Learning About Luxury Real Estate

Staging a home has many benefits, including helping your home sell faster and letting you take better quality photos. However, there are several things people often forget when staging their homes that can be off-putting to potential buyers. Here are three things you need to take care of to ensure your home puts it best foot forward.

Neutralize the Home Decor

The purpose of staging a home is not to show off your decorating skills but to help potential buyers better imagine what they could do with the space. That's one reason why staged homes sell quicker than unstaged ones. The trouble is your personal style can actually get in the way of potential buyers seeing the home clearly. They may be too distracted by your collection of singing bass to focus on the room's crown molding or other features.

Therefore, it's a good idea to stage your home as neutrally as possible. For instance, repaint the hot pink walls in your kids' room to a grey, taupe, or white, and use gender neutral bedding and towels in the bedrooms and bathrooms. This will make it easier for potential buyers to imagine themselves living in the house.

Eliminate Pet Odors

It's a well-known fact that people become nose-blind to odors in their homes. So if you have pets, there's a good chance your home smells like it and you just don't notice any more. However, potential homebuyers will and that could cause them to take your home off the list before they even start the tour.

Get all of your carpets cleaned and use an odor absorbing powder each time you vacuum. Wash the walls and other surfaces your pet may have had contact with. Pet toys, blankets, and other smelly items should be placed in the garage or other out-of-the-way space until after the tour has ended.

Add Purpose to Extra Rooms

The third thing many people forget about is extra unused rooms. If you've been using the extra room in your home as impromptu storage or have left it bare, consider staging it too. You can rent furniture from a local store to create a bedroom, office, or other space to provide buyers with ideas about what can be done.

This also applies to outdoor spaces, like decks and garden areas. Get some outdoor furniture and dress up the area to make it more appealing.

For more tips on staging your home to sell, contact a real estate agent like Re/Max Alliance - The Diane Stow Team