Expert Advice - 10 Tips for Staging Your Home to Sell!

1. LET THE SUN SHINE IN: "Make sure your house is well-lit even if you have to take down the heavy curtains and draperies".

2. SPLASH THE HOUSE WITH COLOR: Most people will tell you that a neutral palette is best, but a bit of color here and there keeps the place from looking dull. Paint a bright accent wall and bring in some flowers.

3. REARRANGE THE FURNITURE: Sometimes you need to float your furniture in a room instead of pushing it against the walls. Create new pathways.
   1. Clean out clutter, knickknacks and personal items to prepare for the sale. Once the selling decision is made it is never to early to start packing. Use small boxes so that you can easily handle and stack them. It sometime wise to rent a close by storage area or use a room that is not being use or store items in the garage. Always, pack or store boxes neatly. Remember to mark boxes top & front identifying room and a brief content. The most common suggestion from Agents who review homes frequently is to remove or pack up clutter. Therefore, this should be considered the number one priority to stage a home properly. When in doubt pack it up!

   2. A new bedspread can help spruce up the master suite.

   3. Remove all personal photos and replace larger ones with portraits that fit more closely with the décor.

   4. Bathrooms have to be especially meticulous about cleanliness and hiding personal hygiene items.

   5. Kitchen, all utensils and appliances have been tucked away in drawers and cabinets.

4. GET RID OF UGLY FURNITURE: Out with the torn leather sofa and the beat-up desk in the office. Sometimes it is better to get rid of everything when it does not suit the house. (Note: As a rule, a home shows better when furnished). The guideline is to follow the look and feel of what you would find in a new model homebuilder.

5. THINK CURB APPEAL: Probably the number two priority mentioned by agents and designers. Walk across the street and take a long look at the front of the housing using a critical eye. Add a few pots of flowers, repaint the from door, trim bushes in front of the house. Oh! Make sure the doorbell works, replace worn doormats and wash all the windows.

6. REPLACE THINGS THAT WILL EARN THEIR VALUE BACK FOR YOU IN THE SELLING PRICE: Changing the countertops in the kitchen by going from tile to granite, you'll get your money back for that say many designs. Putting in stainless-steel appliances will add value; even changing or adding knobs on he kitchen cabinets can be worthwhile.

7. MAKE SURE EVERYTHING LOOKS IMMACULATE AND THERE ARE NO STRANGE SMELLS: "If the carpeting is dirty or its smells, then put in new carpeting," says Denise Dana of Prudential Arizona in Scottsdale. "Everything needs to look new. Women are so turned off by dirt. In the kitchen, organize the pantry, remove all the pictures and magnets off the refrigerator, and clean and deodorize the sink and garbage disposal," says Karen Coleman of Decorating Den in Las Vegas.

8. NEUTRALIZE THE HOUSE SO BUYERS CAN PICTURE THEIR FURNITURE AND BELONGINGS IN THE SPACE: That means getting rid of or hiding the family photo spread and collection of knickknacks. Thin out the kids' toys and move the dog out.

9. CLEAN OUT THE CLOSETS, INCLUDING HANGING ALL THE CLOTHES SO THEY FACE THE SAME DIRECTION: Thin out the closets dramatically. Weed through clothing, hand down those hand -me-downs, discard the useless items, pack up off-season clothing and remove it.

10. ABOVE ALL, KEEP AN OPEN MIND WHEN REAL ESTATE AGENT TELLS YOU WHAT YOU NEED TO FIX: Not everyone is open to making the changes that a REALTOR® suggests. Many people are sensitive about it. You need to listen to your agent and let them help you stage the house. If that bothers you, it's a good idea t have a good friend come in to tell you what you should do to your house. Once you've lived in it, you don't see what's wrong anymore.

Some comments from "the selling game by Rebecca Larsen - House & Homes The Magazine of Summerlin & Beyond