Whether you’ve already put in a conditional offer on your dream home or you’re being forced to move for a job transfer, if your house is on the real estate market you’re probably hoping to sell fast for the most money possible.
Home staging is known to reduce the number of days a home spends on the market before it sells, but it can be very difficult to live in a home that must remain in showing condition at all times. This can add a lot of pressure to the already stressful process of selling your home.
Home staging expert Debra Gould shares the following house showing survival tips that will make it easier for you to maintain your beautifully staged home (and your sanity) until your investment in home staging results in a fast sale:
Get rid of the clutter
If this step wasn’t already taken care of when your house was staged, it’s the first thing you should do now. It’s much easier to maintain a clutter-free home than one that’s stuffed to the gills. Go through every closet and cubbyhole in your home and get rid of the things you never use and won’t be moving with you. Decide what you want to put in storage and do that as soon as you can.
Don’t even think about having a garage sale
If your house is currently on the market or will be listed anytime soon, do not even consider having a yard sale. You want to clear out your unwanted items before you put your home on the market. Nothing screams “desperate home seller” like a “garage sale” sign next to a “for sale” sign in your yard. You don’t want buyers to know you’re in a hurry to sell, so if you need to unload your extra stuff, put it in storage and sell it when you move to your new location. Better yet, donate it to charity.
Remove your valuables
You will never really know who is walking through your home during showings, so be sure to gather all your personal items and small valuables before the first open house. You can put them in storage or leave them with a trusted friend or family member while your house is on the market.
Create a new junk drawer
Get a basket or a box that you can use to store daily clutter, such as the day’s newspaper, magazines and other mail. When these items are restricted to one container, it will be easy to stash them away for last-minute showings.
Remove excess toys
Clear out most of the toys from your home and store them until you move. While your home is on the market, allow each child to have one basket of favorite items that can be neatly tucked away for showings. These items should not include toys or building sets with lots of small pieces that are time-consuming to collect and put away.
Let there be light
Before all showings, open the window coverings and turn on all the lights. You want your home to be shown in good lighting conditions so it seems bright and cheerful instead of dark and stuffy.
Hopefully these tips will help make things easier while your home is on the market. The good news is, if you worked with a professional home stager, it shouldn’t be long before the sold sign goes up in your lawn.
Written by internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®, www.stagingdiva.com. © Copyright Six Elements Inc. Used with permission. To learn more, visit www.stagingdivadirectoryofhomestagers.com