5 Tips and Tricks to Stage a San Diego House (Without Hiring a Professional)

Staging a San Diego house is a great idea for anyone looking to sell quickly and get high offers.  While staging helps a San Diego homeowner during their sale process it can be an expensive service to add.  Many homeowners have opted to stage their own homes to avoid these costs while still reaping most of the benefits.  

To start staging without a professional use these five tips and tricks.

Get Impersonal

The San Diego house has to be a blank slate when home buyers walk through.  Get rid of any personal items. This does not stop at family photos and college degrees.  Look at items that remind anyone of religion, sports, or anything that could be considered a personal preference.

Buyers want to walk through a home and feel like it is ready for their items.  If they are a devout fan of a certain sports team and they see their rival team’s jersey on the wall they are going to be reminded that this is not their home.  This might sound silly, but is happens.

A San Diego homeowner never wants a buyer to look at the house and think “this is not my home.”  They need to be in love with the house and ready to move in.

Too Much Stuff

Pay attention to the piles of stuff that accumulate on the tables, on the counter, on any flat surface.  Even though that kitchen counter may be the first flat surface in the home does not mean a homeowner should empty their pockets onto it as soon as they get home.  And they certainly should not leave that clutter for buyers to see.

Daily habits and traditions can be hard to break.  They are even harder to notice. What is a homeowner’s typical clean home is not always clean enough for a buyer to view it.  

Look at every piece of furniture and space separately and ask if the items found there actually belong.  More often than not the answer is “no.”

No Room Left Behind

Start by painting each room a neutral color.  This makes it easier to match a simple color scheme and allow the buyer to dream of their own renovations and updates once they move in.  Then look at those empty rooms. Every room should have a purpose.

For example, even if a room is not typically used as an office, dress it up. Put the laptop on the desk, add in a cup of pencils and pens and top it off with a well-placed notebook or reading book.  A lamp in the color will bring light and the room will look like it has always been used as an office.  

Keep in mind that too much empty space can be hard to fill in a buyer’s mind.

Something Smells

Every homeowner should clean their San Diego home before showing a house.  Have a cleaning crew come through a few days before an open house or the first showing.  Getting old smells out of furniture, curtains, and beds is a must. Homeowners can easily ignore the smells they are used to and buyers are going to be able to smell them immediately. 

Outside, In

No one is going to be able to walk into the San Diego house without seeing the outside first.  Make sure every part of the yard, driveway, sidewalk, roof, and siding is clean. Renting a power washer can make this job easier.  Keep the yard tidy and short. Even add in a few flowers to really ‘wow’ the buyers as they walk through the front doors for the first time.

A San Diego homeowner who does not work on staging their home is missing out on an opportunity to get better offers and sell their house faster.  Staging a house does not have to rack up a huge bill. A homeowner can start the process by themselves and do many small staging techniques to help the buyer fall in love with the house.