If you are selling your home, you are likely well aware that staging your home is key to ensuring you get the most bang for your buck. Don’t believe us?
According to Realtor Magazine, “You can’t list a home without staging it unless it is going to be a teardown.” In fact, according to Homelight, “67% of top agents say that home staging helps a seller fetch more money for their house at resale, with over 50% [saying] that staging increases a home’s value from anywhere between 1%-10%…92% of top agents find home staging to be beneficial toward selling the property in general.”
The trouble is, when most sellers think about staging their home, they see dollar signs. With excessive costs looming in their future, between a new home purchase and closing, they don’t want to spend a penny more to get the home they are leaving in tip-top shape.
Here’s the good news: it is possible to renovate your home on the cheap, without having your home appear as such. Consider these three simple, inexpensive tips that go a long way when staging your home. Best of all – you can likely do all three for less than a few hundred bucks – with the potential to net thousands in return.
1) Freshen your home’s decor with neutral paint throughout.
Paint is an inexpensive fix, especially if you are doing it yourself. By brightening each room with a fresh, neutral paint color, potential buyers will feel as if the home is clean and new. They will also envision their furniture and decor within the space, making it more appealing. In addition to painting, we recommend removing any family photos or bold decorations to help make the place feel like a blank canvas. Remember, you want a buyer to see themselves living there, not you!
2) Maximize space by keeping boxes and more oversized furniture items off-site.
If you are living within your home while selling it, buyers will be walking through it daily. Large pieces of furniture or boxes throughout your home will make it appear cluttered and smaller, which is not what you want sellers to experience. Keep your home feeling spacious and clear by storing furniture and boxes off-site within a local self-storage unit. Best of all, you can keep boxes of non-priority items off-site when you move, making the unpacking process less chaotic.
3) Light landscaping can do wonders when buyers pull up to take a tour.
First impressions are critical. If buyers pull up and see a freshly cut lawn, trimmed bushes, and some flowers in your flower beds, they will automatically feel that this home is well-loved and cared for – which are all the feels you want to be associated with your home as they walk through. Annuals are only a few dollars each to buy, with bright colors that will help make your home pop from the curb.
Moving can be stressful. As you work through the staging and sale process, remember that this season is only temporary. You will soon be within your new home, building memories that will last a lifetime.
By painting your home a neutral color, keeping boxes and large items in a self-storage space, and doing some light landscaping, your home will be sure to catch the eye of all who come to take a tour of it. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.”
Wishing you a successful sale and move!
