When it comes to selling a home, everyone seems to have their own opinion as to what will make it sell faster and for more money.  Some realtors believe that the smell of freshly baked cookies will convince a person to buy, while other real estate agents think that a home needs to be perceived as warm and inviting to entice a purchase.

Well, if you are the type of person that thinks that an empty home is easier to keep clean through all those open houses, and you want to remove everything, you may want to think twice.  It turns out that the aroma of cookies and cozy spaces can decrease the amount of time a house stays on the market, because potential homeowners can see themselves living there.

In addition to staged homes selling faster, most sellers and their real estate agents will agree that the value of the home will increase, due to the way that it looks when potential homeowners are walking through it or looking at the pictures online.  Some real estate agents believe that the home’s value will only increase by a percent or two, while other realtors believe that the value of the home will increase by as much as twenty percent.

One of the easiest things that you can do when staging your home is remove all the personal items from each room.  These items often include family photos, as you are trying to have someone else imagine themselves living in the space, and that is difficult to do when another family is staring down from the walls.

You will also want to remove any clutter, including that pile of shoes by the front or back door.  The idea when staging a home is to show how everything has its place and that there is room for everything.  It gives the appearance that the home is larger than it is, which is why many realtors will also recommend removing half of the items from inside all the closets.

Your real estate agent will want you to stage your home a specific way prior to having any pictures taken for the website.  That will ensure that your home looks exactly right to potential buyers from the start and hopefully will lure them to the open house.

Of course, once your home has been staged by your realtor, you will not be able to make any changes to it until it has been sold.  This can be difficult for some people, as you may feel that you are living in a museum but keep the end result in mind.  That shouldn’t be too hard, as a little extra money can usually motivate anyone.

Learn more about C21 Lady of the Lakes Realtors and the numerous services they offer including: buying a new home, selling a home, or renting a home at www.ladyofthelakes.com.  To contact one of our real estate agents call 734-426-6060 today.