Ready to sell your house? The right staging can make a difference in the bottom line.
Dr. Randall Guttery, clinical professor and director of Real Estate Programs at the Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas, Dallas saw sellers making a lot of mistakes in his 30 years as a real estate broker.
Here are his six tips for making sure your house is ready to show and sell for top dollar: 
1. Give it the impersonal touch.
Take down the sports team memorabilia to avoid offending die-hard fans of a rival team. Same with religious and political items and potentially offensive or embarrassing movies, books or magazines. Don’t forget to remove family photos.
“You've got to neutralize the house as much as you can,” Guttery said. “Those are your family pictures, and the buyers are trying to use their imagination and visualize what they would look like living in this house. They’re having a hard time looking at it when your grandma is looking at them from the wall.”
2. Tone it down.
Paint over bold or wild colors on walls. Remove loud wallpaper or carpet. Not sure what counts as loud? Ask me. I'm in and out of houses all the time and I know what colors appeal to buyers.
3. Get rid of the clutter.
Own too much furniture? Fill up storage units if necessary. “You need to declutter your house; remove the extra items,” Guttery said. “The more clutter you have, the smaller a room looks.” Try to remove at least one large item from every room.
4. Clean up your mess.
Guttery has seen sellers leave dirty dishes in the sink and dirty laundry in the laundry room. Tell family members: If it’s dirty wash it and as soon as it’s clean, put it away.
5. Finish your weekend chores during the week.
Mow the lawn and make basic repairs before a weekend open house.
6. Don’t make a stink.
Remove litter box odors and other challenging smells. Open the windows and cover the odors if there’s no time for a deep clean.
“When you know you have a showing, pop a bag of popcorn or bake some chocolate chip cookies and set them out,” Guttery said.
Be willing to leave on short notice for showings – and take your pets with you.
You can trust me to help you stage your home so buyers see the potential. Contact me for more information about getting your home ready to sell, 210-478-8555.
