Here are a few things you may want to keep in mind as what NOT to do when putting your home on the market and selling it:

• “Make sure your home is painted in bright colors that stand out or drab white walls.” Don’t do this! Paint the interior of your home neutral colors in the brown and beige family.
• “Decorate my home with all my cute unicorn nick-knacks.” Make sure your entire home is tidy and organized and free of décor that portrays your personality. Remember, keep the word “neutral” in mind when selling. Any family pictures and various dust collectors on your shelves should be boxed up and kept in the garage. Remember, you are going to have to pack this stuff up anyway!
• “Potential buyers can see past the clutter”. If you are selling your home and your rooms are filled with too much stuff, box it up. Minimal décor and “stuff” in general will show your home the best. Plus, it makes your home look bigger the less you have in it.
• “The walls don’t need any TLC.” Once your start moving your furniture around and taking those personal family pictures off the walls, you will start to notice holes, cracks and chipped paint. Take a moment to patch any holes and use the paint to touch up any scuffs before selling your home.
• “Buyers won’t notice the dust.” Remember, you want potential buyers to look around and think about what great shape you have kept the home in. This means do a deep clean of all your appliances, get rid of the dust on your ceiling fans and scrub the stove.
• “No need to tidy up the closet, I’ll just close the door.” Potential buyers will be nosy. They’ll open closets, cupboards and drawers. Tidy them up when selling your home! It is also a great idea to take half of the items in your closet out. This makes your closets and cupboards look bigger than they actually are.
• “I don’t need to spend any money on planting flowers or plants outside; the new owners can do that.” The first impression a potential buyer gets from your home will be the curb appeal. Pull weeds, green up the grass and plant new flowers.

There are many tips The Lawhead Team has shared about what to do when staging your home to sell…but what about what NOT to do?

It is important not to get overwhelmed by the details when staging your home to sell. The following are some helpful tips from Home & Garden Television on what not to do when staging your home to sell:

• Less is usually more in home staging. Keep decor simple, and definitely dismantle theme rooms.
• Don’t over personalize your decor. If you know your house is going on the market in the next few years, be mindful of design choices when you remodel, or you could decrease your pool of buyers. Don’t choose a counter top with grape details, for example.
• If your house is going on the market, seriously consider every surface in your home, especially walls and floors. Think neutral. When potential buyers view your home, you don’t want them considering how much time and money it will take to paint over a blindingly yellow room or to replace red shag carpet.
• Need inexpensive ways to prepare your home for the market? Clean, clean, clean. Scrub everything. Rent a carpet shampooer if necessary. The small investment and resulting sweet smell is worth every penny! While you’re at it, declutter! Get started packing and fill boxes with knickknacks and more.
• If you do nothing else to prepare your house for the market, tend to your yard. Rake the leaves. Clean up flower gardens. Trim shrubs. Sweep your sidewalks and porches. You don’t want to lose any showings because drive-by shoppers can’t get past the mess at the curb. Read our article about adding curb appeal to your home.
• Even if you have overlooked needed home repairs for years, potential buyers will see every one of them. Fix that cracked window pane. Replace the broken doorknob. Paint the fence and re-stain a dull looking door. A little sweat equity goes a long way in real estate.
• Don’t misuse spaces: Bedrooms should be bedrooms, not closets or catchall rooms. Patios should be staged as relaxing outdoor spaces, not left empty or as toy storage.

When looking to sell your home, there are some important home staging facts every home seller should take advantage of.

Every seller wants their home to sell fast as well as bring top dollar.  In order to sell your home this way, careful planning and knowing how to professionally spruce up your home will send home buyers off to the bank to get the cash you need for your home.  The Lawhead Team would like to share some tips to staging your home to get it sold:

First, you will want to disassociate yourself with your home.  This is no longer going to be your home and it is important to let go of your emotions and focus on the future.  Soon you will be handing over the keys to the new owner and you will be making a move forward, hopefully to your new home!

It is important to pack up personalized items such as photographs and family heirlooms. It is important for home shoppers to be able to picture their own photos on the wall along with their own personalized family items.  As a seller, you want your buyer to be telling themselves, “I can see myself living here”.

When staging your home to sell, clean out your clutter!  Always use this rule: if you haven’t used it in over a year you probably don’t need it.  A helpful tip is to dedicate a day to cleaning out your home.  Make various piles for “garage sale”, “salvation army” and “keep”.  This will also help lighten the load for when you finally move out of your home.

Pack away all those knickknacks, books off bookcases and clean off the kitchen counters.  Remember, you are going to have to do this eventually anyway, so why not get a head start on it?  It will make your home more appealing to potential buyers at the same time it gets your packing done.

Don’t assume you can just throw all your junk in the closet!  Buyers looking at your home are making a huge investment and will snoop around every nook and cranny.  Make sure your closets are neat and tidy along with your cabinet doors.  Buyers are much more likely to purchase a home that looks, clean, neat and tidy because if gives the impression you, as the previous owner, took good care of the home itself.  Even if you have to rent a storage unit, it may be helpful in order to get your home sold.  Try these organization tricks:

• Hang shirts together, buttoned, facing the same direction.
• Line up shoes.
• Alphabetize spice jars.
• Neatly stack dishes.
• Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.

When staging a home, de-clutter the furniture.  Pieces of furniture which block or hamper paths and walkways should be removed.  Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make your room appear larger.  Simply leave enough furniture in each room for potential buyers to know what the room is used for.

Remove and replace any items you want to take with you.  For example, if your great grandmother’s chandelier is hanging in the dining room, take it down before you show your home.  Once you tell a buyer they can’t have an item, it might make the deal turn sour.

Minor repairs to give a home a cleaner and well taken care of look are important if you want your home sold quickly.  Fixing the following will ensure help add appeal to your home that otherwise wouldn’t have been there:

•  Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don’t close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls. (Don’t give buyers any reason to remember your home as “the house with the orange bathroom.”)
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.
• If you’ve considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!

Part of home staging to sell your home is making sure everything on the surface is also spic-n-span. Wash windows inside and out, spray down sidewalks and exterior walls making sure to get rid of the cobwebs.  Vacuum and sweep your floors daily when you know prospects may come by at anytime.

Stand outside of your home and take note at what is appealing from the curb and what is not.  Does your home pop out, in a good way of course, from the rest of the homes on your street?  Remember, the exterior of your home is what a potential buyer sees first.  Freshly potted flowers are inexpensive and can add appeal to your home.  Make sure your lawn is mowed and your sidewalks cleared.

Need additional help selling your home?  Ask the experts, Marilyn and Creighton Lawhead, Because Two Lawheads Are Better Than One^TM !