Home Staging Tricks And Myths: Kiki's Tips

Home Staging is a new concept in home selling and buying - and a lot of people actually do not quite get its idea. Thus, they do not quite know how to go about staging their houses for a sell, and they have a lot of misconceptions. This article from Kiki's tips for selling your home tells you more about home staging and gives you a clearer picture.

First let us bust a few myths. Home staging is not the same as decorating. You decorate when you have invited guests over - because you want your home to reflect your tastes and personality. Home staging is about making a potential buyer feel comfortable. So, it means 'de-personalising' it - like an airport lounge or a conference room, and yet making it look good. The buyers have to be able to visualise themselves in your home, and for this, you have to remove your essence from it.

Next, it is not possible that you stage your home on your own - because you will have a bias. The best thing is to let a friend (or better still, a professional) do it for you while you spend the day (or the weekend) someplace else. Also, house staging does not cost a lot. Considering the fact that you get more than a hundred percent of what you invest, it all pays off in the end. Lastly, bear in mind that home staging is not just a passing craze - any real estate agent will tell you that homes that have been staged well sell faster and at better prices.

Now, let us discuss a few pointers to actually stage your home.

First order of the day is to clean up the house really well and remove all clutter. Organise your books, CDs, the kitchen counter, get rid of old magazines piled up in the corners, and such like. The idea here is to create space - crucial space that shall put your customers at ease and allow them to see your home for its true worth.

Next, go through your home from top to bottom with a comb and note down all the repair work needed to be done - and then do the repairs. Creaking floorboards, broken counters, cracking walls, and out-of-order lights can be a great turn off for a prospective buyer.

After this, take some time and remove all personal objects from view and pack them in a box somewhere. These might include family photos, heirlooms, toiletry in the bathrooms, trophies, memorabilia, children's drawings, etc. Remember, you have to de-personalise your home - that's the mantra here.

Then, arrange for some ambience - soft music, fresh coffee, soft couches, well-lit sitting area, and so on. This will make your guests at ease and they will be in their best moods while judging your home - which is just what you want.

Lastly, keep some flyers in hand - with photos of your home and the basic details of the sale - to give to the buyers. This way, when they think about the offer at night, they will have a ready reference in their hand to remind them of what a wonderful home you are offering them.