractive garage door, a coat of olive-green paint upgraded its look.
Step 3 tip 2: Clean up your front yard
It is very important that your landscaping is neat and well-manicured! Now is the time to prune those overgrown bushes or trees to let more light into the house. Give your flowerbeds a bit of a makeover by removing weeds and adding a few colorful flowers, and don’t forget to add a fresh layer of mulch. For a cohesive look try to match the mulch color to the color of your roof.
When you are staging your home to sell, a freshly cut lawn and tidy flowerbeds can really enhance the overall look of the home’s exterior.
Photo by At Home With Dia ©
In this Spanish-style home, the redwood chip mulch matches the terracotta tile roof and brings attention to the house’s overall exterior color scheme. To improve the view from the windows, the old fence got a fresh coat of paint in the same color as the house. This brings attention to the size of the large backyard which offers plenty of space to enjoy the outdoors.
To fully take advantage of the benefits of home staging make sure you take into consideration the entire circumference of your house. So, while you are focusing on the exterior of the house, look at your backyard and side yards.
Time to get dirty
Learning how to get your house ready to sell includes taking on some not-so-glamorous tasks such as removing unsightly items, plucking out weeds, and giving those areas the same attention as the front green space. Buyers will be looking out of the windows, and you want them to see usable, visually pleasing areas that they can imagine themselves enjoying. They are, after all, considering buying both the inside and outside of the property. So, go ahead and make that back patio welcoming and comfortable. I will cover more on that, in part 2 of this article, which focuses on the “pretty” side of home staging.
If you don’t have a front garden, then make sure the path leading to your front door looks clean and welcoming, and pay extra attention to your front door area.
Photo by At Home With Dia ©
Step 3. Tip3: Freshen up your exterior entrance area
Take a good look at your front door and the area around it. Remember that is where your prospective buyers will be standing as their real estate agent tries to get the key to open the door, so they will inevitably notice the details. This is where the benefits of home staging start to kick in.
Your front door is calling for attention
A big part of how to get your house ready to sell is looking at the details. The front door area needs to be spotless, so look at any exterior lanterns that may have cobwebs or dust and give them a good cleaning. If the door is looking a bit faded or worn, you can either give it a fresh coat of paint or simply spruce it up by giving it a good cleaning with furniture polish. The polish will darken the look of faded paint and give the door surface a nice sheen. For Wooden doors, Murphy Oil Soap Wood Cleaner works great too.
Don’t forget to polish the door handle too!
Replace your door mat with a fresh new simple mat and remove any word signs that you may have placed outside. An important thing to remember is that you need to neutralize your home to be appealing to the majority of interested house hunters. (more on that later).
To further enhance the front door entrance area, put one or two plants in colored pots that complement the door color or the home’s exterior color scheme. This truly makes a great first impression before the buyers even step foot in the house.
So now that we have dealt with the outside, let’s bring our attention to the interior of the property.
Benefits of home staging step 4: Freshen up the interior of your home
The interior décor colors of this home in the picture below are consistent to its exterior Spanish style aesthetic. The color scheme was kept neutral and accented with some warm-tone accessories for interest. The furniture was edited by removing unnecessary items that would otherwise clutter the space. This makes the already generously sized living space look bigger. The key seating pieces were arranged in a way that brings attention to the fireplace and the interesting high ceiling design.
Photo by At Home With Dia ©
Step 4 tip 1: Give painted surfaces some TLC
When getting the hang of how to get your house ready to sell, pay extra attention to your walls, window ledges, doors, and baseboards. If the surfaces look like they are in good condition but you notice scuff marks on corners or in certain other areas, sometimes using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser can remove most spots. However, there are times when walls or baseboards may need to be patched up and given a fresh coat of paint.
Step 4 tip 2: Keep it neutral
If most of the walls need to be freshened up, then you can never go wrong with painting them in a light neutral paint color. Off-white, or creamy light beige is universally appealing to most buyers. The goal is to keep things in a neutral color palette that compliments other fixed elements in the space. Buyers will notice freshly painted rooms and consider it a bonus of one less thing they have to do before moving in.
Don’t be afraid to use complimentary muted paint colors to accent key design elements or an accent wall. I cover this tip in more detail in part 2 of this two-part article.
