Home Staging – 10 tips for better sale
September 22, 2009 by Sveta Melchuk
Filed under Home Staging
Are you interested in selling your house fast and for top dollar?
If the answer is ‘YES’, then you need to get it ready to look and feel its best. The concept of Home Staging is not new and is used extensively in the USA and Western Canada to market real estate.
These Home Staging tips cover some of the things you can easily do yourself at a minimal cost.
- Before you do anything, you have to stop thinking of your house as a HOME and start thinking about it as an investment, for which you want the largest return possible.
- If you don’t have pictures that show your house at its best, you are probably missing out on dozens, if not hundreds of potential buyers.
- Curb appeal (or, lack of thereof) can deter a visitor from wanting to pursue. The exterior of your house has to be clean and taken care of.
- Buyers want to see space, above anything else. You have to declutter, so the visitors can focus on the house and not on your stuff.
- Chipped paint, loose or missing tiles, broken door handle, a closet door that doesn’t quite close properly can become a BIG turnoff for a potential buyer. Fix!
- Painting is the cheapest way to transform a room! Repaint main rooms in fresh, neutral colors.
- Refresh and update. Simple things such as a new bed ensemble, a few decorative pillows and two nice table lamps will transform a bedroom.
- Make the house as neutral as possible to please a variety of potential buyers and their lifestyle and taste.
- Make sure there is sufficient light in every room– you can’t have too much light!
- Space optimization and proper furniture and accessories placement is essential. It will give a home a warm and appealing look and feel and create the WOW factor.
So, a small effort will pay of at the sale time. Stage your house-sell your house WELL!
Posted by: Sveta Melchuk. Founder of Home Staging Montreal, a Montreal firm specializing in Home Staging and Interior Redesign. Simple and effective solutions, to help you sell your property faster and for more money. Call Sveta at: 514-482-9776 
Good post! It's surprising how many open houses you go to and none of the above apply…….. they are dark, cluttered, badly decorated, never been cleaned, and the list goes on. The funny part is when the owners excpect top dollar for a property that they festered in and let rot over the years. Come on people it's not hard, just put a little effort in and you will see the financial benefits.
I like your tips, escpecially number 2. There are so many properties listed out there with poor pictures or not enough of them.
I totally agree with the idea of home staging. It really can make a huge difference – and most things can be done quite cheaply. You only need some time and effort. I have lived in Sweden and Home staging is a big business there. When browsing through ads for houses and apartments, it's clear that the concept has really taken off.
Hello,
Thanks for sharing such useful tips, as i am also
in this real estate so
these tips are very useful for me
I hope your points very helpful for all house owner.I am one of the house buyer in USA,every owner can use this points to sell the house.
Very informative tips, Sveta. It's indeed helpful for home buyers.
You put's up very great points.I really agree with you.I am very new in real estate.i enjoy your tips.I Found these become very helpful for me.Thanks.Carry ON~.
I've seen otherwise good deals fall through because of bad smells in the house (musty odors, etc.). It makes people uncomfortable and it shouldn't be that hard to avoid.