Whitney’s Top 5 Staging Tips to Sell Your Home

1. Curb Appeal Matters!

• Power wash the driveway and walkway leading to front door. Also power wash the house if needed and clean out the gutters. Gutters full of debris and a messy yard communicates to buyers that the home has been neglected. 
• Lay down new mulch, place new, bright potted plants by front door (selling in the winter? Put fake greenery in pots by the front door). Paint the front door and trim, hang a new wreath and replace rusted or chipping door handle.
• Trim back overgrown trees and bushes so a professional photographer can take a nice, clear photo of the home and this also lets as much natural light in as possible. (Think light and bright!)

2. De Clutter

• Buyers many times purchase based on emotion. Walking into a home with covered walls and busy hallways and rooms is very distracting. It also makes it extremely difficult for buyers to imagine themselves and their own personal style in the home. If you think the home looks bare, you have done a good job! 
• Rule of 3…only 3 items on a shelf, on a wall and a surface (3 pillows on a sofa, for example)
• Remove rugs from main spaces to let the hard wood floors shine. 
• All appliances should be tucked away to put all the usable counter space on display!

3. Neutralize & Brighten

• Paint the home a fresh, neutral color like a soft white or very light grey (if covering strong reds). Be sure not to choose a color that leans yellow. 
• Put new LED lightbulbs throughout the home to ensure all tones are the same and a bright white. 
• Remove heavy drapery and flip busy comforters (many times the backside is a solid or white).

4. Make Repairs

• To get the best offers, make sure all systems and appliances are in working order. If a buyer knows something is broken, they will begin to deduct $ from the offer. 
• Have a painter repair holes in drywall and damage from hanging photos and posters over the years.

5. Clean, Clean, Clean

• A clean home is a home buyers perceive as being well cared for. And I’m talking DEEP clean - baseboards, every light, windows (inside and out), appliances (whether they are staying or going with sale), fans.
• Replace air filters
• People will lift rugs, look behind items and check in bathroom cabinets for leak stains.

** Remember the first few days your home is on the market draws the most attention and is the best change to get offers. Take the time to prep and it will pay off!