ReSET Blog
Ask An Agent / Blog · July 06, 2018 · AUTHOR: Udi Dorner

Ask An Agent: Home Staging Tips

When selling a home, you want to make sure you display your house in the best light to a potential buyer. Open houses, tours, and other opportunities for buyers to see your home require that you have your home in tip-top shape: clean, uncluttered, and appealing to a wide audience. De-cluttering is the first step to staging a home to sell. You want to be sure that your home feels open and neat, which is easier when there is simply less stuff to work with. By keeping your decor simple, you allow potential buyers to more easily envision themselves in your space. Benis Dawkins of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate recommends taking away one item for every four that can be spotted in a room. “See four things, take one away,” he says. “The rule of thumb when styling is to always keep decor to a minimum, and odd variations or quantities are always more visually appealing.” When choosing what to leave, he recommends choosing one or two basic colors to provide a base for your home decor so that your overall aesthetic doesn’t confuse the eye. Other simple tips to keep the clutter away is to take extra items off of kitchen and bathroom countertops, pack away kids’ toys, and removing excess photos from the walls. Although those family photos may be a prized part of your home, for a potential buyer, it can keep them from being able to visualize how they can make your home their own. It might be sad to pull your cherished family memories off the walls, but remember that you are preparing to make new memories in your next home. Maggie Mouscardy of MaxCap Properties particularly reminds sellers to take down any religious-themed wall decor or photos, which may be unappealing to a potential buyer. Additionally, it’s important to ensure that your home is as clean as possible, which might mean bringing in some professional help. “All windows, doors, and floors should be spotless, so hire a professional house cleaner to do a deep clean,” said Ms. Mouscardy. A professional house cleaner has more of an eye for detail and overlooked areas than the average homeowner. To keep your home feeling fresh and modern, Michael Rich of TR Realty says that a tried-and-true tactic is to embrace current decor trends when staging your home, even if they aren’t to your particular taste. “You may not like the current trends but, there is a reason they are popular,” he says. “Make sure your staging catches the majority of buyers' eyes.” Overall, the key is to make your home feel like a blank slate for potential buyers. That means simple, clean, and move-in ready.

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