Staging your home is one of the best and most essential ways to get it ready for sale. Realty Unleashed offers free home staging in Edmonton and free home staging in Calgary. We include it in our listing services because we believe in the value of staging. With that said, there are many moving parts to home staging, which is why we’ve written this article! If you aren’t sure where to begin, we’ve got you covered.
Get out your cleaning supplies.
Cleaning your home is not optional; it must be done if you want your home to put its best foot forward. In a world where online listings thrive, it’s never been more important for your home to be shining! Potential buyers are more than likely visiting REALTOR.ca, meaning the first thing they will see is photos of a property. While some things can be fixed with the power of photo editing, nothing beats a glowing in-person viewing. You want to ensure that your home looks clean, tidy, and well-kept.
How’s your curb appeal?
The outside of your home will be the real first impression. It’s a great idea to cut down any bushes or shrubs, pull the weeds, mow the lawn, or shovel if it’s winter. Do you have garbage bins at the end of your driveway? Bring them up and tuck them behind your garage. Minor touch-ups can go a long way, too. Re-painting your front door can make the initial walk-in experience for buyers one that is memorable.
De-clutter and depersonalize.
De-cluttering is a key part of the home staging process, plus you will have to do it anyway if you’re hoping to sell your home. By de-cluttering and depersonalizing, you allow the house to speak for itself. Take down family pictures and those wedding invitations on your fridge; the odds are that anyone coming to look at your home doesn’t care to see those personal items. And in all honesty, it takes away from the positive viewing experience. Most of us have a collection of car keys, gloves, and other knick-knacks lying on our counter. This is the time to find a place for those things, a place that is virtually invisible for potential buyers.
Get minimal!
Less truly is more when it comes to home staging. You want the house to speak for itself, some tasteful decor here and there is great, but don’t overdo it. It’s good practice to put furniture throughout the home that makes sense: The dining room should have a dining room table. The living room should have a couch and a coffee table. You get the idea. But keep the walls simple and keep the counters free of mess. You really only need the necessities when you’re staging a home, so don’t worry about decorating it to the nines. Keep it basic!
Use what you have.
One of the biggest and most expensive myths in the real estate world is that you need to have brand new furniture in your listing. It’s just not true. You can certainly use furniture and decor you already own, so long that those things look pretty good! In other words, you probably want to avoid using a couch that has paw prints on it from your dog’s muddy paws. That doesn’t mean you need to go out and buy a new sofa, though! Simply invest in a slip-cover to put over your couch or older chairs. Try finding slip-covers that are neutral tones, such as beige, brown, grey, navy blue, etc. You want to make sure your home looks as neutral as possible.
We can help you.
We offer free home staging in Edmonton and Calgary. Yes, you heard that right! We include home staging in our listing services because we know how invaluable it is when it comes to selling a home. If you are in either of these cities and looking to sell your home, feel free to reach out to us. We’re here to help.
