Preparing Your Home For Sale

Your home becomes a product as soon as it hits the market. Home Staging or Styling allows you to show off the best of your home and de-emphasize its flaws. This has nothing to do with decorating, but actually turning your home into a model, to appeal to the largest range of prospective buyers. You want people feel like they could live there, and the best way to do this is to "neutralize" the surroundings.

Try out these helpful staging tips taken from Setting the Stage - REALTOR® Magazine Online. They've compiled the best tips from stagers and real estate pros—things you can do at little or no cost—to put a home in it's best showing condition.

• Clean out closets and clutter—sellers can give away or pack up toys, linens, and small kitchen appliances to store offsite. Buyers are also forgiving of storage boxes neatly tucked away in a garage or basement.
• Focus on the most visible areas—the kitchen, foyer, living room, master bedroom, and family room.
• Remove photos, mementos, and dated items to de-personalize your home.
• Use plants in colorful pots or inexpensive wicker baskets to fill in empty spaces.
• Look to home catalogs for little details on beautifying the home. For instance, group books, pictures, and objets d’art appealingly on bookcases.
• Try angling one or two pieces of furniture slightly and move furniture 4 inches to 6 inches from the wall to create more interesting room spaces.
• Put away large collections— porcelains, plates, and so on.
• Remove valuables, prescription medicine, collectibles, and breakables.
• Trim trees, prune shrubs, and make sure the lawn is mowed and watered regularly.
• In summer, turn on the sprinklers for five minutes, 30 minutes before the open house. It makes the lawn and driveway sparkle.
• Refrain from cooking anything that leaves a distinctive odor, such as fish, garlic, or cabbage.
• Hire a professional service to clean the home, including the carpets and the windows.
• Set the dining room table with attractive linens, dishes, and stemware.
• Arrange fresh or silk flowers throughout the home.
• Light a fire in the fireplace in fall and winter.
• A mirror in a pretty frame can make a small room feel more open.
• Use as much natural light as possible. Add extra lamps in dark rooms or corners.
• Make functional repairs—fix dripping faucets, sticking doors, and broken fences.
• Bring in another pair of eyes—even if it’s not a professional stylist. The person may see problems you and have missed.