Benefits of home staging step 5: Declutter and edit
Before we go into more tips on how to get your house ready to sell, it’s important to note that staging your home for selling might require you to face some inconveniences. Most of the time, the way you show your house to prospective buyers is not going to be the way you normally live in the space.
When you are focusing on the benefits of home staging, the old saying “less is more” could not be more true. This leads me to the dreaded topic of “decluttering” and editing your belongings. The less stuff you have in the rooms, cabinets, closets, and cupboards the more spacious and open each area will look.
House hunters will absolutely open all the closet doors and cabinets, so allow them to be pleasantly surprised by the clean and spacious appearance!
Think of it this way, you will need to pack your things to move out of the house, so why not do some of the packing now? You can neatly stack packed boxes in your garage or rent a “storage pod/container” and have it moved to a temporary storage facility until you are ready to move.
Step 5 tip 1: Edit down your furniture
Each room should only have the essential furniture pieces that identify its use. Take a good look at your rooms and remove any bulky or unnecessary furniture.
Pro Tip: If you have a sofa or armchair that is very dark or possibly has a stain, you can place an inexpensive light neutral-colored throw over it as a “cover-up”.
Photo by At Home With Dia ©
In this study/home office, the majority of the furniture and a multitude of books were removed to enhance the feeling of spaciousness. The key items that were left in the room provide a clear vision of how this room can be used.
Step 5 tip 2: Declutter your closets
Go through your closets and pack all out-of-season clothes and shoes in plastic tubs. This makes the closets look more spacious and will make it easy to transport your packed items to your new location when it’s time to move.
Step 5 tip3: Keep only the things you need in your kitchen
Go through your kitchen cabinets and drawers and pack away as many items as possible. Keep only the plates, glasses, cutlery, serving ware, and pots you’ll be using for the next 30 days (which is the normal escrow period of a home sale). If you can limit it to 1 or 2 plates, bowls, cups, glasses, and utensils per person currently living in the house, so much the better!
Step 5 tip 4: Edit down the linen cabinet
Ideally, you only need 2 washcloths, 2 hand and 2 bath towels per person. You can keep 1 bedsheet set on each bed and 1 extra in the closet. Everything else can be packed away. And while you are at it, pack away any extra bedding, blankets, etc.
Step 5 tip 5: Store away and tidy up toys
If your kids are old enough, you can get them involved in picking 3 special toys each that they can play with for the next 4 weeks. You can make it a game for them, and they will feel that they are part of your journey of learning how to get your house ready to sell.
Place the toys they will be keeping in the house in lidded baskets, so they are easy to hide away when you have prospective buyer viewings. The rest can be packed away and will be a nice surprise for your kids to retrieve once you have moved into your new home.
While you are going through closets, cabinets, etc. you can give them a good cleaning so that is one less thing to worry about as you move on to the next tip.
Benefits of home staging step 6: Clean, spruce up and deodorize
When you are getting your house ready to sell, you may want to avoid doing some of the hard work. That includes thoroughly cleaning your home from top to bottom. This is when you can hire a cleaning crew to do the “dirty work”. However, you will still need to put some effort into making your surfaces look the best that they can.
Regardless of whether you hire someone or do it yourself, it’s good to know what needs to be done.
Remember that in the eyes of a buyer, a very clean home equals a well-maintained home. This is then perceived as a good value for their money. If a buyer walks into a dirty and messy house, they may assume that there are unseen, unfixed issues.
Step 6 tip 1: Clean your floors
If you have well-kept hardwood flooring all you need to do is clean and polish it. For any nicks and scratches, use repair kits/markers that are available at your local hardware store. Choose a pack that is closest to the color of your floors.
When your tile flooring is in good condition, then a good wet-mop cleaning will do the job. If the grout and tile are dingy even after being mopped, you could hire someone to steam clean it. You also have the option of renting a steamer and doing it yourself.
The same goes for carpets. Please, please, please (I cannot emphasize this enough) have your carpets professionally cleaned and deodorized. This is especially important to do before putting the house on the market if you have pets.
