How to Stage a House on a Budget 

Want to stage a house on a budget?

Here at Listing Marketing Pros, we have seen our share of houses.  Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. The picture you build for your buyers can be worth thousands of dollars.

From first impressions to possible layouts, staging provides potential buyers with a visual representation of your home and can help you sell your home quickly and for a competitive price. When potential buyers first enter your home, it is the first impression that will stay with them. By staging your home, you can show buyers potential without making them have to use their imagination. Staging a home increases its value on the open market, but the whole process can be expensive. You have to shell out to hire a stager and rent furniture and art. If professional staging isn’t in your budget, never fear—it’s entirely possible to stage a house on a budget that won’t break the bank. Here are some budget-friendly tips and tricks you can do yourself that will make over your home for next to nothing—or even for free!

Kitchen -To make the kitchen looked lived-in, grab a few nice-looking cookbooks. A small toaster, container of utensils, a bowl of fruit or vase of flowers can really round out the kitchen. But be careful — you don’t want the counters to look too cluttered, especially if it is a small kitchen or has little counter space. Kitchen cabinets will be opened and examined. Be sure they are organized.

Dining Room– Simply setting a table with plates, silverware, glasses and cloth napkins secured with a napkin ring will complete this room. If you don’t have extras lying about, these items can be found at thrift stores or dollar stores for next to nothing.

Bedrooms -If you are missing a bed, use a blow-up mattress or two to simulate bed and box springs. Make sure it stays inflated! Make the bed like normal, and no one will know. It’s also much easier to store when not in use. Remove clutter and make sure to clean out closets and put away seasonal clothes to allow for more room. Buyers are always looking for storage.

Bathroom– If a complete gut job isn’t in the cards for your outdated bathroom, just paint the existing cabinets, add some new hardware, and finish with a cloth shower curtain. A new shower curtain is always a great, small investment especially if the old one is smelly. This helps your old bath feel almost as good as new.

Clean all light your fixtures and ceiling fans. Make sure to replace all broken bulbs. A quick run of the vacuum and a light dusting every other day helps keep the house in order just in case you have a last-minute showing.

Odors and Smells
You’ll want to watch what you cook! Showings can happen at any time. Be sure to keep the fish and strong spices at a minimum. They can be a turn off!   Get rid of kitchen odors by pouring hot salt water down the drain twice a week. Also, grind some lemon rind into the disposal. Work towards achieving a “clean” smell.

Pet odors are hard to hide. Try using baking soda and other pet cleaning devices to remove any odd smells from furniture and carpeting.

Fresh flowers, pretty soaps, candles and other odor devices are also a great way to stage a house on a budget. But don’t go overboard because there are buyers who are sometimes sensitive to these stronger smells. If you know when a showing is scheduled for, doing your baking the morning of will make the house smell great. If you don’t have that much time throw some popcorn in the microwave. Just make sure it doesn’t burn!

Finally, tackle the garage and garbage smells! You don’t want these to turn off potential buyers.

By completing these easy tips it gives the potential buyer the feel that when they move in for real they’ll be able to kick back for a while and relax.