Home staging tips: Sell faster by doing these simple things

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In a competitive real estate market, home staging plays a major role in the selling and marketing strategy because it helps you sell your home more quickly and for more money. Below you'll find my top staging tips for preparing your home for sale:

• Clean. If you do only one thing to get your house ready for sale, give it a deep cleaning. Every corner, window, fixture and appliance should be spotless. Also, make sure you get rid of offensive stains and odors from pets, tobacco or other sources. If you hate doing this kind of cleaning, get a professional cleaning service to do it for you, but remember to maintain it.
• Condition matters. Home maintenance is a big deal to prospective buyers. Put their mind at ease by fixing things that aren't up to par. Doors that squeak, cracked walls, peeling paint, damaged floors, leaky faucets and loose handles all communicate neglect to a buyer. Fix anything that's damaged or isn't working. Never try to hide items needing attention. Offering allowances in lieu of making a repair may seem like a good idea, but it could also reduce a buyer's offer.
• Lure them in. Many buyers make a decision about whether to look at a property based on how the outside appears. Lure them in by setting the stage with neatly mowed lawns and groomed gardens. Keep the driveway, walkways and porches free of clutter, and in fall and winter clear leaves and snow. Paint the front door, polish its hardware and put out a new welcome mat. Weather permitting, a plant on the steps or near the door adds a nice finishing touch.
• Become a minimalist. For staging purposes, most people could easily reduce the amount of stuff in their house by 40 to 50 percent. Clutter is a huge distraction to buyers. Remember, they are buying the house, not your things! Pack or get rid of anything not essential to daily living including collections, stacks of papers, magazines and family photos. Balance is important though, be careful not to leave the place looking stark and sterile.
• Update. Even if you have an older house, it should have updated features. Remove or change things that make the house look dated and worn out. Things like wallpaper, old or out-of-date cabinet hardware, rugs, curtains, doilies, outdated light fixtures, worn or faded furniture, accessories and artwork should be replaced. You should also freshen up tired spaces with a coat of paint.
• Give a complete picture. Avoid leaving some rooms empty. Furnished rooms give buyers a complete picture of how a space is used, how much it can accommodate and how it flows. Empty spaces shift a buyer's focus to what they perceive to be wrong because there is nothing else for them to look at. If needed, a home stager can access rental furniture for you. If using your own, make sure it is in good condition. Using old, beat-up furniture and accessories that have seen better days defeats the purpose.
• Love at first sight. Most buyers (nearly 85 percent) use the Internet to prescreen properties. Make it love at first sight by ensuring the photos of your house look great. Avoid photos of pets, people and vignettes of favorite decorations. Buyers don't care; their only interest is the house. Also, avoid using only exterior photos, which leave buyers wondering if the inside isn't worth seeing or has problems.
• Don't take it personally. Selling a home can be an exhausting and draining process. Living in a home that is for sale is not the same as living in one that isn't. Not taking things personally and setting aside lifestyle habits may be difficult, but those temporary changes will help achieve your goal of selling your home more quickly.
• Hire a stager and heed their advice. Staging your home before it goes on the market is best, but even if it's been on the market a while, staging can make a big difference. A professional home stager is trained to make your home appeal to a broad range of prospective buyers. A stager will advise you about changes that should be made, working as much as possible with what you already own. Staging your home will cost you less than your first price reduction, which means more money in your pocket, and it will make the selling process less stressful and more successful.