Are You Ready to Sell? How to Stage Your House for Top Dollar in 2021

If you are thinking about selling your property in Southwest Florida, you probably want top dollar, right? Of course you do! There are things you can do to make sure you get the best offer for your house. The main thing you want to focus on is: home presentation (a.k.a. staging). You need to present your house in the best possible light!

What is staging? Staging is the process of making the best “image” of your property to impress and appeal to Buyers. You want to create an atmosphere that makes it easy for a Buyer to picture living in it. Staging seeks to highlight the existing features and paint the home as “picturesque”.

Why does staging matter? Because you need your house to STAND OUT from all the other houses that are out there on the Market. In today’s market, Buyers have many choices, so you want your house to be the one that sticks out from the rest. Cleaning & decluttering will help, but there is more you can do to increase buyer appeal.

Staging your house, the right way will maximize your profit potential and might even help you sell your house faster. You could hire a company that specializes in staging but honestly, you don’t need to hire a professional to see a big return on the sale of your house. You can even do this on a tight budget. Try out some of these tried-and-true home staging tips from experts for a quicker, more profitable sale!

Declutter and remove any trash

Remove all the clutter from the living areas, make sure toilet seats are down, all trash cans are empty, and use a mild air freshener throughout your home, especially near bathrooms and pet areas.

To make storage spaces seem ample, make sure your closets aren’t overflowing with too many clothes & belongings. Buyers WILL want to look in the closets to see what kind of storage space there is so if you do have a lot of clothes or stuff in your closets, considere moving half of these and storing them elsewhere during the selling process.

Let in the light

A very impactful (and FREE) way to stage is to maximize natural light as much as possible. One thing Buyers really LOVE is when rooms feel open & bright.  Don’t be afraid to add a few more lamps, mirrors in smaller rooms to reflect light and make rooms look larger, change any warm yellow lights to the white LED ones and open your windows! If you have bright colored walls, that also tends to improve light conditions & make things cheerier.

Remove all personal belongings

Before receiving buyers into your space, you’ll want to remove any personal items like family photos, sports memorabilia, and other person knick-knacks. Removing these items will make it easier for the potential Buyer to envision themselves & their stuff in the space.

The less things that are there to distract the Buyers, the more likely they are to focus on the home’s features & what it has to offer.

Replace bathroom towels with white towels

What you’re going for in the bathrooms is a “spa-like” feel. Something that speaks “relaxation” and “comfort”. So, replace your usual bathroom linens with clean, fluffy white towels. It would also help to have a white shower curtain and white mats too. This will open the space up and will look very attractive!

Use white bedding in bedroom, too!

The bedroom is a big part of what will make a sale and your bed is going to be the focal point of your Master Bedroom. This makes it one of the most important items to consider updating when staging your houses for sale.

If your current bedding isn’t show quality status, we recommend purchasing a new duvet set and giving it a quick upgrade. White bedding reflects the peaceful ambiance we are trying to create throughout the home. A white duvet cover slipped over your comforter will give your bed new life!

Don’t let your windows go bare

Whatever you do, don’t let your windows stay bare or have cheap-looking blinds. Hang drapes instead. Drapes, when hung high and wide, will make your windows look open & more substantial. Eyes are drawn to drapes so make sure to pick a nice color that matches your room’s color scheme.

Style your bookshelves

This step gets overlooked a lot. You might be an avid reader with dozens of old novels shoved onto bookshelves that you are proud of. What you’re not aware of is how cluttered this looks to the eyes of Buyers. At least for the time being, put those old novels in storage and find some neutral-colored decorations and items to spread out on the bookshelves. Don’t be afraid to allow space – this makes everything look bigger and more open.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Your staging may be different than someone else’s – and that’s okay, even if it’s your neighbor selling & staging their own house! Because every home is unique and needs to stand out, so you have to make your home’s existing features as appealing as possible. Decluttering, cleaning, and tidying up will make a huge difference in getting your house ready for sale.

We hope these home staging tips help you get top dollar for your property in Southwest Florida!