Staging is nothing more than a way to prepare a property for sale on the real estate market by showcasing its best features and assets to impress buyers. And it is important – very important. Numerous surveys and studies have found that staged homes sell for more and sell more quickly than homes that haven’t been staged. Read on, then, to discover 5 quick and easy staging tips to help you sell your house faster in Ventura County.
1. Understand the Purpose of Staging
The first of our staging tips to help you sell your Ventura County house faster has to do with the purpose of staging and the psychology behind it. If you know exactly what you’re trying to accomplish with staging, you can do a much better job.
Your primary aim in staging should be to make your house “feel like a home to a potential buyer.” There are of course certain practical principles you’ll need to observe, but “allowing a buyer to develop an emotional attachment to the house also has a big role.”
According to staging pros, “Home staging is an art, but also a science. A prospective buyer should be able to visualize how he or she would personalize their new home, so the stage you set should be neutral yet feel personal. Visualization is a key concept in home staging. If buyers can see themselves living there, they will develop a personal connection to the home and will feel good about investing in it.”
2. Declutter and Depersonalize
And that brings us to the first of our practical staging tips. If you want buyers to see themselves living in your home and to develop a personal connection, then you’ll have to get all your extra stuff out of the way and remove your personality from the home.
This begins, of course, with a deep cleaning of the whole house. Then you should declutter the entire living space. Remove all extra objects and belongings to make the space appear neutral – a blank canvas that buyers can paint with their belongings.
Also, be sure to depersonalize by removing anything that imprints your personality on the home. Put away quirky knick-knacks, take down family photos, and paint over weird wall colors. If you’re not sure how to proceed with this critical depersonalizing, you can contact a Ventura County agent at 805-232-8503 to find out more.
3. Freshen It Up
This next of our easy staging tips also has to do with buyer psychology. You need to do everything you can to make your home appear, feel, and smell fresh and inviting.
Industry pros, then, recommend that you use strategically placed potted plants “to make your home feel fresh and inviting.” You should also eliminate odors. “Pets, kids, last night’s dinner, a damp bathroom, and many other conditions can make your home smell.”. Essential-oil sprays, “herbs and flowers, beeswax candles, and air purifiers are chemical-free ways to freshen the air in your home.”
4. Define Each Room
Now come to staging tips proper. One of the most important aspects of staging is ensuring that each and every room has a single defined purpose and that “every space within each room has a purpose.” Doing will allow buyers to “see how to maximize the home’s square footage.”
For example, if “you have a finished attic, make it into an office. A finished basement can become an entertainment room, and a junk room can be transformed into a guest bedroom.”
Buyers may not want to use a room for the same purpose, but giving a room a definite, easily discernible purpose enables buyers to see that all of your home is usable space. “This includes alcoves, window seats, corners, breakfast nooks, and other areas.”
5. Pay Careful Attention to Decor
You should also pay close attention to décor, ensuring that it isn’t too polarizing or too personal. Industry experts recommend that you do the following with respect to décor . . .
- Research current décor trends in your market to find out what will work best.
- Bring some of the outdoors inside – fresh-cut flowers for instance – to brighten the mood in rooms.
- Add strategic accents, making sure they are small and tasteful to give your home personality without becoming overwhelming.
Just keep in mind that with décor what is trending in the Ventura County market largely determines what will work best.
Consult Your Local Ventura County Agent
If you want a faster sale, you will most likely have to do some staging. These quick and easy staging tips are a good place to start, but there’s much more you can (and possibly should) do. You can do the staging yourself or hire professional stagers. Either way, you will fare better with the guidance of an experienced Ventura County agent. If, then, you want the best in staging tips for a faster sale in Ventura County, don’t hesitate to contact us today at 805-232-8503.