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Real estate agents know that a house that is well-prepared for sale will usually sell faster and for a higher price. Preparing a house for sale is called staging. Staging a home properly makes it more attractive to a potential buyer. The goal is to create the "wow" factor for a home that is listed for sale, which makes it look like it belongs in House Beautiful magazine.

Staging to Get a Higher Sales Price

Home Staging Resource collected information from over 4,000 home sales. They discovered that about 85 percent of homes, which were staged, sold for six percent to 25 percent more. Forbes says that 95 percent of staged homes sell in less than 11 days. This is about half of the average time it takes for a home sale if the home has not been staged. For each $100 invested in staging a home, the sales price of the home goes up about $400.

Homeowners, who want to stage their home, may want to ask their real estate agent for advice, follow the recommendations in the staging guide from of the National Association of Realtor(r), or they can hire a professional staging company to do this work.

Home Staging Tips

Here are some tips if you want to do, or have done, to stage a home properly:

Curb Appeal: The first impression of a home is called its "curb appeal." This is what is seen when driving by a home or looking at a photo of the front. Ways to improve curb appeal include doing all the landscaping, cutting the lawn, and cleaning up debris. If the weather permits, put blossoming flowers in pots to line the walkway to the front door. A fresh paint job on the exterior is very nice. If you decide to paint, choose a complimentary color palette. For example, a light blue-gray for the siding, white for the trim, and burgundy for the front door.

De-Clutter: Go through the home and label all the things that need to be removed to be put temporarily in a self-storage unit. You will want to remove at least 50 percent of the things in order to make the home feel more spacious. Be sure to take out anything that is really bulky like big pieces of furniture.

Closets: Pack up and remove at least 80% of things in the closets. You want the closets to look huge when a potential buyer opens the closet door. Leave just a few of your nicest-looking clothes on hangers. Empty the shelves. Leave nothing on the floor. Put everything in boxes to take to your self-storage unit.

De-Personalize: Pack for storage all the things such as family photos, kid's toys, and other things that are personal. The idea here is to make it easy for a potential buyer to imagine the home is their home.

Garage: Clear out the garage completely. Remove everything. Clean and repaint the floor. Take the entire contents of the garage to your storage unit.

Clean Everything: Make your home look like a fine hotel. Have the carpet thoroughly cleaned. Polish the flooring. Scrub the bathrooms until they sparkle. Remove all mildew. Repair and replace any broken tiles, ugly grout, and caulking.

Interior Paint: When repainting, choose neutral colors. Off-white is nice; however, avoid bright white. Use softer tones like almond, light gray, or beige.

Nice Touches: When the house is being shown for sale, it is nice if it has a beautiful light aroma that can be provided by burning scented candles or baking cookies. Fresh flowers placed strategically in vases are a pleasant look.

Less is More: Your goal is to remove as much as possible and leave just the best-looking things to make a very attractive interior design. You do not want the house to look empty, just elegant.

Vacant homes also sell better when they are staged by putting a small amount of furniture and things in them. Professional staging companies keep home staging packages in storage units so that the staging can be deployed and used in a vacant home.

Consider Storage Units: When it comes to storage, make sure you have enough storage space. Getting a climate-controlled storage space is important. It will protect your items from potential damage caused by hot or cold temperatures and excessive humidity.

Stage Your Home Like A Pro

You will probably get a better price if you stage your home when it is listed for sale. Usually, there is a four to one profit from the investment made in staging. Self-storage units are very convenient for temporarily placing your extra things. Staging a home is worth doing because your home will likely sell more quickly as well.

The effort made to move things out of the home to reduce clutter and put them in temporary storage is also an opportunity to reduce the things that you have to move into your new home.

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