Ask any Orlando realtor and they will tell you that staging is the most important part of a home selling process. It allows you to show the best features of your house, which increases its chances of selling early.
In our opinion, paying someone to stage your house is a waste of money. Not that we are against it because stagers do give your house a professional look. However, they just move things around and you can do the same too.
Staging is not always about flower vases and abstract paintings on the wall. Every corner of the house should be clean and sparkling so that when a potential buyer is touring the house, they see how much you have cared for it.
Following are four ways on how to stage your house on a budget:
1. Declutter the House
Divide the items you are planning to take to your new house and the ones you will be giving to charity. This will automatically reduce most of the clutter. The rest you can pack in boxes and stack in the basement for the time being. Refrain from using a storage unit because that will cost you more than $100.
Cost: $0
2. Re-Arrange the Furniture
Have you heard the phrase, “Less is more?” When it comes to furniture in staging, you need to create clear paths so that the buyer can see how spacious the rooms are. A living room should only contain a sofa set and coffee table, the bedroom should have a bed and side tables with lamps, the kitchen counters should be clear, and the only items on a bathroom’s vanity should be soaps and guest towels.
Cost: $0
3. Depersonalize the House
Remove all your personal photo frames, medals and awards from the shelves. They become a huge distraction during the tour. Instead of looking at the features of the house, buyers become more interested in knowing about your memories.
Replace them with flowers and decoration pieces. Here’s how much you should spend on them:
- Plastic Vases: $15 (For 5)
- Fresh Flowers: $25
- Decoration Pieces: Got to the dollar store and buy as many knick-knacks as you can
Cost: $50
4. Light Up the Rooms
There’s nothing more disappointing and annoying than dull lighting. If a buyer is touring your house in the morning then natural light will more than suffice for dim light bulbs. The open windows, neatly tied curtains, and flower pots on the window sill add great appeal to the overall house.
However, as evening arrives and shadows appear, your house should be awash with light. So make sure to replace all your incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs. Each room should have at least one LED bulb along with your old lighting.
Cost: $10/bulb (If you have 4 rooms in the house excluding kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, basement and attic, which makes a total of 9 bulbs = $90)
And there you have it ― total staging cost = $140 to $200.
After staging your house, consult an Orlando real estate agent to list your house. Visit the website Megan Dowdy Realty to find yourself a qualified Winter Garden realtor. For further details, call on 407-509-9279.
