Guest Blog: Staging Your Home to Attract Buyers

Guest blog from our friend Alice Robertson of Tidy Home! And a good reminder of why we are never moving again!

Staging Your Home to Attract Buyers

So, you’ve made the decision to sell your home! This major life change requires some groundwork. You may already have a real estate agent or began the process of selling the home directly, but that’s just one of the first steps you’ll take. Selling your home requires you to cater to prospective buyers and make them picture their future there. With that in mind, here are some affordable ways for you to organize and declutter your home.

Why You Should Declutter Your Home

Home stagers and realtors agree that it’s easier to sell a neat, organized home than one that’s cluttered. Excess items around the house can make potential buyers feel your home is too crowded. Cleaning out your home also helps you pack things up, get rid of older stuff you won’t need, and be better prepared for your own move. One way to do this on a budget is to figure out what clutter actually is. You can start by gathering a few markers, your phone, trash bags, a label maker or other label system, and storage supplies.

Check different parts of your home for unnecessary items. Buyers will see your kitchen, hallway, and bathrooms, but it also helps to clean out your storage areas, laundry room, and home office (if you have one). Remember your closets, drawers, desk, and bedrooms too. Find a place to put sentimental items such as pictures, books, toys, souvenirs, and family heirlooms or objects that have been passed down to you.

Apartment Therapy explains homeowners that should divide decluttering and organizing into doable parts. Don’t spend one day trying to do everything; instead, take care of different areas on separate days, and spend two or three hours per area every day. Put items into the following categories: items to give away, throw out, recycle, and store. It’s best to do this before you buy containers or boxes. If you have the money to rent a storage unit, you need to make sure your boxes will fit the space. Some people may decide to put their things under their beds or another area in their homes, and it’s important to make your boxes or containers fit.

Decluttering your home is part of the emotional dissociation and depersonalization process. It makes sense that you have a sense of ownership over the space and the things in it, but buyers have to be able to imagine themselves living there too.

Take Care of Your Home’s Exterior

Buyers shop with their eyes first. Your home listing will also likely include pictures, and most real estate agents or home listing sites will use a picture that shows your home’s front facade and yard. Thankfully, increasing curb appeal doesn’t have to be expensive; you can make the outside of your home more beautiful by pulling out weeds from your garden, covering empty patches of grass with mulch or seed packets, and sweeping your porch. Check the shrubs and trees in your front and backyard as well. Trim or remove overgrown parts of larger plants so that more natural light can enter your home.

Also, ensure your home has a pop of color by painting your front door and adding a beautiful doorknob as well. Do you have a distinctive or old mat? Replace it with a simple but more generic choice. Check your outdoor light fixtures and consider installing new lights to add more brightness (while you’re at it, check your indoor lighting as well!).

A simple clean can also make all the difference! So, put away your gardening tools and clean your windows. If you have a brick exterior, make sure to wash it prior to your open house. Other affordable upgrades can include a new mailbox and house numbers.

Small details play a big role in helping buyers make the decision to buy your home. Additionally, staging, decluttering, and deep cleaning outer areas can help you obtain more money to make up for the time and cost spent on these improvements.