Are you planning to put your house on the market any time soon? If so, I bet you are hoping to sell your home as quickly as possible and for the most money as possible. A secret weapon that the best Realtors use and recommend to their clients, and my personal favorite tactic to selling a house fast, is proper Staging. Set yourself up for success in selling your house fast with these 10 tips for properly staging your house!

In real estate, there IS such thing as love on first sight, so focus on curb appeal.

There is a reason why this is the first thing the Pros recommend to focus on. Did you know that the majority of buyers make up their mind about a house within the first 10 seconds they approach the home? Yeah.. CRUCIAL! Many buyers will chose to drive by their prospect list of homes and then decide whether to even go inside the home, depending on curb appeal! So make sure the outside of your home is in peak condition.

Power wash the exterior of the house
Make sure the house numbers are easy to read
Work on a little gardening
Hire a mowing company/ plant sod if necessary!
Clean windows!
Clean or Repaint decks/porches depending on their condition!
Place a welcoming floor mat

Make sure your home is spotless!

This is the simplest (well... certainly the cheapest) way to make your home make a good first impression. From crystal clear windows and Cinderella clean floors to spotless counter tops and scrubbed grout, every square of your home should be clean enough to eat out of! You may want to considering hiring a cleaning company to do some of the really dirty stuff, especially if you are trying to sell a large home. Don't skip this step, this is vital!

Get rid of any clutter.

If you are serious selling your house fast, all clutter must go, end of story. I know It's not easy, and it could involve you seeking for a storage (or a nice relative's garage ;) ) but it is 100% worth it. Spotless surfaces, cupboards and counters equal a better use of space for potential buyers, so get rid of everything that doesn't serve a practical purpose.

That being said, look for a balance between neat and "home sweet home".

Yes, I know I just told you get rid of all your crap (High five if you did it!), but make sure you leave a few things that will actually make your home look more like, well.. a home! Thing like some vases for flowers, a bowl/basket of fresh fruit on the kitchen counter are a huge plus!

Make sure the house has a pleasant odor.

This is a huge one! Unpleasant odors can scare away the most motivated buyers, so make sure your house doesn't stink!

If you have pets, steam clean all carpets and pay extra attention when vacuuming and washing certain places. Be sure to keep an dog toys hidden when showings are schedule.
If your teenager son's dirty clothes hamper stunk up the whole house, febreze away the entire house!
The smell of fresh cookies is very popular, but a vanilla candle will do the trick.
Also, make sure you don't cook anything with strong spice on days when you have showings!

Rearrange your furniture to maximize space.

Symmetrical arrangements usually work well in living areas. I advise my clients to pull furniture off the walls and use pairs (of sofas, chairs, lamps) to show an inviting living area.

Use "bonus" rooms intelligently.

If you have been mistaking your bonus room for “Pile up the crap that I will never use again” room, think again. Every room in your house should have a defined purpose, so put yourself in the buyer's shoes, what would you like to use this space for? An office? A media room? A man cave? Tip: buy ,rent or borrow some inexpensive furnishings to use in this room, an actual room with a purpose is worth the trouble.

Use neutral colors.

When selling your house try not to experiment with that electric blue or hot pink wall paint. You don't have to go all white but rich sophisticated neutrals like java and "grayge" create a cool backdrop that makes everything come together.

Open up those closets!

Buyers WILL want to see inside your closets. Closet space could be a deal breaker for some buyers, so make sure yours meet their full expectations by getting rid of excess. This is of high priority, so even if you have to move some shoe boxes elsewhere, it's worth it. As a rule of thumb, leave 20% to 30% of open space in closets to give the impression of “plenty of room.”

Make the buyers want to explore the whole house.

Place something that catches the eye in hallways, corners and on top of stairs. You can incite curiosity and keep motivated buyers interested through the whole tour.

Use painted accent walls, Art works, a vase of flowers, a cool light fixture or even a small, tasteful rug to drag attention interest in other rooms.

Show off awkward spaces.

If you have an awkward room beneath the stairs, or anywhere in your home, try to figure out a way to show it off. By setting up a workshop, a home head quarters with a family board, your awkward room could even become another selling point!

Appeal to the lifestyle your buyers are looking for

Usually, you want to try to stick to the lifestyle your home is most likely to attract. BAIT THE HOOK TO SUIT THE FISH! Have a house in the suburbia? bench swing on your porch could be the perfect touch Beach front property? A hammock would be an excellent feature!

Backyards matter!

Even if your home has only a tiny backyard, dress it up with a cute coffee table and some chairs chairs, and even a little vase of flowers. When buyers look at this space, they won't be seeing "small," they will be seeing, "What a nice place to have lunch!"

Conclusion

As you can tell by now, selling a house is a lot like dating. Actually... it is exactly like online dating! Think about it... Your broker submits your property information to the website much like match.com or eharmony (In this case the MLS, zillow, realtor.com, etc.) where buyers search using a criteria they previously submitted to the site. Then, like a blind date you have to dress your home to the nines and expect that motivated buyer to be interested within the first sight! Ohhhh.. the love of real estate is in the air!

I'd love to hear more about how you guys dress up your homes for real estate success, so comment below with suggestions!