Stage for Sale: Your complete home staging checklist

So you’re thinking about selling your house – congratulations! Now your head is full of questions about how to add value and get the most out of sales.

Staging your home can help you justify the listing at a higher price. From cleaning and refreshing to extensive repairs, preparing your home is worth the extra energy. When your home is ready for sale, read these top staging tips before launching it.

Decision to sell

The final decision to put your house up for sale is nerve-wracking. They may move across the country or just in the city, but the upheaval is still emotional and physical chaos. You may buy another house and worry about timing.

The Home sales process is not for the faint of heart. If you decide to sell your home, you have mentally come to a place where you are ready to undertake this project. That means you are ready to get to work.

Get your house ready

When you offer a house for sale, make it look the way your sellers want it. It could mean making small cosmetic changes to add value to the house, or it could mean repainting and doing major repairs.

It is a good idea to work with your partner to make a list of the major projects that you think the house needs. It is also helpful to get an expert’s opinion, regardless of whether it is your broker or a contractor for larger projects (or both). Once you’ve set the list of projects, schedule it on your calendar to set a schedule.

If you think projects are taking too long to complete, you will need to adjust them. One way is to take a break to do a lot at once. Another option is to lease the projects to professionals who can paint or redesign the house while at work.

Paint to prepare the stage for sale

You probably have a story about a friend who bought a house with a terrible paint job. Avant-garde black and white lattice patterns with red trimmings in the guest bathroom seem like a good idea while you live there, but strange paintwork will scare off potential buyers. It is better to repaint the bold spots and leave a neutral tone instead.

Even if buyers decide to repaint everything when moving in, they can see the possibilities in a house with neutral colors. Stronger colors drive out people who would otherwise have liked your house.

Take it one room at a time so you don’t feel overwhelmed. Move all furniture out so that nothing is accidentally painted. Put down drapes or cover the floor with painting paper and glue the seams.

Glue the edges with painter’s tape and then cut them around the edges. You can use a small brush or an edge tool. If you have a dark color, you may need to use a primer.

If you cover light color or use a color with primer, you can switch directly to the new color. Neutral colors like white, gray, beige and other light colors are good choices. If you can’t make up your mind, get multiple color swatches and paint them all on the same wall so you can compare them more easily.

Use a paint roller to get a more even coat of paint on the walls. Add a second layer if necessary. Make sure to peel off the painter’s tape before the paint dries so it doesn’t stick to the wall.

Filter

When you moved in for the first time, there may have been empty niches or areas that felt bare. During your time in the house, you filled them, often with random finds. Maybe you even went shopping when you moved in to buy the finishing touches.

The problem is that your house keeps filling up even after the last empty spaces have been filled. You buy more things every birthday and Christmas, and random shopping tours all year round.

Suppressing means walking through the house with fresh eyes and trying to see it from a buyer’s perspective. Look around for areas that look small because of all that stuff. Check out some Organize YouTube videos and debugging to help you understand the goal and be inspired.

Then it’s time to go to work. Pack and store items that you can do without for a few months. Label them with clear descriptions so you can find them again when you move into a new house.

Do this in every room and then look around. Decide whether you need another round of interference suppression or whether you are ready to remove furniture.

Removing furniture and other clutter opens the house and makes it look like there is more space. You will be amazed at how different and clean the house looks with less material, even if you have not scrubbed or dusted anything.

You don’t have to get rid of furniture by donating or selling it unless you are sure you don’t want the big piece for your new home. Instead, store it for a few months until you can take it to your new home. It opens the house and gives potential buyers a new perspective.

Remove personal touches

Your coat rack is beautiful, with your large family photo and the chic candlesticks on the farm on both sides. However, pictures of your family must go before you show the house.

While you may think that such personal details make your room feel homely, potential buyers actually feel intruded. You see your last name on a sign or your daughter’s initials on a pillow on her bed and it is harder for you to imagine how they live in the room.

You want people who visit your home to immediately imagine the possibilities. They want them to feel at home and see where their furniture is going and their pictures are hanging. Taking out your family photos and personal details will help you along the way.

Landscaping

Your garden is the first thing buyers see when they drive to your house. When people are looking for a house to buy, they usually drive through the neighborhood first and look outside. They saw it online, but now they want to see it in person.

Even if the inside of your house is flawless, if the outside looks shabby, you may not even be planning an idea. You will need to keep up with gardening while your home is on the market. Rake the leaves obsessively and clean the driveway every time it snows.

Well-kept lawns give the impression that the entire space is well-kept and potential buyers leave a good impression before they even enter. When the yard is run down, you may have to go further and also landscaping.

Your landscape projects should include your porch. It helps make the exterior of your home feel clean and fresh. Remember to remove all personal details and glitches (including some patio furniture if you have too much).

Welcome signs without your family’s last name are fine, wreaths, and seasonal decor. Consider a brand new welcome mat if your wear shows. All of these steps help to present your home in its best light.

Leave during the screenings

The last step is to run short during the screenings. This includes the whole family and all of your pets. It is difficult to find a place where the animals can be kept for long periods. However, you want potential buyers to be able to see every part of your home. Therefore, locking pets away is not an option.

A barking dog may be fine for some dog lovers, but people who don’t like pets or who have bad memories of dogs won’t feel welcome. That alone could be the difference between an offer and someone who passes your house on.

The perfect residence

Regardless of the memories or the time you’ve spent at home, it’s time to be on sale. You can get these memories and furniture out of the warehouse when you need to move.

In the meantime, follow the tips above to help potential buyers feel at home while viewing your space. Without all of your personal details, you can imagine living in your house. Cleaner rooms also add more value to your space.

Explore some of our other posts for more ideas like this!