"Staging" is presenting your home in its best and most appealing light to would-be home-buyers.  "Staging" isn't necessarily hard or costly, but in order for it to work the seller must begin to look at his home objectively, not through the “rose colored glasses” of one who has put his lifetime into his home.  A well-staged house can often bring top dollar to the seller and allow his property to sell quickly.

What are the general rules for staging?

#1 - Cleanliness.  Your home must sparkle!  If you don’t have the time to do it yourself, think of hiring professional cleaners.  This is especially true for windows.

#2 – Minor Fixups.  Dripping faucets, stained carpeting, broken windows and missing bathroom tiles should be fixed or replaced before you put your house on the market.

#3 - Eliminate Clutter.  Have a garage sale, rent a storage room, or just give away the things you don’t think you need any more. Make a goal to eliminate at least half of the things that clutter your home.  Clutter makes your home seem smaller and disorganized, two conditions that will not help you to sell it.  

#4 – Neutral Colors.  Neutral colors sell.  It's a fact.  Try to convey an image of quality and neutrality.  A would-be buyer walking through your home wants to imagine himself living there.  You might love that dark blue paint in your den, but most potential buyers won’t.

 #5 - De-personalize.  Remove objects that your potential buyers won't be able to identify with.  For example, political and religious items may turn off whole groups of buyers, because they cannot "imagine" your home as their home.  

Some other suggestions:

·         Turn on all lights- the brighter a house is, the bigger it looks.

·         Open all curtains or blinds – again to brighten the house.  One exception would be to put up and keep closed sheer curtains to hide an exceptionally ugly view.

·         Keep music playing – this should be easy-listening music also know as “elevator music”, and keep the volume low.

·         Make sure toilet lids are town.

·         Hide wastebaskets and garbage pails (or at least empty them) – full garbage pails are one type of clutter you don’t need when showing your house.

·         Close the garage door – the clutter inside is the first thing a potential buyer will notice from the street.

·         Remove clothing from your closets.

·         Leave home, and take your pets with you – potential buyers need privacy in order to fall in love with your house.

How Nest Quest can help.

If you have moved out, we can turn your home into a model apartment by placing furniture and other furnishings.