Learning how to get your house ready to sell includes tackling the topic of pets! We all love our fur babies. However, after living with them for a while we get accustomed to their smell that we don’t notice it. Unfortunately, that smell is very noticeable to prospective buyers and not everyone shares our love of animals. If you decide to rent a carpet cleaner to tackle this task yourself, use specially formulated cleaning solutions that neutralize pet odors.
Pro tip:
If your flooring in certain areas of your home is not in perfect condition, after you have thoroughly cleaned the surface, you can camouflage the area with a strategically placed rug or piece of furniture. 😉
Now let’s focus on the hardest working rooms in our homes.
We’ve all heard of the saying ‘Kitchens and bathrooms sell houses”. The condition of these two spaces can make or break a home purchase deal. This is mainly because most buyers just want to buy a house and move in without having to do any major renovations or upgrades.
Step 6 tip 2: Prioritize your kitchen
People pay special attention to the kitchen when looking to buy a house. So, focusing on making the most of this area in your home is one of the most integral benefits of staging a home.
Once you have edited the content of your kitchen cabinets, remove small appliances from your countertops. Also, there is no need to have multiple bulky items on those counters. These include knife blocks, dish soap bottles, and sponges. Put these items in the cabinets and out of sight.
Photo by At Home With Dia ©
Instead, place a small potted plant in a corner or by the sink. Add one or two other items in the corner that don’t clutter the counter surfaces. The goal is to show that there is plenty of counter space for meal prep. You will be amazed at what a difference it makes when the surfaces of a kitchen are free of stuff.
Pro tip:
If your kitchen is new and in a neutral color, a thorough cleaning of all surfaces is all that is needed. This includes cabinets, and large appliances (stove, oven, fridge, dishwasher, and sink). When you’re thinking of how to get your house ready to sell remember that prospective buyers will be looking and opening everything!
In case your kitchen is a bit dated or dark, do some simple upgrades to make it look better. A coat of off-white paint on the walls will brighten up most kitchens.
If natural light is limited and you don’t have a lot of light fixtures to illuminate the kitchen, then consider adding remote-controlled puck lights or LED strip lighting under the cabinets or a small lamp in a corner.
Pro tip:
Older wood cabinets will appear much better if you give them a good cleaning and polish (Murphy Oil Soap Wood Cleaner does wonders to freshen up old wood). For an updated look replace old handles or knobs with more modern brushed nickel ones. Nowadays you can find very affordable cabinet knobs and pulls from Amazon that can make an old kitchen look more up-to-date.
While you are at it, also take a good look at your kitchen faucet. Replacing an old, cruddy faucet with a nice modern one that is not at all pricey, goes a long way in updating a dated kitchen.
If the kitchen floor is in good condition and in a fairly neutral color remove any kitchen mats or rugs that clutter the space. This always makes a kitchen look more open and brighter. But, if the floor is dark or shows signs of wear and tear, then find a nice light tone-on-tone neutral-colored rug to camouflage the dated surface.
Step 6 tip 3: Extreme clean your bathroom and more
When thinking of how to get your house ready to sell it’s important to pay particular attention to the bathrooms of your house. The bathroom is an area of your home that buyers will look at very closely. Are your tile and grout in good condition with no soap scum and grime? Are there signs of mold in the corners of the floor or tub? How does that sink, faucet and toilet seat look?
Some people are very particular about the areas that they will be using to clean themselves and where their bodies will be touching… Yes, I went there!
One of the benefits of home staging is that you have the opportunity to make house hunters feel right at home. When they walk into your updated and staged bathroom they can imagine simply bringing their toothbrush and towels and just moving in. If you can do that you are already making the prospect of getting an offer more likely.
So, how do you achieve that clear and fresh impression when it comes to one of the hardest working rooms in your house when home staging?
First, you start with extreme cleaning.
Remember that steam cleaner I mentioned earlier? Well, that is the best way to thoroughly clean the bathroom floor, tub, shower tile, and grout – just make sure it has the right attachments to get into tight corners. It does an amazing job of doing a deep cleaning of all the hard surfaces of your bathroom and sanitizes everything.
If your toilet seat is looking discolored even after you have given it a good scrubbing, you can easily and affordably replace it with a new one. Just make sure that the new seat size, and the way it is attached to the toilet, match the existing one.
Pro Tip: you may want to take the “clean” old seat with you to the hardware store to make sure you get the right size.
