Staging Isn't The Only Important Selling Tool

If you watch decorating shows on television, you might assume you need to bring in a professional stager if you want to sell your home. However, staging with high-end designer furnishings is not necessarily right for every situation, such as when you live in a small, rural area. Here are three things that are just as important if you're getting ready to sell your home:

1. Pay Attention to Your Home's Exterior

Obviously, a prospective buyer is going to see the outside of your house before they see anything else. If the outside looks shabby or uncared for, they're going to naturally assume the inside is in a similar state of disrepair.

Unless you are advertising the home as a fixer-upper or a flip-and-flop opportunity, your home's exterior needs to be pristine and make people want to see what's behind the front door. Pull the weeds, paint the door and shutters, and scrub the siding. Make your home look well cared-for, warm, and inviting.

When it's your house, it can be difficult to view it without a biased perspective, so if you're struggling to figure out what changes you should make, try these tips:

Take Pictures

Grab your cellphone and go stand out in front of your house. Look at the condition of the homes adjacent to yours and the others in the neighborhood. Assess their condition and then take a few snapshots of your house. This may help you see it in a new light.

Ask for Help

Your friends, family, and people on social media will likely be more than happy to provide constructive criticism and feedback about your home's exterior if you ask them to. Some people just don't have a knack for interior or exterior decorating, so don't be afraid to ask for advice on changes you should make or colors you should use.

2. Paint the Interior

Yes, painting will cost money and time, but there's nothing like a fresh coat of paint to spruce up the place and make it feel refreshing and brand new. A new paint job will help give prospective buyers the perspective that in this house, they can have a clean slate. In this house they can make their own new memories. 

3. Relocate Half of Your Belongings

Prospective home buyers can't envision themselves living in your house when your stuff is everywhere. Clean out the closets and cupboards and cubbyholes and get rid of it. Donate it or take it to a storage rental unit. Keep only the bare minimum you need and then use your own remaining possessions to stage your home to sell. Your real estate agent will thank you.