Staging Tricks That Will Help Your Home Sell Faster

Selling a home faster, and sometimes for more than you've listed it for, tends to be ideal for many homeowners. For that to happen, you have to stage for each potential buyer walking into the door. Home staging allows you to make a space feel more welcoming to prospective buyers; "setting the stage" makes it easy for buyers to see themselves in your home, enjoying their new space.

You could pay for home staging, which Realtor.com states costs between $300 to $600 for initial design consultations and $500 to $600 per every month the home is staged. If that's out of budget, there are a number of things you can do yourself to stage your home.

Remember that home staging means creating a space that other people can see themselves living in. You don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money on massive upgrades, but there are some big changes worth making to most homes. Here are five staging tricks to consider when staging your home.

One of the biggest staging tricks is to dial back color and bright elements to create more of a neutral décor. You don't know if the person stepping into your home will want vibrant colors. You also don't want people to think they have to paint the entire interior just to move in.

Neutral colors can still create depth and complexity to make a home appealing, according to Emily Henderson, though it's important to create this space carefully. It's not about just white or beige but different hues of them. Adding in woods and earth-tone carpeting could offer some help.

Paint over the bright colors you've selected with a neutral tone, then try to work in more neutral hues throughout the rest of the space, such as in the curtains, furnishings, and carpeting. If you use color, be sure you're doing so properly by creating a simple, clean, and widely considered beautiful space.

The more "stuff" you have in a home, the less open space there is. To sell a home fast, you want prospective buyers to see just how enticing it is to live there. You also want them to perceive the space as big and open.

Decluttering is the way to do this. Declutter one room at a time by either sorting items into storage boxes or donating unwanted and unnecessary items. It's a good idea to get rid of items that are very family-specific, like your child's artwork and family photos. The goal is to get people to see themselves in this space, not that they are walking through someone else's well-loved home.

A related staging trick is to get rid of too much furniture. Be sure that each room is functional, with just the furniture needed to help create a positive expression, advises Red House Staging & Interiors.

Some people feel they need to do a lot of remodeling before they sell a home. While sometimes renovating is important, especially when there are problems with the home; other times, renovating doesn't offer a real return on your investment.

The other concern with significant renovation is that what you're doing isn't necessarily going to be what a prospective buyer wants. A lavish outdoor patio or a sauna isn't necessarily on every buyer's list of must-haves. Why spend the money if it's not going to be what someone wants or that may not appeal to all buyers?

If you want a quick sale or the work that needs to be done is excessive, it may be better to cut your losses and sell it as is. Here, the staging trick is simple: You don't have to work to increase the value — and sometimes you just cannot do that without spending a lot of money you won't get back, according to Lisa Buys Austin Houses.

The flag on your mailbox and the political signs taped to the front of your home won't help sell it. If someone steps inside your home only to find it's a shrine, you're likely to have some buyers stop right there.

No matter if your beliefs are very important to you or not, when selling your home, you're trying to welcome anyone into that space. Anything divisive could limit your reach with prospective buyers. De-personalize the home as much as possible in this way, allowing anyone from any walk of life to see the value your home has to offer.

The Boston Globe reports that even a neighbor's political signs could cost you a sale. People don't want to live next to those who have strong opposing views. There's not much you can do about your neighbors, but reducing these risks in your own home is possible and proves an effective staging trick.

Trends come and go, and timeless style appeals to most people. How do you do that?

Timeless style often means incorporating colors and themes that have been around a long time. The staging trick here is to focus on hard finishes, like hardwood floors, a white kitchen, and a white or cream subway tile for a backsplash, per Claudia Josephine Design. While those navy cabinets may be appealing, for someone who doesn't like them, it's a hard and expensive upgrade to overcome.

With a neutral or white kitchen or living space, people can add their own pops of color and style, creating their own trends in the years to come. You may be tempted to paint all the walls gray, but that's not really going to be something that stands the test of time. Instead, give your prospective buyers a fantastic blank canvas to design in their own way.