5 tips to Staging Your House

When you are selling your home there are some easy, inexpensive things you can do to help speed along the process. Home staging is commonly known is anything that helps a home seller make their home more attractive and appealing to potential buyers. While it's tough to be objective about your own home, here are some tips you can use to start to get your house ready to sell.

Create an Entrance
It is very important for someone selling their home to give a great first impression. We've all heard the term "curb appeal" which begins instantly as a potential home buyer approaches your home from the street. A warm entry can help set the tone for the showing of your house.

Think about adding a fresh coat of paint, new hardware, a new porch light, nice looking house numbers and a new door mat. Potted plants on the steps or along the entry also makes for a more welcoming entrance. This small investment can create excitement among a home buyer before they even enter your home and hopefully should increase your chances of selling.

Overcome Clutter
There is not a home owner anywhere that can honestly say they do not have too much stuff. The reality of it is the longer you live at a place the more you acquire. A potential home buyer does not want to see how much you have acquired over the years so the most important thing a seller can do to help the process of selling their home is clean up the clutter! Counter tops, floors, closets and shelves all need to look clean so every room looks and feels more spacious. When a home buyer walks through your house, they need to be able to imagine their own things in your space. If the room looks small and cluttered, this will simply not happen.

Take a box into every room and fill it with unnecessary objects. A good rule to go follow: if you haven't used it in three months, put it in the box.

Remove Odors - Let in Air
Walking into a stuffy house with smells of smoke or pet odors is a huge turn off! Open your windows for 15 minutes before you show your house to freshen up the air. If your home does have a permanent smell, try to remove some of the odors with cleaning supplies, odor removers and wall plug-ins. This important thing here is to remove the wall plug-ins before you show your house so it is not obvious to the home buyer you are covering up a smell.

Create a Purpose for Each Room
You may have a room or two in your house that is either empty because of a move or labeled just as a "junk room". The important thing to remember with these rooms is to create a purpose so a picture can be put in the minds of home buyers who come view your home. Not only will they be able to see the space as a functioning room, they will be able to envision their own workout equipment, bedroom set or office setup in each room. Space is difficult to judged in an empty room, help the buyer understand how much space the room offers by staging a room with a purpose.

Let Your Light In
It is important to let natural lighting into your rooms to help show off your space. There is nothing more displeasing than to walk into a dark, dull room. A potential home buyer will not be given the chance to explore the room fully if the room is dark. If you have heavy drapery, replace it with something light and airy to let your light in. If you are looking to do this inexpensively, use sheers and a tension rod to achieve this look.

If you are working in a more private room such as a bedroom or bathroom, I recommend using the bottom-up Roman shades to strain views from your neighbors but still allowing the light to fill the room.

Hopefully by following these tips you will find yourself packing up because you sold your home. In all of my experience in real estate, every time we have staged a home we have had great results. These are all quick, easy and inexpensive ways to help improve the look of your home when selling.

If you are interested in more tips like these, visit Denver Real Estate Tips or email Kim Olson directly at kim.olson23@gmail.com. Kim Olson have been a real estate agent in the Denver metro for over 5 years. She specializes in creative ways to market your property. Check out The Denver Source for more information on Kim Olson and Denver properties

(Source: Kim Olson)