Staging Your Home

                                                Staging Your Home Checklist

When it comes time to prepare your home for showing you might want to consider hiring a professional to help. If you choose to do it yourself here are some tips for you to think about. Your goal is to make your home look as spacious, fresh and inviting as possible. In doing this you will be ahead of most sellers already on the market in the way your home shows.

INSIDE

  • Clear all unnecessary objects from furniture throughout the house
  • Clear all unnecessary objects from the kitchen countertops
  • In the bathrooms remove items from the countertops, tubs, shower stalls and toilet tops
  • Be sure that the bathroom tubs, tile, sinks, shower floor/ceiling and toilet bowls are free of mildew and look sparkling clean
  • Rearrange or remove some of the furniture to give rooms a spacious feel
  • Take down or rearrange pictures or objects on walls-remove family/personal photos
  • If necessary, patch and paint walls where pictures or objects have been removed
  • Review the house inside room by room and:
  • Paint any room needing fresh paint (use neutral colors)
  • Clean carpets and vacuum drapes
  • Clean Windows-inside and outside
  • Clean cobwebs from ceilings and dust from light fixtures
  • Make sure the closets and garage look organized and not "too full"
  • Replace burned out light bulbs and repair any faulty switches
  • Make certain all rooms are odor-free

*Repairs and improvements will facilitate a sale being made.

OUTSIDE

  • Go around the perimeter of the house and remove all garbage cans, discarded wood scraps, extra building materials,etc. into the garage or trash
  • Check gutters and roof for leaks and dry rot
  • Weed and then mulch all planting areas
  • Clear patios and decks of all small items such as small planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues, toys, etc.
  • Check paint condition on the house-especially the front door and trim
  • Review if shutters, shingles, stones or bricks need replacing
  • Check exterior stairs and handrails, walkways, windows, screens and screen doors

IN GENERAL

  • If it's dirty-clean it, if it's broken-repair it
  • Try to look at your house "through a buyer's eyes" as though you have never seen it before