Getting Started
Now that you’ve made the decision to sell your home, you’ll want to look at it differently. It’s now a “house for sale”. Packaging- or staging your home to appeal to more buyers can help you put the sold sign up more quickly and bring you a greater return on your investment.

By the time buyers arrive at your front door, usually your house meets their basic criteria for location, price and style- the more rational side of home buying. The purchasing decision is generally based on an emotional connection that begins when a buyer imagines living in your house.

This does not need to be expensive or overly time-consuming. Purchase items that can be used in your new space or borrow or rent the “extras”- from accessories and furniture to artwork – to help build a series of positive first impressions.

Staging your home begins with gaining objectivity. That’s not easy when it’s home. So, get “buyer’s eyes” by looking at other homes for sale that are similar to yours in both features and price. How do they make you feel? What negatives do you notice? Stop in model homes and experience “move in condition”.

Now, tour your home. Use this checklist to make a master list of everything that could be an obstacle to showcasing the full potential of your property.

Start with curb appeal – the first glimpse of your house that forms the most critical first impression. Curb appeal has been known to sell a house before the buyers even get out of their car! What can you do to improve your all-important first impression?

Next, go through your whole house as if you were a buyer seeing it for the first time. Be on the lookout for subtle signs that say, “There’s work to be done here.” Remember, if you think it’s too much work, potential buyers will probably think so too!

When your list is complete, assign tasks, develop a timetable and reward yourself along the way. Keep your goal in mind – to sell your home at the best possible price in the least amount of time. Investing a little time and money now will payoff when the curtain goes up and your house takes center stage!