Home Staging Tips for Pack Rats

When it comes to home staging, you really should purge and get rid of things in order to give your home an uncluttered look. But we know that sometimes it is hard to get rid of belongings, even if you know that it will help you reach your goal of selling your home. There may be some things that you want to keep, but may not want to display. If you simply cannot find a way to make them seem decorative, buy containers that you can put under a bed so these things can remain out of sight. Then get creative with the rest of the things that you do not want to throw away.

So here are some home staging tips to camouflage items such as books that you find that can’t really part with—

-Take the dust covers off of hardback books and display them in a decorative manner—for example you could group them by color.

-Stack books vertically and top the stack with trophies or vases or some other objects.

-Use baskets to hide things like paperbacks or other knickknacks that you do not want lying around.

Why You Need A Second Opinion on Home Staging

As you prepare to sell your home, you should take any repairs recommended by your real estate agent very seriously. Money may be tight, but if you want to sell your home you will need to invest a little money in getting into buyer-friendly condition.

You may want to hire a home staging company to assist you in bringing our your home's best features. One reason to hire an expert to help with home staging is that there will be things that will escape your attention after you have lived in your home for a number of years.

At the very least, have a friend who does not spend a lot of time at your house come by and give you an opinion so that you can get someone else's point of view on how you can get your home ready for sale.

You may not even notice that cooking odors have taken over parts of the house. Or it may not occur to you that your house is cluttered because you are so used to the way it looks.

Home Staging...with Live Actors

When it comes to home selling trends, we are always amazed at some people's creativity. A while back we told you about homeselling sleepovers--where potential buyers asking to sleepover in homes that are for sale so that they could get a feel for what it would be like to live in them.

Well, now some builders and owners are hiring people to stay in unsold properties and taking home staging to a whole new level. The Wall Street Journal has reported that instead of just getting new furniture as a prop, people are hiring temps to stay in houses to give them that "lived-in" look. People hired for these jobs must be able to give it the ambiance of someone who can afford to live there, even if they can't. They add their own touches--magazines and photos and such--to make it seem less vacant.

One such temp hired by a builder said that she fields calls from real estate agents and tell them that she lives there because she does, at least temporarily. She auditioned for this job with includes making sure the house is pristine for 12 hours a day. She also has to light candles and turn on music and then leave prior to showings. When she has some warning, she will bake cookies before a real estate agents shows up with a prospective buyer.

And perhaps it works. If the One buyer who toured the property occupied by the temp mentioned above guessed that the house was being put up for sale by a wealthy world traveler.

Five Ways to Make More Space and Make that Sale

Not too long ago, I mentioned that even if you do not employ the services of a home stager, you can still put home staging philosophies to work as you prepare you home to receive potential buyers. The experts are the very skilled at what they do, but that does not mean that you cannot make use of some of the same techniques.

An empty house is uninviting and a cluttered house is off-putting. You want to be somewhere in the middle, by filling in some of the gaps, yet still leaving something to the imagination so the buyer can see themselves in your home.

One way to do this is to make your home more spacious in big and small ways--

1. Clear about 2/3 of the clothes from the closets. That way they won't looked overstuffed or foster feelings of being cramped.

2. Do the same in kids rooms--clear out at least 1/3 of the toys.

3. Store less in kitchen cabinets so shelves seem like they can accommodate more.

4. Take a piece of furniture out of the a bedroom or living room.

5. Get rid of drapes that look tired. The sunlight will stream in and the bare windows will make the space seem larger.

Use Home Staging Philosophy to Sell Your Home

Home stagers have a lot in their bag of tricks when it comes to giving a property the kind of makeover that will have casual open house visitors actually making offers.

And even if you do not have all of the furniture and physical goods that they have at their disposal, you can still use some of their philosophies to help your home go from "For Sale" to "Sold."

One philosophy is that people who are looking for a new home do not want to be reminded of the drudgery of everyday life. Even though they have likely come from a home that is quite down-to-earth and plan to purchase one where they will continue to live a regular life, people still want to buy into a fantasy.

This is why people who are selling homes are often advised to get rid of clutter. Clutter is a reminder of day-to-day life. It is also a reminder to the potential buyer does not live there just yet.

Home stagers also know to keep reminders of cleaning, such as mops, buckets and cleaning products, out of sight. Potential homebuyers want to think about grand living in their new home and do not want to be reminded that they will have to clean it, as well as relax in it.

Realtor/Seller Credits Home Staging

If anyone knows what to do to sell a home, it's a realtor, right? What about a couple who are both realtors?

Money Magazine reports that when two Idaho realtors wanted to sell their bungalow (recent $50,000 renovation, including a new kitchen), they hired a home stager to make their home as attractive as possible.

Depending on your needs and price range, home stagers can just add finishing touches to put some polish on a home or they can come in and rearrange things or even purchase new items that will help make a sale.

