Staging to Sell: Create Homes that Buyers Want

As you sit across the table from your new client, the question will undoubtedly be asked: what now? What needs to be done to make my house sell? And when your client asks you that question, will you have a good answer? If you’re not sure, keep reading for some simple tips to make houses ready for sale with little or no money.

Create Neutral Territory: In other words, you want your client to remove all personalized items and photos. When a prospective buyer walks in for a showing, you want them to envision that this is their house. That’s hard to do when there are photos of the current owner’s children all over the walls.

Clean the Clutter: Nothing makes a house more uninviting than mountains of paperwork and shelves of knick knacks. Encourage your clients to take a weekend or two and begin to box up all the extras in their house. Not only will it give them a head-start on the moving process, it will also make their house more sellable.

Patch the Holes and Paint the Walls: If your client can spend a little money, it would be best spent by making minor repairs and then painting the walls. Taking care of minor dings and scrapes will improve the overall effect of the house, and painting the walls is the best way to freshen up an older home.

Clean the Crevices: Once the excess stuff is packed away, your client may want to take the time to give the house a cleaning that will pass the white glove inspection. Maybe not your client’s idea of a good time, but a house that sparkles gets attention. A house covered in dust gets passed over.

Do a Drive-By: How does the house look from the outside? Don’t neglect chores such as trimming hedges, clearing out brush and eliminating outside clutter. Many potential buyers will drive-by before calling for an appointment. Don’t let these buyers slip by because of an unkempt yard.

Freshen the Air: This one requires a little tact on your part. Homes need to not only look good but also smell good. If potential buyers walk in and are greeted with the smell of cigarettes or cat, that will be an instant turn-off. The catch is that most people whose houses smell like cigarettes or cat are oblivious. As the their agent, it is up to you to broach the subject carefully and encourage them to smoke outside, keep the little box clean or, in a worst case scenario, consider boarding Fifi for a while.


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Maryalene LaPonsie is an accomplished writer who has extensive experience reporting on education, career advancement and workforce development topics. She specializes in sales and marketing consultation as well as general copywriting services.