Ten Tips for Staging your Home

1. Clean Curb Appeal. The lawn should be freshly mowed, leaves raked, or snow shoveled. Try and tidy up overgrowth and consider adding some flowers or hanging pots.

2. Get Rid of Clutter. Pick one area, room or closet at a time so the task isn’t as overwhelming. Look at every item and ask yourself if you are keeping it, throwing it away, or giving it away. Potential buyers want to see a crisp and clean house with no clutter.

3. Repair Simple Fix-It Problems. Go from room to room and look for things you never got around to fixing and decide which ones might be distracting to potential buyers.

4. Clean. It is worth the effort and money to clean your house to sell your home for top dollar. You can hire a professional service to come in a deep clean everything then take 20-30 minutes each day to maintain it.

5. Let in some Fresh Air. Open some windows for at least 10 minutes allowing your house to get some fresh air.

6. Let in some Light. When trying to see your home, keep it bright. Open shutters and blinds to make rooms look more open and big. If you have dark rooms, invest in a lamp for more light.

7. Paint Colored Rooms. If some rooms are painted bright colors, such as hot pink, consider painting the room a white or ivory color. Potential buyers are more likely to see their decorations in a more neutral room.

8. Watch Where the Eye Goes. Walk along each room and see where your eye is drawn. Look for problems potential homeowners will notice and fix them if possible.

9. Add some Fresh Flowers. A few fresh flowers will brighten up a bathroom or kitchen counter. Not only is it pretty, but they smell good too.

10. Consider Music. Soft background music can help create a soothing environment but make sure the volume is low. Turn of TVs or other devices.