How to Stage Real Estate Open Houses

Stage your real estate for an open house.

Okay, your house is ready for sale. Or is it? You have picked a real estate agent to help. You are planning several open houses. You have decided on a price. You have the next house in mind. What more should you do?

Things You'll Need

• Time
• Patience
• Storage containers.
• Storage space elsewhere
• Cleaning products

Instructions

1. 

   When you are ready to stage your real estate for an open house,
   start at the front door: You know you do not get a second chance at a first impression. Be sure your front yard is tidy. Your front door should be clean. Make sure there are no obstacles, such as bikes, shoes, toys, in the pathway to your front door.

2. Do a walk through: Actually walk through your house as if you were getting ready to buy it. Make a list of anything you think needs to be taken care of, big and small. The living room may be the first room seen. Staging real estate involves tidying up to show your space at it's best. Will adding new toss pillows, and larger light bulbs to add light to the room do the trick?

3. 

   Check the kitchen: Stage your kitchen by removing everything from the counters. Be certain everything is clean, and fresh smelling. Tidy kitchen drawers, cabinets, and refrigerator-yes people will look in everything! Annoying to know, isn't it? Do you need to add some new kitchen towels, and a throw rug? Just a simple pop of color from these items could make a difference.

4. Stage your dining room: Having a dining room is a plus in any market. If you have a dining room, remove any extra furniture. Be sure all lights and ceiling fans are clean, and all bulbs are working. Your dining room chairs should match, and furniture should be clean.

5. If you have a corner office in your dining room: Think about moving your laptop to another spot. Or, perhaps your laptop and printer could be stored in a piece of furniture that can be closed during a showing. You do not want a work area with any of your personal information to be exposed during an open house.

6. 

   Bedrooms need to be neat: Remove as much as you can live without. Neaten bedroom closets before the first open house by removing extra clothes and shoes. Storing anything that is not a clothing item in a bedroom closet says you do not have enough space in your home. Move such items to storage.

7. Gather clutter into storage bins: Storage containers to help your project flow are available at the Container Store, Walmart, or Kmart. Store containers in a space in your garage, if you can do this without cluttering up your space. If this won't work, rent a storage unit until you move.

8. 

   Clean the bathroom: Be sure you remove objects from your bathroom counter, and give the bathroom a thorough cleaning. Clorox Green Works makes it simple. Fresh towels in the bathroom are a must when you stage any real estate for an open house. Be sure to remove personal items from the medicine cabinet. If you keep your toothbrushes in the bathroom, put them out of sight.

9. Clean your garage or carport: A ton of clutter in a parking area does not sit well during a real estate open house. It tells people the house is too small for what you have. How will they fit their items in the house?

10. 

    Check the outside of your house: When staging real estate for an open house, check your yard. Is it tidy? Do any areas of the home point to deferred maintenance? Are there loose gutters, or rotted shutters? When you stage real estate for open houses, all these things need to be checked.

Tips & Warnings

• Staging your real estate can be fun, or seem like a major job. It's all about attitude, isn't it?

Resources

• How to Find Mortgage Money
• How to Avoid Mortgage Scams
• How to Choose a Real Estate Agent
• How to Get Better Mortgage Rates
• How to Flip Real Estate With Partners