- 1 - Not cleaning before you stage
- 2 - Leaving the wrong furniture in the wrong place
- 3 - Neglecting to stage storage areas
- 4 - Ignoring the garage
- 5 - Assuming buyers won’t notice your lack of curb appeal
DIY home staging might seem really simple and straightforward but, as with most things, there is an art to it.
There are many common mistakes that sellers make when they are staging their home and it could lead to the downfall of a potential sale.
It is more than just redecorating and moving around some furniture. The most important thing you need to do is find out what type of buyer you want to attract and how you are going to appeal to their emotions.
Here is a list of mistakes that you can avoid.
1 – Not cleaning before you stage
We don’t mean sending the vacuum cleaner half-heartedly through the living room on a Sunday morning.
We are talking about bringing out the big guns.
This is not a routine house cleaning. Cleaning done for staging should involve deep cleaning all areas of the house and cleaning from ceiling to floor so that you don’t miss any spots.
Dust baseboards, clean vents, bleach the grout in your shower and polish the hardware in your kitchen and bathroom. Deep cleaning shows that the home is well taken care of and it allows potential buyers to see themselves living there.
2 – Leaving the wrong furniture in the wrong place
You might prefer having six chairs stuffed into your living room because you always have guests over, but this does not mean that it is appealing to others.
Too much furniture can make a house look cluttered and untidy.
If you try to squish everything into one room, it can make the room look smaller than it really is. Stick with three large pieces maximum per room to keep the house feeling big and open.
Ensure that what is leftover in the room portrays the room’s purpose. That means you’ll have to move the treadmill from your bedroom.
3 – Neglecting to stage storage areas
The modern buyers want to buy a house with ample storage space, so you cannot leave this aspect out of the staging.
If you have big cupboards where you keep clothes, remove any items that are in there to show that the storage space is available.
If you have a pantry and a linen cupboard, organize them in such a way that it looks appealing and neat. If you really can’t help it, ditch the mess underneath the bed.
4 – Ignoring the garage
Couples and families these days often have more than one car, so if you have a garage on the property, be sure to show this off, as well.
A recent study showed that more than half of homebuyers want a home with a garage. Some even think that is the most important room in the house(?)!
If your garage has been turned into the local junkyard, ensure that you clean it out before potential buyers come knocking. Make it an integral part of the tour and don’t ignore it.
If you have recently installed carports, you can also highlight these.
5 – Assuming buyers won’t notice your lack of curb appeal
Unfortunately, this is just the way it goes: buyers are drawn to homes that look great on the outside and have that amazing curb appeal.
The exterior is the first part of the home that the buyers will see, so it is important that you advertise it in such a way that buyers want see the inside of your home as well.
A few landscaping changes, like cutting the grass and power washing the walls, will already make a huge difference.
Staging your home inside and out is a wise move but be sure to steer clear of these above-mentioned mistakes.
