Tips from realtor Sarah McCubbin Brown on how to stage your home to sell

When it comes to buying and selling, nothing aids sellers or entices buyers like a spectacularly staged home. We’ve decided to pick the brain of local real estate guru, Sarah McCubbin Brown, and she’s provided us five staging tips that won’t break the bank…or your sanity.

1- Less is more! Less pictures, less furniture, less clutter, less of everything.  Don’t take this personally either- we want to sell your house and I promise the 10-foot portrait of your pet isn’t going to get it done. This will actually serve two purposes: 1- your house will look bigger and 2- you will get a head start on packing! The best staging I have ever seen had enough furniture in it where my clients could get a feel of what it could look like if they lived there, but it wasn’t overcrowded with personal belongings.

2- Don’t forget the garage. This is probably the biggest area people overlook during the staging process because it ends up becoming the “catch all” room while you’re getting things ready. Understandably so, the garage is a big deal for anyone wanting to buy, and so it can be a deal breaker if they can’t walk through it and get the full experience of the kind of garage they might be purchasing. 

3- If your budget allows, hire a professional. This is actually a must if your are planning on selling a vacant house. It doesn’t matter how new or nice the house is, if it’s empty, it will take twice the amount of time to sell and I’m convinced you will get less money for it. A professional stager is not always the cheaper route, but I promise you it will be worth it. Even if you hire them for just a couple of hours to give you some input on where to put things and what to pack up, there is always a benefit to a fresh set of eyes. 

4- Pay attention to the trends. I see houses all day long and the ones that get the most “ooo’s” and “ahhh’s” are the ones that have a light, bright and white palette to its aesthetic. Don’t panic! This doesn’t mean you need to spend a bunch of money painting your walls light grey and buying all white furniture. Go through the items that you already have and see what fits into that category and use those pieces! 

5- Have fun with it. Staging doesn’t always have to do with arranging furniture in a house. The goal is to draw a customer in and then make them fall in love with your house by giving them the best experience possible while they are there. Some ways to do that would be to have the lights on in each room before the Agent and Buyer arrive, have soft music playing, have a few scented candles lit and my personal favorite—leave refreshments or cookies in the kitchen for them to snack on while looking!