If you’re planning to put your house on the market, you want it to be in the best possible condition for prospective buyers to see it. That’s where home staging comes into play. When you put your property on the market, you want buyers to be able to visualize what it would be like to live there. When done correctly, selling your house should be a breeze.
Clean Your House
From the baseboards to the corners of your ceilings and everything in between, you want every square inch of your home to sparkle. A spotless home signals to purchasers that the previous tenants took excellent care of the house, an impression that goes beyond the easily visible areas and extends to the whole house. If you’ve been putting off jobs like scrubbing the inside of your refrigerator or dusting your windows, now is the time to get them done.
Repaint the House
Your wallpaper is unlikely to appeal to a prospective buyer looking for new homes for sale. Your best chance is to remove it and repaint the walls a neutral color. It’s advisable not to paint over the wallpaper since it will leave marks under the paint, making it look shabby. This will alert the buyer to the possibility of future maintenance.
Custom paint colors are likely to elicit the same reaction from prospective customers. You may like your purple bedroom, but people’s color preferences are quite individual. White walls may seem great since they provide a clean slate for purchasers to visualize their own decoration and provide a simple starting point. However, it is preferable to paint your house in warm, neutral colors.
Flooring
Despite their high cost, hardwood flooring adds aesthetic value to a property. They are also low maintenance, provide excellent long term value, and are ideal for allergy-prone customers. In other terms, they appeal to practically everyone, and if they don’t, the buyer can simply carpet over them and save them for the future owner. If you plan to install hardwood flooring, common spaces such as the sitting room, dining area, and kitchenette should be your primary emphasis.
Lighting
Utilize the natural light in your home. When showcasing your house, open all curtains and blinds. Add fixtures where needed and turn on all lights during showings. This gives your house a brighter, more welcoming appearance and eliminates the need for potential buyers to look for light switches. If you believe your current fixtures are in good condition, dust and clean them thoroughly. Otherwise, replacing outdated or damaged light fixtures should be a simple and inexpensive process.
Staging a property to sell does not require large sums of money. Rather, it requires making wise decisions to increase its worth and to interest potential customers. Once you’re confident that you’ve done everything possible to present your house in the best possible manner, you can relax and wait for a suitable buyer to come along.
Anita is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University, and now writes articles about health, business, family and finance. A mother of two, she enjoys traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing. Anita recommends looking at new homes for sale when in the market for a home. You can follow her on Twitter @anitaginsburg.