There are many articles on the internet today about staging a home and actual real estate courses on the subject. The point that needs to be made in this article is that it’s not all about the staging of the home. It is about what you do and what you include in the staging process that will aid you in selling your home for the best possible price in the least amount of time.

In all reality staging a home does not have to be a struggle or do you need a 4 week training course on how to attract buyers to your home, your real estate agent should be handling that.

Some very important key points to remember always when staging your home is always put yourself in the place of the prospective buyer. Keep with that mentality and you will be well on your way to a successful staging project.

The DIY (Do it Yourself) handy person will have the best success in staging their home but even if you are not handy and will need to hire a handyman you will still need to have a list of items to do for your handyman when they come to help you.

The following is a list of initial things to do before you even begin the 2nd phase of the staging process.

• Clean up the Clutter – Take a box and a plastic bag and head to your first room. For the purpose of this article we will talk about the master bedroom

• Mark the box "Garage Sale" or "Charity". These are items in usable condition but are unuseful to you, taking up space and need to go.

• The plastic bag is for garbage. Anything that you can’t sell or give away that you don’t want is now garbage.

• Once you have gone through your closet, your dresser drawers and looked under your bed and have either thrown out items or donated items to your garage sale or charity you can then check the rest of the room and see if there is too much clutter on the walls and un clutter them as well. If you have a bunch of pictures of family in this room, take them down and store them in a box, out of sight (the box too) this will make the room feel larger.

Continue through each room of your house in this fashion and before you know it you will have removed clutter, unwanted items, and will start seeing how the staging process will work!

• Repair and replace – this is an important second step to the overall staging process. Again, as you did with the de-cluttering process, go to one room at a time and in each room check for the following:

o Cracks or holes in the walls – repair them then paint the room

o Drafts near windows – caulk around frame to insulate

o Replace any burned out light bulbs – light and bright makes rooms look larger

o If you have carpeting assess its condition, same with hardwood floors, if you can steam clean the carpeting without having to replace great, if you can polish up the hardwood floors without having to refinish great too. If either are in need of replacement and you cannot afford to do so, be prepared to shave some of the asking price of the home

o Repeat the process of the above in every room

o Go outside and check your walkways and driveway. If there is dangerous cracks in the sidewalk or pavement you may want to replace that. It will not only add appeal to the outside of the home but it is possible depending on your township, they could fail you when the time comes for the Certificate of Occupancy.

o Handrails, if loose, tighten, doorknobs loose, tighten. Doorbell broken….replace!

o Electrical devices – Garage Door Opener – make sure it is functioning.

o Appliances you are including with the sale, make sure they are functioning, if they are not consider replacing or offering a home warranty to the buyer. This is a very handy incentive because most home warranty companies do not charge you for the warranty until closing where it comes out of the proceeds of the sale and the day you sign up for the home warranty, everything that is covered under the warranty for the new homebuyer will be covered for you while your home is on the market. This means if something breaks down during the selling process, for a fee of somewhere around $50-$75, a repairman assigned by the warranty company will come out and either repair the item or replace it. This can save you thousands of dollars especially if you have an older home with older appliances, furnaces, central air systems etc., Each plan is different and they cover different things but it would not be a bad thing to look into

Following the steps laid out above will be a wonderful way to start the initial staging process. After these very important steps are taken, you can then start staging your home with decorative bowls on your kitchen counter, a full place setting on your kitchen and/or dining room tables, placing your lovely throw pillows on your freshly made beds and so on.

Skipping the first phase of staging, however, will defeat the purpose of all the cosmetic additions you place around the home and will actually make the homeowner look as if they are trying to cover up the cracks, repairs, and real attention that would have been needed for the home.