 By Cristen Conger, HowStuffWorks.com These days, it can be difficult to move a house off the market. Increasingly, weary home owners must slash the selling price to entice people to sign on the dotted line. For that reason, properly preparing a house for sale is of utmost importance. Home staging, or the process of cleaning out and updating properties to maximize their selling potential, is one of the most effective ways to do just that. Yet when some people hear "home staging," dollar signs immediately come to mind. Certainly, hiring a professional home stager and sprucing up a home's interior and exterior requires a monetary investment, but it doesn't have to break the bank. Most of the major home-staging principles are surprisingly inexpensive to follow. In fact, proper home staging shouldn't entail revamping from floor to ceiling. Rather, it's more about pinpointing trouble spots around the house and yard and cleaning like crazy. The payoff for your time and effort can be substantial; by some estimates, home staging can reap as much as a 20 percent higher selling price. To get that sold sign in your yard faster and with more cash in your pocket, the following five home-staging tips should fit any budget. Just remember the home-staging mantra: Less is more. |
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