Staging Your Home

Staging for today's buyers is a little trickier than it used to be. Gosh, 30 years ago, no one EVER staged their home.

They simply cleaned it up and waited for a buyer. But today, buyers are getting pickier and pickier.

You don't need 1 million different tips telling you what the stage, how to stage, what color to use and where to put that vase, but you do need some tips in order to appeal to today's buyers. Buyers are watching home staging and listing channels and programs all the times of the expected best when they walk into homes. It's best to start from the outside and because your curb appeal and first impressions could make or break a sale.

Start with the basics. Power wash siding and fences and make sure that the house numbers are easy to read. Depending on the time of year, make sure the lawns are mowed, trees and bushes or trend, windows are washed and scrubbed and any paint is touched up or completely redone if needed. Sometimes all you need to paint the trim on a home for it to look fresh and new. Keep colors and flowers to a neutral or one tone color so there's not too much going on in the front of the house. Keep the porch inviting by not offering too much clutter right before the front door. Remember, buyers are going to be viewing your home with family members, spouses, kids, and agents, so you want to leave enough space for them to get into the home without clutter.

Go beyond cleaning. Once you get inside of the house make sure the home is cleaned from top to bottom and if you're unsure, hire a professional cleaner at least once to go over the entire house and spend several hours deep cleaning the home. This is where you'll need to scrub the floor of the top, clean up the grout lines, clean mat sticky greasy film off of countertops, cabinets and above the refrigerator, and clean the window tracks and sliding door tracks. These are items that are often overlooked but buyers will be picky.

Clear half the clutter. When you're cleaning pack up about half of the items in drawers, cupboards, closets and pantries. Buyers don't want to feel that there's not enough space in the home. Let them see that there is plenty enough space and because you'll have to do anyway, now's a good time to start.

Buyers realize that you lived in the home but there's a fine balance between a staged home and a lived in home. Make sure each room is specifically set up as it was originally intended. Bedrooms should be staged as bedrooms; offices as offices, dining room as an eating space and living rooms as such.

Pack away anything that is personalized. If you have personalized collections, nostalgic knickknacks, or personal achievements, it's best to pack those and photographs away during this time.

Stating that have to be difficult but it is something you have to consider when listing and selling your Ruidoso property.