How to stage your house to sell
So you've decided to sell your house! Now time to embark on a crazy time in your life and trying to put your house on the market.
When we decided to move we planned out when we wanted our house to go on the market and started decluttering our house with an overall goal in mind:
Overall goal: Make your house look like an air bnb or like no one actually lives there
This is how we did it and sold our house on the first day over asking price.
Step 1: Declutter, Declutter, Declutter!
Seriously, I know people always say it but this is HUGE. It will save you a lot of time on the back end of selling your home if you have already packed half of it. It also gave me some perspective of what I actually use from day to day and what I really don't need.
Go through your stuff and donate everything you do not wish to take with you. Why would you haul stuff to a new place to then get rid of it?
As you pack and declutter label all of your boxes- invariably you will need something later that you thought you wouldn't need and it is nice to have the boxes labeled so you can quickly find it. I tried to label boxes by room and then on one side list the things that were in the box so that when searching I could quickly look and see what was in each box without opening it. I've also seen people use stickers, colored markers, excel spreadsheets. Whatever organization method makes you happy- do it.
Decluttering can be very stressful to do, so I just tried to do 1-2 boxes per day and then I was done. Sometimes if I was on a roll I would do more, but 1-2 was most manageable for me. I had a spot in my house where I would start to put things that were ready to be packed, once enough things piled up there I got a box out and packed them.
Where am I supposed to be putting all these boxes? Some people rent a storage space- I did what is technically taboo and put them in my garage. I purposely stacked them neatly though along the edges so that you could still get a feel for the entire space of the garage. I just couldn't justify for our situation to haul it all out to a storage space and rent that space for only a month. Plus I figured (and I was right) that we would need something out of the boxes and I didn't want to have to drive over there and dig through boxes to find it.
This is sooooo important. When I walk into a potential house (or let's face it any house) that is stuffed to the brim with clutter my immediate reaction is stress and wanting to run, not relaxing and potentially picturing myself living here.
If possible take out unnecessary furniture to make rooms look bigger. My rule for bedrooms is 2-3 pieces only!
Step 2: Take majority of items off your walls, especially personalized stuff
Part of this is a privacy thing for me and part of this is a selling thing. First of all, these pictures of your house will be on the internet- realistically for years- do you really want all of your family photos and mementos to be seen there? Even if the house is off the market you can still search the house on Zillow and look at the most recent pictures. I know this because I would randomly look up my house on Zillow to see what the house looked like when we moved and how far we had come.
Second of all, when you are selling your house you want the buyer to be picturing themselves in the house- that can make it hard to do it if your family photos are all over the walls and your last name is in big letters in the kitchen.
In my opinion, when in doubt, bare walls are better. We left two wall hangings up during our showing, in focal areas that were neutral in content. There's nothing that stresses me out more than looking at a potential house's focal wall with 300 pictures on it and saying "oh boy are they going to patch all those holes?"
Any decor you leave out make sure that it is seasonal or neutral. I just stuck to lanterns, plants and seasonal (it was spring for us)
Step 3: Take out half of the the items in all of your closets and cabinets
As much as you really don't want them to people are going to go through all of your closets and cabinet. Just accept this ahead of time. It's ok to have things in your cabinets and closets but it should be minimal and look clean.
To declutter closets and cabinets try to empty about half of the things out of them. Are you really going to wear every single clothing item you own in the next month? Do you really need all of your party platters, sassy mugs or tupperware containers in the next month?
Be aware that anything you have in your closet can be and will be seen by potential buyers. I once opened a closet door and there were dirty bras hanging- it was awkward and a deterrent.
Pro tip: Places people do not look are in dresser drawers. I cleared out a dresser drawer and hid random things that we would still need but wanted to get out of the closet (like dress shoes)
Unpopular fact: Your house smells. It may not smell like anything to you but trust me- it smells.
People are very sensitive to smells! Or at least I am. I can't go to candle places or body lotion stores without getting a headache after 15 minutes from being overwhelmed.
If possible, open your windows a few hours a day and let the house really air out and get the smells out.
If possible stop cooking with harsh smelling items (i.e.vinegar, spices, fish). This can be hard to do when your husband is obsessed with this stuff, but try your best.
Just be aware that different people are very sensitive to smells and essential oils. I know quite a few people who have allergic reactions to lavender or lemon oil. Instead of a diffuser or a scentsy I just tried to air out my house to have a neutral smell (or no smell) instead. If someone was coming to my house a few days/weeks before we were putting it on the market I would just ask them- "Does my house have a smell?" It may smell fine to you, but you've gone nose blind to it.
When I walk into a potential place and I get hit with a bomb of scent my first immediate thought is: "What are they hiding?"
