When selling a property, it is important to make sure you are getting the best price you can for it. And while it may seem like a bit of a hassle, property staging has been proven to help you get some extra cash when selling your house. If you want to learn more about why home staging works and how you can do it is properly in order to get the best profit, then keep reading!
What is staging your home?
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When you are staging a home, you are preparing it in a way that entices potential buyers to make an offer. The opposite of a staged house would be an empty one, where no effort has been made to fix it up, such as a fresh layer of paint, adding some plants, or decorating it with some artwork.
The role of house staging is to make potential buyers visualise themselves living in the house. And as mentioned before, that can mean moving furniture around to maximise the space properly, adding all sorts of decorative material such as plants, paintings, rugs and so on, and making sure that the basics such as paintwork, and flooring look their best.
Why should you stage your home?
When potential buyers walk into an empty room, that may also look slightly neglected, it will be difficulty for them to form a connection with the place and visualise themselves living there. This is why you need to give them all the material they need to help them make your house their home.
Not to mention that fact that staging your home will add value to your property and put some extra cash in your pocket.
How much does staging a home cost?
This will depend on the amount of work your home needs in order to look visually pleasing, but home staging can cost anything from a couple hundred, up to around £5,000.
How much can you earn from staging your home?
While it may seem like staging your home is a waste of energy and money, in fact all the effort you put into doing it will pay off in the end.
Previously experts in the industry have estimated that staging your house will increase the value of your property by 8%, so that can translate to a nice sum of extra cash making the process more than worth it.
How to stage your home in 8 easy steps
Starting the process of property staging can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you don’t know where to begin. We’ve put together a list of the top 8 things you need to do if you want to sell your property quickly and for the best price possible.
Declutter
This might sound like common sense to some, however, homeowners who are in a rush to sell their houses often miss out this step, which can lower their selling prices significantly. Decluttering doesn’t only involve cleaning the house, but it also involves removing excess furniture to make the rooms look spacious. Leave only the nicest pieces of furniture inside to give potential buyers enough to visualise themselves living there, but not too much to make it feel crowded. If you need help packing away your clutter, check out our blog post on packing tips for moving house. Â
Rearrange the furniture
A good tip when it comes to house staging would be to do some furniture grouping, away from the walls. You can take couches or chairs and group them with other pieces of furniture, such as tables, making the room look more spacious.
Repurpose rooms
For example, if you have one room that you use just for storing stuff, a good idea would be to take the clutter out and give that room a new purpose. This will show buyers that all rooms have a meaning and every little space can be used for something good.
Change the lighting
Lighting is not only great for your selfies, but it can also change the whole vibe of a property. Making sure you have good lighting is a huge part of staging your property, and it’s something worth investing in. It is recommended to have three types of lighting: ambient, task and accent, to get the best effect.
Update the paintwork
A fresh layer of paint can make a room look bigger than it actually is. When it comes to the living room, it is recommended that the walls are pained in light/neutral colours, as bold colours may put potential buyers off. However, when it comes to other rooms, such as bedrooms and bathrooms, feel free to experiment with colour if you want. Darker and dramatic tones have been especially appealing to young buyers in the past few years.
Accessorise the walls
Wall art can make a property feel like it has personality. Empty walls will make it look boring and not at all appealing to potential buyers. Any kind of art deployed in your house will break up the monotony and make it look much more interesting.
Accessorise the room
Just like with the walls, it’s important to accessorise the rest of the room too when staging your home. A tip would be to group together objects, preferably in odd number like three. This has been proven to be very appealing to the eye. Playing around with other things such as textures, shapes and colours in order to get the interest of a potential buyer.
Don’t neglect the bathroom
Potential buyers will not only be interested on how the living room and kitchen look like, but a nice bathroom may be what it takes for them to say yes (or no). To make your property worth more, make sure the bathroom looks brand new, the tiling is immaculate, and it’s just as nicely decorated as the rest of the rooms. When you are home staging make sure you don’t overlook this room.
If, for any reason, home staging is not a viable option for you, and you are looking to sell your property fast, there are other options that can help you to do so.
For more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Feature image credit: arfa adam/Shutterstock
