How to stage your home for sale while living in it
In this latest blog from Gott Realty, we bring you some helpful tips on How to stage your home for sale while still living in it.
There’s no greater than stress than preparing a home for sale. But when you’re trying to make your home appear picture perfect to buyers, while continuing to live there, it can be even worse.
We’ve put together this blog to give some helpful tips on simple things you can do that will both prepare you for the move ahead, and help your home appeal to buyers.
Tips for staging your home
Selling your home when you’re still living in it is one of the most inconvenient and invasive experiences you can have. So, how can you manage living in a home with constant disruption while still trying to keep up selling appearances?
Whether that is just placing a few bunches of flowers around the home or going the full mile and totally re-furnishing your home, the idea of staging is to make the home appealing to buyers. If you choose the latter, it is best to employ the services of a professional staging company. But here are a few things you can do yourself that can make a huge difference to buyer appeal:
- Declutter – Clutter makes a home feel smaller than it is and can also indicate that there isn’t enough storage space available.
Make sure photos and excess decorative and personal items are put away to keep your home looking like a blank canvas. - Clean – Clean all carpets and rugs, curtains and ceiling fans. Make your home sparkle all the way from the front door to the back of the kitchen cupboards. This is the easiest way to make your home look newer and well looked after.
- Set the Scene – Put out fresh flowers and plants, choose some new throw pillows, put out a cook book on the counter and make sure everything is smelling fresh and lovely.
- Neutralise – Put away anything that is too bright, overpowering or that could polarize buyers opinions. It may seem fickle, but even something like bright curtains or paint can subconsciously turn a buyer off.
For a full list of 101 Tips for presenting your home for the market, download our helpful ebook here.
Ways to make this work while you still live in the house
Staging your house like a display home may seem impossible if you need to live there until you sell, but we’ve put together a few tips on how you can make it work.
One of the best staging tactics to undertake first is to start packing any surplus household items such as personal photographs, books and bookcases, even down to removing some unnecessary furniture and storing the packed boxes in the garage or spare room, or even at a willing friend or family members home.
By doing this you are achieving two objectives – decluttering and the first stage of packing and moving. The main objective of decluttering is to show the home as spacious as possible as well as open and airy, giving the photography a chance to show your home in its best light.
For everyday living we have these tips:
- Conceal items – Use decorative baskets, boxes or bowls to hide everyday clutter such as paperwork
- Clean something every day – this way it’s not a big task every time you’re due for an open home
- Pick one project to work on – if you’re a crafter or hobbyist, pick just one project to work on while your house is up for sale, so that it’s easy to clean up each time
- Treat your toiletries like you’re on holiday – bathroom clutter is one of the hardest to work around, so if you pack your toiletry and makeup bags as if you are going on holiday, and put everything else into boxes, it’ll be easier to keep things tidy.
Areas to prioritize for the biggest impact
When it comes to staging, most sellers think of inside the home. If it’s not inside the home, they think of the front yard.
- We think the back yard is just as important as any other area of the home. The back yard is where most buyers discuss the pros and cons of the home before deciding to buy. If the back yard resembles a tip, the seller is going to receive one very low offer.
- When it comes to the front yard, most sellers will tidy up with a bit of trimming and throw down some bark and think that’s enough. The front yard is usually the first impression a buyer gets of the home so things like flower gardens, tidy lawns and trimmed trees and edges are essential.
- Fixing up footpaths to the entrance of the home, painting railings and doors also add appeal to the home.
- Internally, the most lived in rooms are the rooms to concentrate on. The kitchen, lounge room and family room along with any outdoor areas including patios, the pergola or even the pool area should all receive the royal treatment before selling.
How to stage your home for sale while still living in it
Are you thinking of selling your home but don’t know where to start. Speak to Gott Realty today! Call us on 0419 777 577 or enquire online here.
Thinking of selling your home? Speak to Gott Realty today!
If you’re looking for a real estate team that is honest, respectful and always acting in your interests, speak to us today about how much your home is worth.
Our team has unprecedented access to local property data and insights, and we are here to help you sell your property for the best price possible with the least amount of stress.
Gott Realty service Albany Creek, Eatons Hill, Cashmere, Warner, Lawnton and Bray Park and many more areas across North Brisbane. Learn more here on our blog.
Contact Steve on 0419 777 577 or enquire online here.
