Part of making sure your home selling process goes smoothly is staging your home. Of course, many people will decide to hire a professional but home stagers can come with a hefty cost.
Staging your home for sale on your own does require a keen eye for detail. However, anyone can get started on their own with a few helpful hints and tips. The main idea is to allow potential buyers to imagine themselves living in your home.
1. Declutter and depersonalise
Decluttering and depersonalising your home is one of the most important steps in staging your home for sale and one of the easiest to do on your own. You’ll want to make sure your home looks clean and tidy. Give everything a wipe down and even add some scents.
Another part of making sure your home is clutter-free is removing any personal items that don’t make sense for every homeowner. For instance, you might have a treadmill in your living room, a desk in your bedroom or family photos over your mantel. You can put these into furniture storage during your home selling process.
2. Unique vs. personality
When considering styling and decorations, your safest option is to stick to neutrals. Giving some personality can give your home a more lived-in feel. However, making it too unique can turn off potential buyers who can’t imagine themselves living in the space.
Keep your target buyer in mind. Different areas and different classes will have different tastes. For example, if you’re selling a home in Sydney’s Inner West, you might have more success with an eclectic style compared to if you were selling in a more traditional neighbourhood.
3. Focus on kitchen and bathroom
The two areas that are generally the most important for prospective buyers are the kitchen and the bathroom. You’ll want to focus most of your energy on making sure these areas look fresh. It’s especially important to make sure items like your cabinets and benchtops are neutral or at least not too stylised.
You don’t necessarily have to do a complete renovation. However, repainting here and there or replacing door handles can make your kitchen and bathroom look new again. You might even want to invest in new appliances and use this as a selling point.
4. Light up your rooms
Lighting is one of those things that is often overlooked. However, when you’re trying to sell your home, it should be top of mind. A well lit home will look more warm and inviting to prospective buyers.
There are three types of lighting that every room needs. Ambient-focused lighting involves general, overhead lights. You’ll also need task-focused lighting such as reading lights or cabinet lights. Finally, accent-focused lighting is used to highlight certain areas such as walls, a table or artwork.
5. Curb appeal
The exterior of your home is just as important as the interior, if not more. It’s the first thing people will notice when they come to your property and first impressions are a big deal. Curb appeal involves many different factors.
You might consider painting your fence, getting a new letterbox or sprucing up your garden. Make sure that your exterior looks easy to maintain. A full garden may look appealing, however, may deter buyers that don’t have a green thumb.
6. Get a second opinion
If you’ve lived in your home for a long time, it’s not your fault if you’ve gotten attached to certain pieces of furniture or decoration. This could make it hard to look at a space objectively.
It’s always a smart idea to get a second opinion from someone you trust. For instance, a neighbour, friend or family member. The more opinions you get, the more you’ll have a strong understanding of what other people are looking for in a home.
Final words
Getting your home ready for sale definitely comes with a long list of things to do and to consider. However, the more thorough you are at each step of the way, the better chance you have of getting your property from listed to sold in no time.
Even though staging your home for sale on your own may take a fair bit of time, if you trust your style skills, you’ll be sure to save yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars. With the market being competitive nowadays, staging your home is more important than ever.
Content provided by Ellen Orton, Head of Business Operations at OpenAgent.com.au, an online agent comparison website helping Australians to sell, buy and own property.
