Imagine walking into a house you are considering buying and being greeted by hundreds of cat figurines. That house is now the Creepy Cat House to you and your friends, who will immortalize it with inside jokes for years to come.
That is, unless you are part of the 10 percent of the population who can envision that space differently than it currently is. McGrew REALTOR®, Angel Nuzum, is one of the lucky few, and through a home staging accreditation course, she now has the paperwork to prove it.
“As a buyer, you end up seeing so many houses, so in conversation, you don’t usually call it by its address,” Nuzum explains. “There will usually be an item that stuck out that is kind of silly or different. That’s what people grasp onto.”
To make sure your house is talked about for all the right reasons, follow these tips on how to expertly stage your home.
Tip #1: Detach
You need to move out of your house emotionally before you move out physically. Detaching yourself from your old space makes it easier when you have to remove items that could scare off a buyer.
“You’re wanting to neutralize the space so that any potential buyer that comes in feels comfortable and starts to put themselves in the space,” Nuzum says. “We all have different tastes. There’s no wrong way to decorate, but from a staging perspective, you are specifically trying to neutralize the house.”
Detaching from your house is tough, regardless of experience. Nuzum knows firsthand how difficult it can be. “Even for myself, who has sold a few houses of my own, it’s really hard because you are being asked to put away pictures of kiddos or family members or pets that you love,” she says.
To make it bearable, Nuzum reminded herself that the work she put it would pay off in time and money down the road.
Tip #2: Neutralize
Staging a home is like telling a story. You want the buyer to be able to see themselves living in the house. In order to do that, you must set the stage.
“The most impactful thing to do from a staging perspective is to neutralize your walls. That means a soothing color that is neutral, because color impacts people’s emotions. You don’t want to pick a color that impacts someone in a negative way,” Nuzum says.
Tan, taupe or warm gray colors are best, and although some people consider those shades dull, the lack of controversy is exactly what you want.
“Paint your walls the most boring color you can find and your house will sell better,” Nuzum says. “Buyers are going to go in and personalize it the way they want anyway.”
Tip #3: Declutter
It can be distracting to buyers when a house is congested with items. Decluttering is a way to maximize exposure to a room’s best features.
Nuzum suggests using a “less is more” approach by putting everything that you don’t use on a daily basis in a box and storing it away.
That’s not to suggest that you remove everything. Selling a vacant home can also be challenge, because it runs the risk of feeling cold and unwelcoming.
“It is almost impossible to get a warm, fuzzy feeling when you walk into a vacant space. That’s not what staging is,” Nuzum says. “You want to remove and add items to make that space better from a picture standpoint and an emotional standpoint to the buyer.”
Tip # 4: Focus on your Goal
It’s important to remember that we live very differently than how we sell our home. Recognizing why you are staging your home can keep you sane in the process.
“Think of it as one step closer to the end goal, which is to move,” Nuzum says. “You’re just packing so you can put it up in the next house.”
To learn more about Angel Nuzum and for information on how to contact her, click HERE.
