Ways to Make Your Home More Attractive for Showings

If you’re looking to sell in the near future, it’s important to make sure that your home is presentable to prospective buyers. This process is known as “staging.” Staging is presenting your home in its best and most appealing way to the majority of potential home buyers. The problem with staging is that many homeowners have a difficult time seeing things objectively since they have an emotional attachment to the property. It’s time to put emotions aside, and start thinking of your home as a product. What’s the best way to sell this product? What will make the product more attractive to buyers? Here are a few ways to do this without breaking the bank:

Clean Your House.
No matter how clean you think your house, there’s always dirt and grime below the surfaces and underneath hard-to-get places that aren’t typically discovered. If a buyer starts looking around and discovers filth in places other than countertops and molding, they’ll start to wonder what kind of shape the house is in. Your home must sparkle. I highly suggest hiring a cleaning crew or professional cleaning company to come in and scrub every surface, including the windows.

Get it Fixed.
After you’ve cleaned the home and it’s now looking like a completely different place, you’ll want to address any issues or problems with the house by repair work. Most issues can be fixed by yourself, but if there are any severe problems such as structural work then you’ll need to hire a professional. It’s best to address these issues now instead of waiting for the property to go under contract and the home inspection comes back with a nightmare report.

Paint.
Use common sense when it comes to selecting paint schemes. If you tend to appreciate vibrant and bright colors, then keep in mind that the majority of the public do not share your same interests. Remember, it’s not personal. It’s business. Paint the home with nice, neutral colors that are pleasant to the eye. This will create an image of quality and neutrality. You want the buyers to be able to envision their own furniture in the space, and if there are bold colors then they will immediately tune out the home and dismiss it as a possibility.

Get rid of unnecessary furniture.
Clutter is a buyer’s worst enemy. Everyone loves their stuff. But the reality is most homeowners have too much of it. Use the fifty percent rule. Take inventory of all the furniture and personal belongings and decrease the amount by half. Large, bulky furniture makes a room appear smaller and disorganized. Also, at this point take the extra step to take all of your personal items out of the house. Remove objects that buyers won’t be able to identify with such as political items or religious art. These objects can turn buyers off from your property and can also be offensive.

Zero in on certain areas in your home.
The entrance is the first impression a prospective buyer will make on your home. The moment they step in the door they immediately size up the home being that this is the first thing they will look at everyday when they come home. Make the entryway light and bright as possible, which means cleaning the window, repainting the front door, and painting the walls a light, neutral tone.

When it comes to bathrooms, make sure you have scrubbed away any mildew or mold that has accumulated on the shower and sink surfaces. Everything in the bathroom should appear shiny and new, and that includes buying new bars of soap for display. Always have a shower curtain draped over the shower. Have some new towels on display.

These are just a few ways you can make your home presentable. Staging your home is fairly inexpensive but requires a great deal of time and energy. The results will be worth it. Remember to always think of your house as a product.