The techniques that the home stager used to make the Idaho home more buyer-friendly included rearranging furniture to make the home seem more spacious and re-purposing rooms. Turning an small, awkwardly shaped room into a reading nook answered a question that potential home buyers would ask (“What could I do with this odd space?”) before they even got a chance to wonder about it. The idea was to make it so that buyers could really see themselves living there as soon as they walked in, without having to do the mental guesswork to imagine how they could improve the space.

The couple had a cash offer within five days.

Home Staging Your Kitchen

When it comes to home staging, you must consider every room in your home. So don't neglect the kitchen. It is the heart of the home. People spend a lot of time in their kitchens (whether they actually cook or not). If your house has an open kitchen, then you really cannot afford to leave it untouched as you set the stage in other parts of the house.

The thing about home staging is balance. If you clear everything out, the rooms will look barren. And if you get too fancy, potential buyers will be turned off and unable to see themselves actually living in the house.

Here are some tips:

-Give the kitchen a thorough scrubbing, so it shines.

-Avoid cooking odors. Go out or bring food home before open houses.

-Don't leave cleaning products in sight.

-Clear the refrigerator of excess notes, magnets, etc.

-Put new handles or knobs on cabinets to give the room a lift.

-Don't leave dirty dishes in the sink or dishwasher.

-Arrange cups and plates in a pleasing way. When buyers open cabinets (and they will) orderliness will have a positive effect on them.

-Put out a bowl of fresh fruit or a pretty bottle of oil, vinegar or wine.

Don't Say "Humbug" to Holiday Homeselling

You might be thinking that the holiday season is a time when you should remove your home from the housing market, but you do not have to do this. True, there may be fewer people out there looking, especially if the weather is really cold…but people who do continue house hunting despite lower temperatures and holiday distractions really want to find a home.

One way to make your home really stand out this time of year is to consider trimming back the trimmings. In other words, don’t drag out every single bauble and ornament you have. A wreath here and a holiday candle there will do. Make the sacrifice to go light on the decorations this year and when your property is sold, you can decorate every inch of your new home.

Although some buyers might feel more cheerful seeing your home all dolled up, it is important that you don’t cover up your home’s key features with decorations. If the fireplace is blocked by your life-size statue of Santa, potential buyers may not be able to appreciate what a great find your home is.

If you host the family’s annual holiday dinner, you may consider moving it to someone else’s home or trying a restaurant this year. Otherwise, it will be hard for you to resist the temptation to go all out on decorations . Plus, you’ll have to work extra hard to streamline your home’s look when you think someone will be coming to view it.

Show Your Home in the Best Light

There are so many ways to highlight your homes best features and set the stage for a sale.

One way is to use light to your best advantage. People may have different personalities and desires, but most will feel more at home in a place that has good lighting.

If your home has dark or heavy curtains, considers switching to a different window treatment. Choose curtains in neutral colors that let in light to ensure that potential buyers feel your home is inviting. Your windows shouldn’t be bare, but at the same time they shouldn’t make such a bold statement that buyers cannot see themselves living there.

You can also replace regular light bulbs with full spectrum light bulbs. These light bulbs mimic the effects of natural sunlight. In the fall and winter when there are fewer hours of daylight, buyers may be viewing your home at a time when natural sunlight is not streaming in to illuminate rooms. At this time of year, full spectrum light bulbs can make the inside of a room look like it is summer.

These bulbs vary in price, but the more expensive varieties not only mimic sunlight, there are also used by people who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder to improve mood. Imagine happy, cheerful prospective buyers touring your home and make sure your lighting leads to a sale!

Home Staging: A Different Kind of Home Theater

What is home staging? Home staging is when you put those finishing touches on your home after you've made minor repairs, cleaned, and gotten rid of clutter. It is like a costume: maybe you didn’t dress your home like this every day, but you know that now it needs to shine so that it can sell.

All the world's a stage and your home is no different. You need to prepare it to perform in the real estate market by using the following home staging techniques the experts use. Here is what they do to create an ambience that will have buyers lining up with offers—

Put out bowls of succulent fruits

Use oil on wood cabinets to give then an appealing sheen

Group furniture so there is space to walk around

Draw attention to features like fireplaces and mantels with a distinctive knickknack

Keep window treatments simple

You can pay special attention to the bathroom and make it into a welcome retreat by—

Equipping it with thick, soft linen

Tying towels with ribbons

Displaying scented soaps

Putting out lotions in luxurious containers

If you clean up, but do not take the time to add these decorative touches, your home may leave prospective buyers feeling a little empty. Home staging can play up the potential of a property and make it more inviting. There was nothing wrong with your home’s everyday look, but you need to set the stage for it to sell. Buyers are drawn to a place with an atmosphere of abundance. Little things like setting out a bowl of large fruit or adding luster to the cabinets can go a long way towards swaying a buyer to consider your place over another.