Staging Tips for Downsizing Sellers

When you hear the word “staging,” what comes to mind? More than likely, you’re immediately thinking about the kind of “staging” that involves bringing new furniture into an empty home. Staging is very important when you’re selling a home, but it doesn’t have to only involve emptying your current furniture out of your home and bringing in new things. You can work with what you have, too. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised at the results!

 

Home Staging Tips for Downsizing Sellers

De-personalize  

Buyers need to be able to visualize themselves in your home, so it is a very good idea to do some de-personalization. This can be hard to watch happen to your home. It will likely be very emotional. But remember, if you’re moving, everything has to get packed eventually. The more packing you do before listing your home, the easier the moving process will be later. De-personalization means:

• Removing personal photos from the wall
• Packing up your extensive collections that are on display
• Taking some of the personality out of your wall colors, if you’ve used a unique color

 

Declutter 

I once helped a couple downsize who had lived in their home for over 40 years. Their home was a stunning 1930s home that had retained a lot of its original character. These homeowners decorated their antique home with antique things they had collected over the years. The house was not messy but was very full. I remember coming back for a second walkthrough of the home after they’d spent some time following advice on decluttering. I walked in the door and immediately gasped. I hadn’t noticed how beautiful their fireplace was before because there was too much stuff around it. Once they decluttered, it really stood out, and my eyes were drawn right to it immediately upon walking in the door! 

Decluttering helps remove distraction from the viewing process and allows buyers to see the most important features of your home. 

 

Meet with a Stager

If you’ve lived in your home a long time, this can be an especially important step. When we’re used to our home and our life routines surrounding our home, it can be really good to have someone who can see it with fresh eyes walk through and make suggestions. That’s the job of a stager. Meeting with a stager can be difficult for long-time homeowners. You might be very attached to the way you present your home and the way you live. A stager’s suggestions can feel like a critique on your lifestyle, but that’s not what is intended. A home going up for sale needs to look a lot different than one being lived in. 

I would suggest that you give meeting with a stager a try during your sale process. Make sure to keep your mind open to the stager’s suggestions. They make a big difference.

 

Clean

You probably keep your home pretty clean but you may not have gone the extra mile with some of your cleaning projects in a while. Cleaning can also go a long way in your home “staging.” Here are some of the cleaning projects that you might have missed putting on your list in a while: 

• Dust ceiling fans, light fixtures, shelves, etc. 

• Check your bathroom vent fans and your heating ducts to see if they are clean or if they need years worth of dust removed. 

• Wipe down light switches and the walls around them.

• Consider having your carpets cleaned.

 

Make Important Cosmetic Repairs

The staging phase of the sale process is typically used to address purely cosmetic concerns. You want to make the home appeal to a wide number of buyers. And what we know is that the majority of buyers prefer move-in-ready homes. For that reason, during your staging process, take care of any necessary and distracting cosmetic repairs. I’m not talking about remodeling your kitchen or bathroom. I’m talking about making sure you’ve patched nail holes in the wall where you removed your family photos. Or replacing your old wooden toilet seat with a fresh porcelain or plastic one. I could list many more examples.

If you’d like a more thorough “staging” list as you prepare your home to sell, reach out. Jess Lex Homes has “The Ultimate Checklist for Preparing Your Home to Sell” available and is happy to share. Drop us a note!