Step 6 tip 4: Make sure your windows are clean and bright
Don’t forget to clean your windows, screens, and tracks. Clean windows are a good indication of a well-maintained home. Plus, clean windows let more light into the rooms making them look brighter and larger. It is a no-brainer on how to get your house ready to sell.
You may also want to wash your curtains to freshen them up but I will cover a lot more on this topic in part 2 of this article.
So, by following the above cleaning tips, hopefully, your home not only looks “squeaky clean” but also smells great, and is ready to reap all the benefits of home staging!
But there may be some lingering odors despite all your cleaning efforts, which leads me to my next and final step of this article.
Benefits of home staging step 7: Don’t be “nose blind”
There are certain smells in your home that you may not be aware of simply because you have gotten used to them. Most prospective buyers will notice even the most subtle “strange” smells. Some buyers may also be put off by them.
Step 7 tip 1: Choose quality cleaning Products
I know that in the above section, we emphasized the importance of thoroughly cleaning and decluttering your home before putting it on the market. This, however, does not mean you should use harsh products that contain Chlorine or other strong-smelling cleaners.
These will leave a lingering strong odor that some people are very sensitive to. So, use cleaners that leave a fresh scent but are not overpowering.
Step 7 tip 2: Be aware of pet odors
Being aware of residual smells of pets is important when thinking of how to get your house ready to sell. Even if you have cleaned and deodorized your carpet your fur babies may have “marked” or had little accidents on your hard surface flooring and baseboards. You may not smell it but trust me that subtle funky smell is there.
In this case, buy products that are specially formulated to break down odor-causing enzymes (Nature’s Miracle is a great brand and product for dogs and cats). Follow the instructions and spray any areas where you suspect your pet has had an “oops”. And while you are at it, remember to frequently clean and replace the cat litter and pick up after your pooch in the garden.
If you’re serious about maximizing the benefits of home staging, on the days you have buyer showings or an open house remove the litter box and pets completely from the house.
Step 7 tip 3: Don’t forget cooking odors
While you are working on how to get your house ready to sell you need to eat, right? But cooking or even warming up food creates smells that may stick around afterward.
The best way to keep your home smelling fresh is to open the windows and let fresh air in. If that doesn’t do the trick try this: put some water with orange peels, cinnamon sticks, and cloves in a deep pot. Let it simmer on the stove for at least an hour or so after every time you cook. This is also a good idea to do before a scheduled open house as it will create a homey-smelling feel.
Step 7 tip 4: Avoid plug-ins and air fresheners
In an effort to make their home smell nice, some people make a huge mistake. Instead of eliminating the cause of the odors, they try to camouflage them by using strong candles, plug-in scent diffusers, and air fresheners.
This is a bad practice in general. Why? Because by trying to cover up the offensive smell you are creating an even worse issue of a smelly environment that has an added layer of something sweet and strong mixed in with it. Using plug-in scent diffusers will not prevent people from noticing the smell of cat litter or other odors! What do you think?
The only thing that plug-ins and air fresheners will achieve is an underlying smell of urine with an overall aroma of synthetic fragrance. Not to mention that many people are highly allergic to strong scents and may simply turn around and walk out of the door without viewing your property. And that my friends, equates to possibly a lost purchase offer.
Got everything you need on how to get your house to sell?
Now that we’ve addressed all the preliminary work and effort involved in preparing your house for sale, let me emphasize that staging your home isn’t an overnight task. It’s a process, and the sooner you begin preparing your home for the market, the more manageable and less stressful the experience will be.
Once you have taken care of the prepping portion of the benefits of home staging process you can then be confident that the next steps you will take to “strategically beautify” and highlight your home’s features will make it appealing to as many house hunters as possible.
If you want to learn more about that “strategic beautification” and how to bring attention to your home’s special characteristics, check out part 2 of the benefits of home staging. There you will learn home staging tricks to make the most of your furniture and décor while making prospective buyers notice and appreciate what your property has to offer. The next stage of this process is certain to distinguish your home from the crowd and has the potential to attract higher offers in the end.
If you liked the tips and tricks in this article, feel free to share a comment below. I would love to hear how you’ve used some of these tips to help you in getting your house ready for sale.
*Hero image by Kostiantyn Li on Unsplash
