So you're thinking about selling your home and pondering what the idea of home staging is all about and if you should or shouldn't stage the home.  After almost four decades in the business I've discovered there are really only a three things that ultimately get a home sold.  Those are price, condition, and location.

There are things you can do to have your home be more appealing than your competition and by all means you should do the things you can reasonably do prior to listing your home.  Keeping in mind you only get one time to make the first impression on the market.  So, put your best foot forward in ever respect including the price you choose.  I'll talk more about that in a future blog post.

On the outside here are a few quick things to do to brighten and spruce up the curb appeal:

1.  Remove all screens off front windows and thoroughly clean them

2.  Trim all bushes below window height

3.  Plant some colorful flowers and throw a fresh layer of mulch down

4.  Put a couple flower pots at the door with some colorful flowers as well

5.  If you need to paint the front porch, decks, railings, and trim no one want to see chipping, peeling paint, or get an immediate sense the home hasn't been well maintained

6.  Clean up leaves, toys, debris, and make sure the yard, walkways, decks, and porches are free and clear of clutter, dust, cob webs, and dead bugs

7.  Replace all light bulbs with bright ones

8.  One of the most recent trends is to paint the front door a color that pops

On the inside of the home you can do these few quick things to help it show at its best when potential home buyers and agents view the house

1.  Same as outside, replace all the light bulbs with nice bright ones to help brighten the home up

2.  Again, same asa the outside of the home declutter, organize, and make all rooms as spacious and as open as possible.  It may make sense to rent a storage unit if you've outgrown the home and need more space.

3.  If you have outdated curtains and area rugs remove them and just leave the blinds.  These can both tend to darken a home an make it feel smaller than it is

4.  Be sure to clean and organize all your closets, cabinets, garage, and storage spaces

5.  Change your HVAC filters and clean the cover.  The worst thing you want potential homebuyers thinking is you haven't properly maintained your heating and cooling system

6.  Be sure to clean the inside of your appliances, I promise buyers will take a peek

7.  If need be it's worth the money to paint and at least shampoo carpets and possibly replace if heavily soiled or if colors are dated and/or too personalized

There are some helpful things you can do just before your home is shown and to prepare for the professional photo shoot and I'll share more on that in future posts.

In closing one super helpful thing to do is to drive up to your home and walk around it and through it as if you were a potential buyer.  Imagine if you were looking to purchase a home and you were viewing this home.  What would need to be done to have it show at its best?  Take a notepad with you and do any of those things that you can reasonably accomplish.

Formal staging at least in our local market is not a huge thing and is highly over rated.  If you do these simple things, price it right, and make it easy to show you set yourself up to get it sold.  Buyers and their agents both know and realize you live in the home.  Do however make sure everything is safe, operating, structurally sound, and free & clear of any leaks, and/or hazardous materials prior to listing.  These things will inevitably come up during inspections and are easier and more cost effective in most cases to fix up front.

If you have live in Roanoke, Virginia and are thinking about selling your home or are looking for a Realtor in Roanoke Virginia and surrounding locations like Vinton, Salem, Smith Mountain Lake, Daleville, Botetourt, Bedford, Moneta, Franklin County, Craig County, Blacksburg, or Christiansburg please reach out and our team will take excellent care of all your home buying or selling needs.