7 Home Staging Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Sale

Suppose you’re looking into selling your Los Angeles home. In that case, you probably already know the essentials of getting your house ready for potential buyers: remove any clutter, depersonalize the space, and give it a good cleaning. In fact, you might think you know everything there is to know about getting your home ready to sell after watching a few real estate shows and perusing some social media advice posts about home staging. However, did you know that there are common home staging mistakes that can ruin your sale? Even with all your good intentions, making one of these mistakes can delay or eventually break your sale. On the other hand, if you avoid these mistakes, you may find potential buyers clamoring to make your house their forever home. Now let’s find out the most common staging mistakes you should avoid.

7 home staging mistakes that can ruin a sale

Don’t let these home staging mistakes ruin your sale

Thinking that some home staging advice is irrelevant when preparing your own place is natural. After all, who could be more capable of showing off your home’s finest features but you? But be careful, as this kind of thinking can lead you to make home staging mistakes that can ruin your sale.

If you choose to ignore some crucial staging tips because they seem pointless or trivial, you might be making an irreparable mistake. In reality, you could be impairing your home’s appeal to potential buyers instead of making your home more attractive. To help you avoid this from happening to you, we’ve consulted an L.A. real estate expert and gathered the seven most common home staging mistakes you should do your best to avoid.

#1 Choosing bold colors or wallpaper for walls

As a homeowner, you can have a lot of fun playing around with color and wallpaper. So many creative possibilities exist with it. However, it’s not suitable for a house currently on the market. Wallpaper and paint are pretty subjective. So even if you believe wallpaper or paint can attract buyers, they may think they’ll have to spend a lot of money fixing the place up so they can move in. You should paint walls a neutral color to help potential buyers ignore the current decor and envision their own belongings in the space.

#2 Over-staging your home

As previously said, staging your house can make it more desirable to potential buyers, leading to a quicker sale at a higher sales price. However, if you choose poorly, home staging might also backfire because it’s more than possible to over-stage a home. Too many props might make the room look chaotic rather than produced.

Therefore, it’s crucial to make discerning design decisions and avoid going overboard. It’s the only way to truly show your home’s full potential. For example, an excellent way to make the space seem bigger is to remove oversized pieces of furniture. The simplest solution is to keep those items safe in a storage unit until you’re ready to move them to your new home. However, keep in mind that packing furniture for storage is a crucial step for your pieces to remain intact.

#3 Not decluttering enough

When preparing a home for sale, decluttering is a crucial first step. However, its effects extend beyond mere cleanliness. What constitutes “decluttering” for a property in which one resides is not necessarily what is necessary to make an excellent first impression on potential buyers. Further, clear out the kitchen and bathroom countertops, stow away the toothbrush and other toiletries, and pare down the ornamentation on the bookcases and TV stand.

Minimalism in the home is ideal. This keeps potential buyers’ attention on the house itself rather than on the furniture and decor. Decluttering frees up storage space and creates a sense of spaciousness and airiness in each room.

#4 Keeping personal items displayed

When trying to sell your home, personal items like family photos can be quite distracting to potential buyers. They make potential buyers aware that they are walking through someone else’s property, which can make some of them feel uneasy. They shouldn’t be feeling this way at all. Before you move into your new home, it’s best to pack sentimental items like photos and paintings.

However, there are minor exceptions to this rule. For instance, let’s say you have custom walk-in closets that you would like to show off. You can use this opportunity to stage your closet for buyers and show all the options. There are plenty of closet organization ideas you can research that will surely leave any potential buyer in awe.

#5 Personalizing decor

As a homeowner, you make your mark by customizing the space to your taste. However, many potential buyers may have difficulty visualizing themselves in your home if it is overly decorated in your unique style. You may believe that potential purchasers should be able to see past all that, but the truth is that most of them won’t. It will impact how they feel when visiting your house, which will have a ripple effect on whether or not they decide to make an offer. They need a blank canvas with modern touches here and there to really let their creativity shine.

#6 Insufficient lighting

Most homebuyers have a preference for properties that are “bright and airy”. If your home has plenty of windows make sure to keep them open and let the sunshine in. Avoid dark shades and use window coverings that allow as much natural light as possible. In case you lack natural light, that’s not a problem because, with carefully selected artificial lighting, you can easily achieve the desired effect. 

Simply moving the curtains around can dramatically change the light levels in a room. Curtains are usually hung directly above the window trim, but an even better way is to hang them two inches from the ceiling. This has the added benefit of making the windows appear more prominent and the ceiling higher, both of which are desirable features in a home.

#7 Not considering your ideal buyer

There is a buyer for every type of home; before you list yours, it’s essential to determine your target audience. Are you selling a single-family home or a bachelor pad? Consider who could be interested in your area and what type of home will help you market it effectively.

However, try not to go crazy with theme-specific decorations. You want as many potential buyers to be interested in your house as possible.

Final thoughts

Now that you know what the home staging mistakes that can ruin your sale are, you can make sure to avoid them. Trust us, the number of interested buyers will say it all! On top of that, you might even get pleasantly surprised when you find out your home’s worth after your staging efforts.

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