A well-known professional home stager, recently, decided to sell the 4,000+ square foot home which she lived in with her husband. It was certainly well maintained and by most standards, could have gone on the market immediately. However, she still went through a full staging effort before she listed the home.

The work included painting inside and out especially, changing the kitchen cabinets from gray to white. The carpet was replaced along with a few dated light fixtures. They stained the fence and added minor landscaping to make it look fresh and inviting. They removed personal items from the home that might be distracting and replaced some furniture that was too large and might have limited a buyer’s imagination.

The home looked, smelled, and was clean. It had great drive-up appeal. Each room looked like it belonged in a magazine and the professional photos let potential buyers see the home before they visited it in person. When the home did come on the market, it sold in five days, above list price, with multiple offers, and for a considerably higher sales price than previous comparable sales had indicated it would.

The lesson to be learned is that even if a home is in good condition, taking the time to go through the steps to make it look its best will generate the kind of results that every seller hopes for when selling their home: the highest possible price, in the shortest time with the least amount of inconvenience.