Seven Tips for Staging a House to Sell

First published for Service Credit Union

The real-estate market may have its ebbs and flows, but when it comes time to sell your house, the goal is always to sell quickly and for top dollar. But even in today’s supposed seller’s market, just throwing a for-sale sign in the yard and listing a house is not the best way to achieve those two goals. By taking a bit of time to prepare your home for sale, you can make sure it will stand out as “the one” to buyers.

A recent job change for my husband was our signal that after 10 years in our Epping, NH home, it was time to take the next step into a larger home that would be closer to more commuter options. While we were both excited about all of the possibilities, we were also nervous about the process. We had purchased our home just as the housing bubble was bursting and, boy, is the market ever different now. Not to mention neither of us had ever sold a home before and were terrified of the prospect of working full-time jobs and keeping the house “show ready” for months. At the time that we were selling, the average time on the market in Epping was 72 days! With the help of our realtor, Katie, we spent about a month getting the house ready to sell. Once the house listed, and the sign went up in the front yard, it was a mere 48 hours before it was under contract for an amount over our original asking price.

What made our humble colonial stand out from the others on the market? Aside from being priced right, with the assistance of Katie and her professional stager, we staged our house in a way that photographed well for the online listing, and allowed buyers to walk in and immediately imagine how great it would be to live there.

If you don’t have a realtor who works with a stager, and it isn’t in the budget to hire one yourself, these seven tips can help you get your house ready for a speedy sale that maximizes your equity.

1.) Freshen up

A fresh coat of paint and some new hardware works wonders. While we loved the rich, cozy feeling of our dark blue dining room, a bold color won’t appeal to everyone and, in our case, it made the room look smaller. For a minimal cost, we freshened up a few rooms with light colored neutrals and updated the light switches to match the rest of the house. Adding white shower curtains and towels to the bathrooms gave them a super clean feel.

We also spent a bit of money completing some projects that we just hadn’t gotten around to yet. While we didn’t go as extravagant as we would have if we were staying, we replaced the carpet on our stairs and updated our main bathroom. I wouldn’t recommend renovations if they aren’t absolutely needed, but as bathrooms and kitchens sell houses, putting a little bit of effort into them can earn you that money back.

2.) Clean, de-clutter and de-personalize

With a goal to be in a new house within six months, my husband and I packed anything we wouldn’t absolutely need between May and October into a storage pod. All of our winter clothes, extra blankets, the Christmas decorations and the really cool kitchen gadgets we almost never use went into boxes. We also packed away most of our personal decorations, books and photos. Not only is this helpful for staging but we are now halfway packed for our upcoming move!

Once everything was in the pod, we hired a professional cleaning company to come and do a deep-clean of the whole house. They cleaned all the floors and surfaces, dusted all the sills and fixtures, cleaned behind the fridge and under the stove, and washed all the windows inside and out. Paying for this was a personal choice based on our schedules but of course, you may also choose to do it yourself for free.

3.) Clear those countertops

In the kitchen, EVERYTHING was taken off the counters with the exception of our knife block, the coffeemaker, a bowl of lemons and the blender. (To be honest, the blender should have gone too, but we use it every day and I could not part with it.) All of the useful items, such as paper towels and dish soap, were hidden in cabinets. (No one likes to envision themselves actually doing the dishes.)

4.) Re-arrange and remove excess furniture

While filling the living room with as many seats as possible was great for watching a big game or spreading out after a long day, it made our 322 square foot living room feel much smaller than it is. By pulling our couch away from the wall and creating distinct areas for conversation, we made the room feel bigger and more welcoming. In the bedroom, removing an overstuffed couch, repositioning the furniture and creating a headboard with some wall art gave the room a real luxury feel.

5.) Organize your storage

Closets are a great place to hide things, but because buyers will want to see how spacious they are, you can’t just throw all your stuff in there. Choosing to live with a capsule wardrobe while we went through this process allowed us to create space between every hanger in our master closet. We also cleaned out, organized and created “tunnels” in our storage closets that allowed a buyer to easily see all the way to the back. This visual break allows someone to get a feel for how much space they will have.

6.) Let there be light

Open up those curtains! Katie showed us how extending the curtain rod out and placing some of the curtain tabs on the other side of the bracket allowed us to open the curtains up wider, making the windows look larger and allowing more light in. Since we have a smart home, we made sure that all our lights were set to white and 100% brightness before showings, and left instructions for agents to have Alexa turn on the whole house when they entered.

7.) Glamorize (tastefully)

All of those personal items we packed away left the house feeling a little plain. Adding some carefully placed throw pillows and blankets to the couch, chairs and bed gave it back a bit of warmth and hominess without being too taste specific. We “book-scaped” our bookcase, adding a few books back purely for looks, and brought in some plants and fresh flowers to brighten things up. We went for fresh flowers mainly as an excuse to visit the local flower market, but you can also use artificial arrangements, which require less maintenance.

Staging a home is not a cakewalk. We spent nights and weekends painting and packing. We had to set aside our personal feelings as we turned our home into a house that could be marketed to strangers. We checked in with our realtor regularly to give updates on our progress, and asked questions about furniture placement, what items should stay and if we were on track. When all was said and done, we spent a month of sweat and a bit of money, but what we gained in the speed that our house went under contract and the price it went for, more than made up for it. Plus, we have the benefit of living in a tastefully staged house until the closing!

This post is part one of a three-part series on preparing your home for sale. Check out part two, 5 Tips for Living in a Staged Home, now.