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Just because you have a house, doesn't mean it will sell. Just because you love your house, doesn't mean others will too. These are two thoughts that seem to be significant hurdles for many home sellers. It all comes down to "looking at something from another's perspective." In the case of selling a house, it's about seeing your home from the prospective buyer who isn't you, and may or may not like your taste in decor, color or design. You undoubtedly can't "be everything to everyone", but its good to at the very least pick a direction for your home design before putting it on the market and doing it well. In the 90's and early part of the 2000's, this meant to make everything vanilla and beige. Today that is not the case. Home buyers want to be "wowed". Home shoppers want to walk into an HGTV style home. If you don't have a massive budget to put into the property you're trying to move, don't worry. Staging and creating a presentable and appealing home doesn't have to be impossible. Here are some mistakes to avoid when staging your home for sale. Watch our video in full to learn about each one of these points and how to implement them into your home sale plan. Bad Photo's Hire a professional photographer that understand how to use a wide-angle lens and can color correct as needed for the MLS listing pictures. If your real estate agent's idea of getting shots for the MLS listing involves 5 minutes walking around with a camera phone... Get a different real estate agent. Outdated Staging Materials Stage correctly and with what people want TODAY. It doesn't matter what you "like" from 1998, you need to speak to the potential home buyer of today. Are you selling a "first-time home buyer", are you selling a "forever home" or are you selling a "vacation home"? Understand the demographics of who is most likely to be looking at your home (Age, income, interest, style) and stage to speak to those people. Kill the Personal Stuff I'm sure your proud of your degrees, vacations, awards, family gatherings and everything that says your name on it. But guess what... No one else is. No one will buy your home based on those vacation photos from '03 that are lining the hallway to the master bedroom. Take down ALL personal effects and make the house "buyer friendly" to help other picture their lives being lived in your home. Smell That?  You likely have no idea what your house smells like. It may not smell bad at all, but I'm sure it has a "smell" to new people coming in. Be sure that smell is not a turn-off. Get an outside opinion on what the "smell is", and if needed - fix it or mask it. Fresh baked goods when people visit is a great temporary fix, but there is no amount of chocolate chips that will ever mask an uncontrolled pet or other problem. Those need a permanent fix, including new carpet if need be. Too much stuff We all love our stuff. But if there's one thing buyers don't want to explore is a cluttered house. Most, also don't want a completely blank slate either. Find a balance between to two that fit the tastes of today's home buyer.