Staging your home can increase the selling price and will help it sell faster. Home staging has become so important that owners of luxury homes often hire professionals to present their properties in the best light. If your home is worth millions, you probably have the funds to hire a professional home stager, but what about owners of more modest houses? Home stagers are similar to decorators in that they both seek to make the home beautiful, but stagers do so in an effort to boost the selling price or help the property sell more quickly.
The good news is, you do not have to spend a fortune to make your Salt Lake City area home look like a million bucks. Whether you own a modest starter home or charming Sugar House bungalow, these low-cost staging tips will help you sell your home fast:
- Concentrate on the most important rooms in your home. You do not have to stage every square inch of your home. Focusing on the living room, bathroom, kitchen, and master bedroom will have the most impact. Save your limited resources for these areas.
- Clean out the clutter. Lack of storage space could be a deal breaker, and a cluttered home sends exactly the wrong message. Clearing out clutter sends the message that the home has plenty of storage. Even if you need to rent a storage unit to hold all your stuff, clearing out the clutter is a winning strategy.
- Remove worn or dated furniture, pillows, linens etc. Even though they aren’t part of the house, they will give the buyers the sense that the whole house is dated. Staging a home is as much a process of removing things as it is adding.
- Spend a little money on simple new towels and rugs for the bathrooms and kitchen and use them for decoration only. As you choose these, pick up small coordinating candles for the bathroom and a couple of accessories for the kitchen. If your home has built-in nooks or shelves, add a tasteful piece there to draw attention. Home Goods is a great store for finding these items on a budget. There’s one located in the Brickyard Plaza. The key is to keep the pieces new, simple, and classic; adding style without distracting from a clean uncluttered space. You can likely find everything you need for under $200.
- Let the light shine in. If your windows are sporting heavy drapes and shades, getting rid of them will make the space look lighter, larger, and more airy. Unattractive window treatments detract from the appearance of the home and make it less appealing to buyers. Next clean the windows. You’d be surprised how much light a dirty window block.
- Showcase your floors. If your hardwood floors are hidden under old throw rugs, remove them. Also consider ripping out old carpet if the floors underneath are in good condition. I say again, only do this if you are sure the floors are looking good. It is a big job but it can improve the home’s appeal. Modern buyers love hardwood floors, and there is no reason to hide them under outdated carpets.
- Add lights in dark corners to make the room feel bigger and more inviting. While a lamp would be an obvious choice, sometimes a better solution is a small can light on the floor. These can be purchased at Home Depot for under $10 and make a huge difference!
- Do your research. There is nothing like first-hand experience when trying to stage your home. If you are unsure how to stage your property, try attending a few open houses to see how the pros do it. You will walk away with some great ideas, all at no cost to you. I’m happy to arrange a few tours for you as well.
- If you need to sell a vacant home fast don’t despair. Simply add the accessories mentioned above to the kitchen, bathrooms, and nooks. Next, make sure the kitchen is stocked with luxury liquid soap and paper towels. This might sound silly, but when buyers visit messy home after messy home, they mean a lot and leave a first-class impression. Also…don’t forget to clean the windows!
This simple bathroom looks tidy and inviting thanks to decluttering and new accessories. In the kitchen above, well chosen accessories make the narrow kitchen shine. Note the items tucked at the end of the counter, drawing the eye and opening the space.
You don’t have to spend a fortune to stage your home like a pro. A little bit of creativity can go a long way toward making your home more appealing. The right staging can add thousands of dollars to the selling price of your home, so the time you spend learning to do it properly, plus a little money, will be well spent.
If you would like more specific advice on how to get your home ready to sell, call me now for a free consultation or use this handy contact form.