According to 2020 reports, homes typically stay on the market for about 56 days from listing to closing. While this is 8% quicker than the year before, you may still be wondering how to sell your home even faster.
To be frank, there are several reasons why a home might sell slowly or quickly—including luck. Some factors include location and the market’s current state, while others might be seasonal or conditional.
There’s one thing that’s for certain, though: home-staging never hurt anyone trying to sell! A house that’s well-prepared, neutral in appearance, and market-ready is certain to catch the attention of buyers over one that’s filled with memorabilia or clutter and leaves much to be desired.
But when it comes to how to make a home look good, you may be wondering what’s worth it (and what’s not). In this guide, we highlight the dos and don’ts of making your home ready to buy. Keep reading for five expert home-staging tips!
1. Remove Any Personal Effects
This tip is perhaps one of the most important of the home-staging tips.
Is your home decorated with flags, football trophies, movie posters, and other collectible items that resonate with you? If so, it’s time to pack them up! No one (but you) wants to see your memorabilia when they walk into your home for a tour.
Why?
Because, instead of envisioning themselves there, the potential buyers will only see you—and it may not translate. Let’s say, for example, you’re a die-hard Buccaneers fan, and in walks a lover of the Packers; do you think they’ll be pleased to see an opposing team on your wall?
Probably not.
So, however possible, make things neutral in the home. Perhaps you can store your personal items in a storage unit, your new home, or at a friend’s house for the time being.
2. Less Is More
A house filled with clutter is…well…unsightly. Plus, the fewer items in your home, the larger it looks, giving viewers more of an opportunity to understand the space available and what they can do with it.
In the midst of the moving process, it might be hard to reduce the clutter in your space, but this is paramount to a good home-staging project. To put it simply: less will always be more.
De-cluttering doesn’t have to be too difficult. Start here:
- Clear out the closet, where potential home buyers will definitely be scoping
- Remove the “junk” from your “junk drawers,” leaving an enviable blank space
- Give the home an overall dusting and cleaning, making it appear spick-and-span
- Remove anything that doesn’t belong, i.e., personal effects mentioned above, laundry hampers full of dirty clothes, shoes by the front door, etc.
- Keep the countertops clear of objects
3. Introduce Light, Flowers, and Other Natural, Neutral Elements
The more organic-looking your house, the more appealing it’ll be for interested buyers.
If you’ve got a gorgeous, north-facing window, consider opening the shades and letting the natural light in, letting your whole home bathe in that sunny glow. Similarly, effects like fresh flowers, a green plant (toss the dead one!), or a scentless candle can mean the difference between “nice” and “we-should-move-in.”
This point can even apply to things like the paint. For example, if you have a bright red wall in the bedroom, could you give it a quick once-over with a neutral color? Paint is an affordable way to upgrade your home, making it ready to sell without costing you big bucks.
4. Open up the Space
As we mentioned earlier, the fewer items in your home, the more open and spacious it’ll appear—even if it’s tiny.
If possible, remove as much as you can in the way of furniture. If your bedroom houses a bed, two end tables, an entertainment center for the TV, a work-from-home set-up, and anything of that manner, see what you can remove. If you’ve got a storage unit or a place to store extra furniture, put it there.
Your bedroom will look so much more open if the only thing in there is a made bed and an end table holding a lamp. Give the home viewers space to walk around and explore the many options for their own furniture floor plans.
5. Don’t Forget the Exterior
Staging the exterior of your home is arguably just as important as staging the inside of it. You might even get some passersby who are interested in buying, just because of a glowing exterior and a For Sale sign in the yard!
Exterior home-staging includes things like:
- Mowing the lawn
- Clearing dead plants or shrubs
- Repainting the front door (if it needs it/time allows)
- Washing the windows
- Pressure-washing the driveway and siding
- Removing any personal effects (such as basketball hoops) and clutter (such as lawn equipment)
Home-Staging Your House Is a No-Brainer!
If you’re looking for methods to selling your home quickly, then these tips are for you.
Home-staging doesn’t require major renovations or costly improvements. Rather, it capitalizes on the foundation of your home, its already-apparent beauty or desirability, and makes it ripe for selling. Use these practices to get your home looking like a blank canvas so that every viewer can imagine their own lives in it—not yours!
Regardless of the state of your home, whether you choose to stage it or not, we at WeBuyHousesMemphis are ready to purchase any house in any condition. We offer a 24-hour turnaround on quotes that stays for up to seven days, allowing you the time you need to make the right decision.
Click here to request a cash offer ASAP.