Staging your home to sell while living there. Part one.

This is tip #1 for staging your home (when you are living in it) to sell in this climate.  Yes, you can do it. But, you wouldn't want to live this way forever.  So, the goal here is stage to sell and sell quick, capture the buyers attention and keep it.

Remember, you are creating "the dream" for someone else.  So take your tastes and lifestyle out.

Homes not only have to be priced perfectly to sell quickly they also have to look better than the competition.   So how do you do that when you are living in the home?  Here are my top 1 of 5 tips for staging.

Tip #1:  Clear the clutter!  You want clean open spaces so the buyer can image their furniture in the home.  If you have too much stuff it will feel cramped and small.  Take out extra furniture pieces.   Box up all your collectables, you may love those beannie babies, but the potential buyer? Not so much.

Clear the clutter out of your closets.  How many towels do you use anyways?  I know this sounds like a daunting task, so break it up into days.  Do one closet every couple of days so that you're not over whelmed.   Use baskets to organize and take out everything you won't be needing during the time your home is on the market.

Clear the clutter off of your walls.  Take down all family pictures, you want the buyer to image themselves living there and not invading your life.   If you have a large wall, hang the largest photograph/art that you have, borrow something if you have to.  It will create drama.  Think out of the box on what to hang on your walls, do you have something old?  Like an old sign or candy mold...it adds interest and that element of cool.

Clear the clutter out of your fridge.  Yes, buyers will look in your fridge.  They will say they want to see what the fridge looks like inside, but really they're curious about you...the seller....are you a beer drinker or a vegan?   Plus, make that fridge smell good by adding an open box of baking soda, we seriously cannot smell what we live in everyday.  A home that smells bad is a tough sell.

Go room to room.  If a buyer is serious they will look in closets and in cupboards, your goal is have those spaces feel roomy.  Don't get rid of everything (you need to live), but get rid of all the extra's.

I could go on and on in this category!   It's always good to get a second opinion by someone who's going to be brutally honest with you..."does my house smell like burnt BBQ?  Should I take down my nick-nack shelves with my prized 150 count salt and pepper shaker collection?" Why yes, yes it does, and yes you should.

After Staging

Before Staging