If you’ve decided to sell your home, you probably already understand that staging your home will help you sell it more quickly while significantly increasing your chances of receiving a top dollar offer and that’s great. But did you know that sometimes, when done incorrectly, your staging could have the opposite effect and might even be preventing you from selling your home at all. Therefore, it’s worth investing a little extra time in learning what constitutes a staging faux pas so you can avoid hindering your staging efforts.
Staging your home and the 7 mistakes you should avoid at all costs.
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Many people take staging for granted as they deep clean their home inside and out, de-clutter every square inch and remove their personal effects from sight. Then they arrange their furniture in a way that maximizes the space throughout their home and doesn’t block the flow of traffic. And then they proceed to freshen up the paint and add some neutral decor. That’s perfect as those are all part of the foundation for properly staging your home, but the problem is that’s where people think they’re done, without giving their staging another thought.
Home staging goes much deeper than the basics of cleaning, de-cluttering and decorating. However, you have to look at staging from a different point of view, if you want to fully understand what else needs to be done and you can easily do that by thinking outside the box. Therefore, we are going to cover the seven most common home staging mistakes to help you avoid making them.
Mistake #1 – Forgetting About the Everyday Dirt
You have spent a lot of time deep cleaning every square inch of your home from top to bottom and every nook and cranny is virtually spotless. However, this is where many people overlook the obvious, which is forgetting about the everyday dirt you and your family create. For example: leaving your dirty breakfast dishes in the sink as you rush off to work, not picking up the pet bowls and toys before you leave the house, leaving your dirty clothes on the closet floor or not rinsing out your bathroom sink after shaving. You never know when a potential buyer will be touring your home; therefore, you have to keep it spotless at all times.
Mistake #2 – Ignoring Your Garage
Your garage is a huge part of your home. However, in many cases sellers forget to clean out, organize, straighten and freshen their garage. This is a huge mistake. Why spend all that time meticulously staging your home only to stack everything in the garage in a haphazard way? Take some time to clean out your garage and pack up everything you don’t need. Leave your garage with the appearance of being clean and organized so your buyers can envision the benefit of their new garage, even if that means storing some of your belongings in a friend’s or family’s garage or renting a temporary storage space.
Mistake #3 – Not Addressing Lingering Odors
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Every home has an odor and while you probably can’t smell the odors because you have gone nose blind to them, your buyers will. And not only that, they will intentionally be looking for odors that could indicate underlying issues. Smells such as: years of cigarette smoke, lingering food odors, pet smells and mold and mildew smells. This might mean you have to hire a carpet cleaning company to address any pet odors or hire a professional to use an ozone generator to remove the built up cigarette or food smells that are engrained in the surfaces. And if your home has any mold or mildew smells, you need to locate the cause and fix it before you put your home on the market; otherwise, it could end up lowering the price of the offers you receive on your home.
Mistake #4 – Using Staging to Cover Up Issues
Staging should never be used to cover up issues in your home. If you have a hole in the sheetrock, fix it. If you have a hole in the flooring, fix it. And you should never remove the doors that don’t close in an effort to hide structural problems, etc. Doing so will catch up with you sooner or later. It’s imperative that you disclose any home issues on the seller’s disclosure form, if you don’t want to be held liable later.
Mistake #5 – Forgetting to Stage the Not So Obvious Spaces
When staging a home, most people don’t think about the hidden areas that aren’t normally given much thought. However, these areas could dramatically affect the way a buyer perceives your home, if not properly addressed. You should always clean out and organize your cabinets, drawers, the pantry, linen closet and the refrigerator to give your entire a home a well-kept appearance inside and out. And while you’re at it, make sure all your indoor plants are alive and well, if they aren’t dispose of them immediately.
Mistake #6 – Not Removing Your Pest Control Efforts
Sometimes when staging a home, people tend to forget about the residual remnants of their previous pest control efforts. Leaving those items in plain sight will give buyers the impression that your home has a pest problem. Remove all visible flyswatters and fly strips. And don’t forget to remove all roach and ant baits you have laying around and if you have rodent bait boxes around your house, you should remove those as well.
Mistake #7 – Ignoring Your Yard and Patio
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Not staging your yard and patio is a critical mistake. Showing off the potential for a buyer to use your yard and patio as an outdoor living space will increase the value of your home in a buyer’s mind, which will help you receive top dollar offers. You don’t have to do anything extravagant, just look at the space and add some furniture or other simple touches that will help highlight your yard’s best features. Remember to keep it simple though so your buyers can create their own vision as to how they can use that space.
One Last Mention
When using a professional stager it’s best to trust what they are recommending for the staging of your home and remember that nothing they say is personal. There could be a few suggestions they make you might not agree with and that’s OK, but staging is what they do for a living and not taking their advice could end up keeping you from receiving top dollar offers.
