Field Guide to Preparing and Staging a House For Sale
(Updated February 2011)
Banish the clutter! Trim the bushes! Hide your Star Wars collection! Take down the family pictures! What things can you do to prepare a house for sale? Here are tips, hints, thoughts and ideas for sprucing up, cleaning out, decorating, staging, creating a great first impression and making a house appealing to buyers. (A. Siudzinski, Senior Library Information Specialist)
Getting your house ready to SELL, (ActiveRain, Dec. 11, 2011).
Selling your home? Get more money with these easy (and inexpensive!) design tricks, (shine.yahoo.com, Feb. 4, 2010).
How to prepare your house for sale, (homebuying.about.com, 2010).
Clutter-free helps sell homes, (Realty Times, Jan. 9, 2009).
Speed your home sale with these fast fix-ups, (MSN Money, May 4, 2009).
Preparing Your Home for Sale, (Oregon Health Authority, n.d.).
6 Cheap Ways to Stage Your Home in a Buyer's Market, (Wise Bread, Sept. 27, 2011).
Finishing touches, (REALTOR® Magazine, Feb. 2011).
Staging for the five senses, (Realty Times, Jan. 27, 2011).
Home staging on a dime, (AOL Real Estate, Sept. 9, 2010).
Home staging tips that focus on largest customer segments, (RISMedia, Apr. 10, 2010).
Styled, staged & sold, (www.realtor.org, 2010).
The Staging Pro, (REALTOR® Magazine, 2010).
Home staging strategies to remember!, (Real Estate Home Staging, Jan. 7, 2010).
Innovative home staging is the key to home sales in a down market, (RISMedia, Dec. 21, 2009).
Staging in a virtual reality, (REALTOR® Magazine, Oct. 2009).
Tips for Specific Areas of the House
Staging bathrooms without breaking the bank, (homebuying.about.com, n.d.).
Bonus rooms and man caves: make something out of nothing, (Staged, Styled & Sold/REALTOR® Magazine, June 25, 2010).
Home staging tips: living room staging ideas, (Massachusetts Home Buyer Network, Jan. 8, 2010).
Staging the kitchen, (homebuying.about.com, 2010).
Staging the bedroom no less important than kitchen or bathroom for a fast house sale, (American Chronicle, Dec. 23, 2009).
Home Staging Atlanta--Living Room Before and After Pictures, (ActiveRain, Apr. 16, 2009).
Staging to make a dining room look bigger, (House Calls, Mar. 31, 2009).
5 cheapskate tips to staging your spare room, (www.ezinearticles.com, Feb. 4, 2009).
eBooks & Other Resources
eBooks.realtor.org
The following ebooks and digital audiobooks are available to NAR members:
The Clutter Cure (Adobe eReader)
The Everything Organize Your Home Book (Kindle, Adobe eReader)
Go Organize! (Kindle, Adobe eReader)
The Learning Annex® Presents Uncluttering Your Space (Kindle, Adobe eReader)
Staging to Sell (Kindle, Adobe eReader)
Books, Videos, Research Reports & More
The resources below are available for loan through Information Central. Up to three books, tapes, CDs and/or DVDs can be borrowed for 30 days from the Library for a nominal fee of $10. Call Information Central at 800.874.6500 for assistance.
The complete idiot's guide to staging your home to sell, (Indianapolis, IN: Alpha Books, 2007). HF 5438 D19
Building a successful home staging business, (New York, NY: Wiley, 2007). DVD023
How to stage your home to sell for top dollar, (Concord, CA: www.stagedhomes.com, 2006). DVD023
Home staging: the winning way to sell your house for more money, (New York, NY: Wiley, 2006). HF 5438 Sch9
Home staging: creating buyer-friendly rooms to sell your house, (Arlington, MN: Center Stage Home, 2004). HF 5438 M43
Preparing your home to sell: how to increase your home's sales appeal, (Minneapolis, MN: David Knox, 2002). DVD001
Dress your house for success, (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1997). HD 1341 W43d
Field Guides & More
These Field Guides and other resources in the Virtual Library may also be of interest:
Field Guide to Feng Shui and Vastu
Field Guide to Green Homes & Green Mortgages
>> Have an idea for a new Field Guide? Click here to send us your suggestions!
The inclusion of links on this Field Guide does not imply endorsement by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR makes no representations about whether the content of any external sites which may be linked to this Field Guide complies with state or federal laws or regulations or with applicable NAR policies. These links are provided for your convenience only and you rely on them at your own risk.
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