Have you ever toured a model home? What are some clues about the types of people who live in that home? What is their religion, what are their favorite sports teams, what do they collect? You shouldn’t be able to determine this based on how the model home is staged, because the model home is depersonalized of all of these things. The goal in staging your own home for sale, is to eliminate any personal items that will distract a potential buyer from seeing the features of your home.
To that end, first, do a sweep of each room in your home to remove any personal photos and religious décor or artifacts. A potential buyer will be unable to imagine themselves in your home if they see photos of who is currently living there. If they can’t see themselves in your home, they will not want to make an offer to purchase your home, even if only on a subconscious level.
Second, pack away any décor or memorabilia reflecting your allegiance to any sports teams. Such items are deeply personal and may in fact be polarizing to a potential buyer. For example, if the potential buyer is a long-term Dallas Cowboys fan and they walk into a home peppered with Pittsburgh Steelers paraphernalia, any feelings of distaste about their rival team may subconsciously affect how that buyer remembers that home after the showing.
Finally, consider packing away any collections or evidence of hobbies you may have in your home. Such items are always deeply personal to the person collecting them, and again, will may it difficult for the potential buyer touring your home to picture themselves in your space. The odds of that buyer also collecting spoons from all 50 states and thus identifying with you on that level are very, very small.
I will give you more specific tips based on your home, but taking the time to walk through your home and remove items that give clues as to who lives in your home and what their personal likes are, will go a long way towards staging your home in preparation for sale.
You’ve updated your home and you’re ready to put it on the market. Now what? Here are some general staging tips that you can implement quickly and easily.