So the question is; Where do I start when wanting to stage a home to sell.? Well, the best place to start, if you aren’t going to hire a professional real estate staging company that understands the interior design flow and owns a warehouse of furniture and decorations. There are 4 must-do’s that every home must accomplish before “show time” begins.
If you are a real estate agent guiding your selling clients or in my case, an interior designer providing a consulting service to the DIY home owner. The best way to remember the pre-staging fundamentals is with the acronym EDDD. EDDD stands for the 4 fundamental areas of staging, let’s take a look at them.
1. Erase all signs of pets
Sharing indoor living space with animals is a relatively recent phenomena in our worlds history however, it is still growing in America to now nearly half of American families housing some sort of pet. While many people love sharing their living space with animals, the facts show that approximately 50% of people do not, for various reasons, including allergies, scents or phobias. Even pet owners themselves may potentially be turned off by certain animal evidence in a home. While a seller would not want to omit potentiality half or more of his buyer prospects, Erasing all signs of pets it key to retaining these potential buyers.. Understandably, this could be difficult to do with a “owner-occupied” staging situation. But, even in that situation, real estate professionals agree it is best to: a.) Find someone to watch your pets during showings b.) Remove all potentially scented animal items from the living space and put them in the garage. this may include a Fido’s favorite chew toy, tug-o-war sock or a litter box,
2. Declutter
We all heard of decluttering our space before selling a home. Where most people fail in this is that when the homeowner themselves declutter they see things through the eyes that lived there, and those eyes are already blinded to the clutter. The other fail point in decluttering is the failure to fully understand its purpose. It is more than simply making the house look good. A properly decluttered home will open up ideas for the potential homeowner to make it their own. It will promote the idea that there is not only ample living space but if done correctly by removing items from closets, pantries, etc. The home will communicate ample storage areas as well. It is recommended to get a storage unit if need be to hold your decluttered items until moving day.
3. Depersonalize
This is probably the one that most people have heard of. It’s been talked about so often in real estate magazines and selling tips. Unfortunately, most of these articles point primarily to family photos and albums on the walls and mantles. Sure this is important, but we need to go one step deeper. Since the main effort is to sell the home, we need to create a home that may “fit” the largest variety of home buyers out there. In other words, a seller wouldn’t want to hear a potential home buyer leaving their property saying to themselves things like; “That’s a nice fisherman’s home, but it’s not for us” or “I feel like it’s a good home for my grandparents but not us” or “The layout is perfect but unless I was into ______, I couldn’t imagine us living there”. While the subject of depersonalizing a home is so subjective or can I say… personal. It’s best to get a third-party opinion. If you aren’t using a professional stager, then your real estate agent would be a fantastic choice.
4. Deep Clean
Last but not least, deep cleaning done right could take years off of a home. From cleaning grout to baseboard moldings to ceiling fans and return vents. One would be surprised how a blind eye could be developed to so many things when you live in and about it all the time. The goal here is to clean the home as if nobody is actively living in the home. This would especially include smudgy glass and mirrors as well as clean floors. A deep cleaned home communicates it has been well taken care of which equates to greater perceived value.
So if you are looking to begin staging a house on your own. These are the 4 must-do’s regardless of bringing in staged furniture, decorations or moving things around for a better home-flow.