Home Staging and Self Storage

Today’s house selling market has become quite competitive. It is still a buyer’s market for home sales, which means that if you place your home up for sale, you will need to make it as attractive as possible for the buyer. Some sellers are using the technique of “home staging”, which is reorganizing, de-cluttering and fixing up a home to appeal to as many buyers as possible. It is part of a marketing plan to sell your home faster and hopefully for more money. With 85 % of potential homebuyers looking at homes online first, it is very important to have your home look its best. Realtors are recommending professional design groups that will stage a home or give tips and suggestions on things that need to be done in a home to the homeowner.

The biggest factor of home staging is to de-clutter the home and make the decorations as neutral as possible. This process includes removing all personal artwork, photographs, books and collectibles from the rooms. The goal is to allow the potential buyers to envision their furniture and belongings in the room. It is not a good idea to “stuff” the personal items into a closet or put them in a corner in the basement. These are areas that the buyer will be looking at as well, so you don’t want them to be cluttered. Renting a self storage unit for a short period of time is a great way to stage a home for sale. The homeowner’s personal belongings are safe and secure in self storage while the home is up for sale, closets, basements and garages are free from clutter and the home just looks bigger. Once your home sells and you are ready to move, don’t forget to get the items in your self storage unit or just keep them in the storage unit until you decide on where to put them in the new home. ezStorage offers month-to-month rentals that are perfect for homeowners that are staging their homes.

If you decide to stage your home on your own, there are some very important items that need to be taken care of in order to show your home at its full potential:

1. Pack up all personal items including family pictures and artwork. Replace them with neutral artwork or mirrors.
2. De-clutter your kitchen. Pack extra appliances in a storage unit. Keep your counters clean and clutter free.
3. Place any excess furniture in storage. Leave a lot of room for potential buyers to walk around. Make sure that all of the rooms in the house have a purpose. If you were using a room for storage, turn it into an office or an extra bedroom.
4. Pack up pet items during the home showing. A potential buyer could be allergic to pets and they could be turned away from seeing the pet items. Also, add air fresheners to the rooms to give a fresh odor.
5. Paint the walls a neutral color and use neutral carpets and rugs.
6. Clean out the garage, so cars can park inside. This will allow the potential buyers to see how much space they would have for their vehicles.
7. Fix any cracked walls, tiles and windows.
8. Don’t forget to tidy up the outside of the home including replacing lights and landscaping. Curb appeal is very important in selling a home. Following these simple staging tips can help improve the value of your home. If you carefully stage your home for sale, you could actually sell the home quicker and for a higher amount.