Ready to Sell? Don’t Make These 10 Common Staging Mistakes

Are you prepared to hit the ground running with a solid plan to sell your home? Staging your home to impress buyers can help you fetch the price you want. It can also help you cross the finish line sooner so you can put up that “sold” sign and start living your dreams in retirement.

Just be careful that your excitement to get your home sold quickly doesn’t cause you to rush through the important steps in preparing your home to sell. Paying attention to the details, such as having clear countertops, orderly closets, spotless bathrooms, is important. A few missteps in the presentation of your home can detract from its good qualities. Here’s what you need to know about staging your home to sell.

The Art of Staging Your Home

Staging your home showcases its best features and helps buyers visualize themselves in the space. The idea is to let just enough personality show through that buyers can picture themselves living there. 

To help you get started, your real estate agent may offer tips to successfully stage your home. If you want to take it to the next level, consider hiring a professional home staging expert. This option can be especially helpful if you’ve already moved and your house is empty. A staging expert will stage your home with a stylish yet simple set of furnishings to bring out the best in your home.

All that said, many sellers opt for doing their own staging, especially if they have the time and interest in doing it. You might also ask a few trusted friends or family members for their objective opinions on the furniture, decor and layout. 

10 Common Staging Mistakes to Avoid

Whether you’re staging your home on your own or with help from an expert, you’ll want to avoid some common mistakes that can derail your chances for a smooth sale. You’ll want to avoid some common staging mistakes that can ruin your chances for a speedy, fruitful sale. Here are 10 seller slip-ups to keep in mind:

1. Your decorating style has too many personal touches. Put away the family photos, awards, kids’ artwork, etc. Instead, choose art and decor with universal appeal.

2. You focus on major changes instead of easy fixes. In the quest to improve the appearance of your home, don’t get carried away with major home renovations. Think carefully before spending money on big projects like updating a bathroom or replacing a deck, because they could be time-consuming and may not increase the price buyers will pay for the home.

3. You try to cover up old paint and worn carpet. Decorating your home won’t hide wall dings, chipped paint and worn carpet. A fresh coat of neutral paint throughout your home does wonders. Replace worn carpet and ensure all carpets and rugs are clean and odor-free.

4. Rooms feel crowded with too much furniture. Rooms look and feel smaller when they’re full of large pieces of furniture. Consider removing old and oversized furniture and replacing them with a few stylish and functional pieces of furniture.

5. Your home’s landscaping is lacking. Some buyers won’t even bother to look at homes that don’t have great curb appeal. Spruce up the landscaping and make sure the yard is well maintained. Add flower pots and a new welcome mat to create an inviting entrance.

6. Your window coverings are too heavy. Heavy curtains can be unappealing to some buyers, especially if they look dated or dusty. Consider removing heavy drapes or go lighter with ready-made curtains that simply frame the window. Be sure to leave them open to let in as much light as possible.

7. The lighting is less than desirable. Do you have mismatched bulbs in your lamps or poor wattage in your ceiling lights? Do a walk-through of every room in your home to make sure the wattage is appropriate and allows for a well-lit cohesive appearance throughout.

8. Your home is clean, but not spotless. Putting in extra effort to achieve a showroom-ready level of clean can really make a difference. Consider hiring a cleaning crew to deep-clean the whole house — floors, countertops, cabinets, kitchen appliances, bathrooms, carpets, etc.

9. Your closets are overloaded. Potential buyers look everywhere, so make sure your closets and cabinets are ready for public viewing. Consider removing items from closets and cupboards so your storage areas appear more spacious.

10. There’s pet gear everywhere. Always put away pet cages, food bowls and toys for a home showing.
If possible, take your pets with you during a showing. Be sure to clean up any pet fur and ensure any lingering odors are neutralized.

We’d Love to Welcome You to Our Neighborhood

Signature Pointe wants to make the move to our community as easy as possible. We’ll help you settle into your new home here so you can join in the fun and excitement of community life with new friends. We think you’ll also love our selection of spacious Independent Living floor plans designed for maintenance-free living. We hope to welcome you to the neighborhood very soon!