If you HAVE to have an air freshener somewhere (like the laundry room) stick to the most neutral scents possible (ie fresh scent, mountain breeze) rather than something that is over powering like a fruit or lavender. I feel like I'm really harping on lavender here, I do really like the scent, but I know not everyone does.
Step 5: Get your landscaping up to snuff
Remember that the front of your house is the first thing people see- usually in pictures or in person. It should be a nice introduction to how nice your house is.
If during mowing season plan to mow and weed whack a few days ahead of time so the lawn looks its best on showing days
If you have stuff that is overgrown trim it down, if it's been a few years since you've mulched last add mulch.
Put a neutral seasonal wreath on your front door, buy a new door mat, and add anything you can think of to make your porch as welcoming as possible such as flower pots with blooming flowers. Remember buyers will spend the most amount of time bored on your front porch while the realtor is opening the lock box. If you have a worn old welcome mat covered in dirt and leaves it's really not the best first impression for whatever work you've done inside.
Step 6: Do those minor projects that you have been putting off for the past few years.
Go around and do a paint and trim touch up. Have friends "tour" your house and point things out to you that you may not notice
I've heard some people say "repaint every room in the house!" to be honest- "ain't nobody got time for that!" I would consider repainting a room if it's an obnoxious color or if the paint is chipping, but otherwise I would suggest just touch up. Most people are ok with painting so I really don't think you will get the payoff from your time and money you would spend repainting every room in the house.
One thing that we did however was shampoo our carpets in the bedrooms. This forced us to clean everything out of each room and deliberately put back only things we needed. It also gave our carpets a nice shiny clean look. We borrowed a carpet cleaner from a friend.
Step 7: DEEP CLEAN
I feel like this should go without saying but then I go and look at homes and I'm always shocked. As you are packing go through a do a good deep clean. When's the last time your baseboards got a good wipe down? I know this is difficult to do while actively packing as you are decluttering you should also be cleaning.
Step 6: Have your relator/ you get pictures from multiple angles
When your realtor (or you) take pictures make sure you get multiple angles of each room. This helps a potential buyer looking online to be able to visualize the entire house if they are able to see how to get from room to room. To me it gives me reassurance, if a house has a weird layout I would rather know that ahead of time from the pictures rather than be surprised by it when I go there in person. If you purposely hide a weird layout it makes me wonder what else the person is hiding.
Day of showing staging tips:
- Get out of town for the first weekend. Seriously this was so great for us and I would highly recommend it. We purposely timed our house going on the market with a weekend trip. Most people actively looking want to see a house the first weekend that it goes on the market. By us being gone all weekend as many people that wanted to see our house could see it and I didn't have to worry about trying to live in it and keep it clean. Plus a weekend trip is a nice reward for all the chaos going on in your house.
- Take your laundry with you- trust me no one wants to see or smell your dirty clothes. Don't just throw it in the washer!! People look in there too!
-Do all of your dishes before you go and put them away or run your dishwasher so when they open it- its clean dishes with a fresh scent.
- Take out your trash and recycle before you leave!
-Vacuum/Sweep/mop! You want the house looking its best.
-Clear out a dresser drawer ahead of time to throw random clutter
- For random stuff that you need in your day to day life but looks like clutter (i.e. random papers, stamps, pens, etc) have a designated box that you keep it in that particular room. That day of showing just take the box out to the garage and bring it back in when you are done.
-Instead of throwing clutter in a closet or cabinet, throw it under the bed if you have no other options.
-Take any evidence that you have pets with you. This is HUGE. Yes pets are awesome but they can be a big deterrent for people because they can damage homes and make big messes. Trust me that no one wants to see or smell a litter box in a potential home. Either take them with your or arrange for them to go on a mini vacation with some friends while your house is on the market.
- Take valuables with you. This includes firearms, jewelry, your safe with important documents. Theoretically a relator would be with the people viewing your house at all times but you are still letting people you don't know tour your house.
- Clear off your countertops in the bathroom and kitchen as much as possible. Bathrooms especially!! All that should be there is soap and maybe a cute decor item. When in doubt less is more. Don't leave your tooth brushes, lotions, pills out on the counter!
-Turn on every light in your house and set the thermostat to a neutral temperature. This is not the weekend to be stingy about your electric bill. The more light and airy your house is the better looking it appears. Also you want people to feel comfortable when they enter your house- not too hot or too cold.
- Other staging ideas: I put out a tray on the main bed and our guest bed with a blanket, coffee cup, plant and a book just to make it more welcoming. If you have nice china consider setting the table. My goal was to make people feel like they were coming to an air bnb or a guest house. I wanted to make them feel welcome so that they would consider buying my house.
Good Luck!
Any other suggestions?
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