Staging Your Home For Sale

If you are someone who is looking to move, whether it be across town or someplace new, there can be a lot of different aspects when it comes to selling your house. One of these aspects is "staging" your home to be appealing to potential buyers. The Roundup talked to Amanda Seigfreid with Seigfreid Insurance and Real Estate, who works with Missouri River Reality, on what it takes to stage a home.

Staging Your Home While Still Living In It

"There's a lot of common sense things that should be taken care of when making your occupied home appealing to potential buyers," said Amanda. "This includes just picking up your stuff off of the floor, making sure laundry is done, garbage is empty and doing the dishes in the sink."

There are two ways Amanda explained about fixing up the house; things to do that will remain inexpensive to where you do not have to spend much money, and things you can do if you are willing to spend a little extra money.

To remain inexpensive, one of the first things you can do is de-clutter each room, especially the high-lighted rooms such as the kitchen, master bedroom, and the bathrooms."If you have items on your counters, it helps to put them away in cupboards to make the kitchen appear bigger and more open. If your toothpaste and brushes are out in the open, if possible, put them away in your medicine cabinet. Now the shower, clients do open the shower curtain so it is very important to make sure that there is no clutter in the shower and that it is kept very clean," said Amanda.

One of the biggest challenges brought up was kids' rooms. "Kids' rooms can be especially challenging because you have toys, clothes and art projects, it is important to de-clutter as much as possible. The cleaner the floor, the bigger the room will appear. It is important to note to not stuff things in the closet. People look for closet space, and if the closet is stuffed full and disorganized. Pack things up and put them in storage areas such as the basement or attic so that clients can see boxes and bins and think, 'this person wants to move so they are packing up to move.' Give your home as much square footage as possible."

The next step in staging your home is to do things that you normally put off. "Wash your windows, mow the lawn, finish painting that wall, finish putting up that trimboard; the list is endless. It's all about first impressions," said Amanda. "You have to be willing to put that sweat equity into your home. Oh, and the garage is just as important as the house itself. Making sure that it is clean and organized, and almost showcases that you are ready to move."

Now, if you are a family/couple/single person ready to move and are willing to invest some money, Amanda had advice on preparing your home on that as well.

After decluttering your home, Amanda stated that renting a storage space is a great expense to make when putting your home for sale.

Small home improvement projects that have been held off for awhile areessential to help stage your home for sale. "Broken garbage disposal, you've learned to live without it, but when you put your home up for sale, now is the time to fix it. If you have a light fixture that is old and out-dated, don't be afraid to spend the $40-$65 dollars to replace it. Invest in good quality light bulbs; lighting really makes a difference to a potential client," said Amanda. She also mentioned other projects such as replacing carpet, painting and new trimboard. "When you finish these small home improvements, families and couples that come to see your home will notice and think to themselves, 'Wow, this house is being well taken care of.'" Finally, taking care of cracked or dirty light switches; the little things really make a difference.

Decluttering your furniture is also very important. "Clean and organized furniture really helps the client to envision how their furniture would look in the house," said Amanda. "Really create a functional living space and try not to have so many things in one room."

Finally, when it comes to staging your home while still living in it, there were a few basic steps. "Just having air fresheners or flameless candles going really helps a lot. You want your home to have that great first impression and you want it to smell inviting; especially if you have pets."

Staging Your Home When It Is Vacant

Amanda Seigfreid, also went over some pointers on staging your home when it is vacant; both spending little to no money and with some investments.

"After moving out of your home, make sure that the carpets and floor are clean. Whether it means shampooing or completely replacing carpet, you definitely want the floors to be clean since the room will be empty and the flooring will be one of the first things a client will look at," said Amanda. "Now this next step may sound a little strange, but if possible, leave your curtains and shower curtains behind. Even leaving toilet paper and paper towels in their proper holders in bathrooms and kitchens. It just leaves an inviting appearance to an empty home."

Make sure that if left behind, appliances are clean. "When a home is vacant, clients tend to look in the refrigerator and dishwasher versus when they are not vacant."

Whether you moved across town or far away, it's important to keep your vacant home tidy. If you are unable to do it yourself, find a trusted neighbor or close friend to keep the lawn mowed and pick up newspapers that may still be delivered to your home. When that surprise home visit comes, you definitely want your house to have a great first impression for a potential client.

Now comes the home improvements that might need some investments.

Getting your carpet cleaned professionally will help to get rid of or lessen any stains and smells buried in your carpet, and help the empty rooms in your home be more appealing.

"If your home has a crazy color scheme, or maybe you have that one red wall because your favorite color is red, now is the time to spend some money and paint. You want a neutral and same color scheme throughout your home so that potential buyers can be focused on your home. Color can be intimidating when it comes to purchasing to house."

Next is to finish any projects that you have put off over the years. After moving and all pictures and art have been removed, it is important to go back and patch in all of the holes. "When a potential buyer views a home, they will start to build a to-do list in their head. The more projects, cleaning and home improvement you can accomplish, the smaller their to-do list will be and the more likely they will be interested in purchasing your home."