Selling your home? Try staging your house, pro says.

SALT LAKE CITY — Houses are not being snapped up as quickly as a year ago, so buyers can shop around now. Interest rates have crept back up, a recession seems to be settling in, perhaps giving would-be buyers second thoughts. But staging a home can decrease the time a house sits on the market. A professional joins NewsRadio’s Dave & Dujanovic with Dave Noriega and Debbie Dujanovic to share tips on staging a home.

According to The Washington Post, if you plan on selling your home, you can take some stress out of the process by following these five tips: 

5 things to know if you have to sell your home right now

1. Determine if renting out your home is preferable.

Debbie has something to say about this option:

“You are going to be taking on other people’s problems [OPP], and you’re gonna hope that they pay your rent. You’re gonna hope that they don’t destroy your property. You’re gonna hope that they don’t party there every Saturday and Sunday so the neighbors are calling the cops.”

      2. Before you list, make sure your home is in top condition.

Dave has some observations about this option:

“Yeah, I remember when we were seeing homes being sold around my neighborhood. Some were in terrible condition, and people were still lining up to buy — like multiple offers — on a house that needs massive renovation. Not the case anymore.”

      3. Be realistic about the sales price.

Debbie’s take: “Don’t argue with your real estate agent. . . . They’re there for the business end of it. You’re tied to it emotionally. So listen to what they’re telling you.”

      4. Be realistic about how long it will take to sell.

Back when it was a seller’s market, houses would, on average, be sold in nine days. “It’s 54 days now,” Debbie said.

“Maybe staging can help you sell quicker. Staging a house drops the sell time by 33% to 50%,” Dave said.

       5. Know how much you’ll make after closing costs.

Welcome to the show

Heather Osmond of Osmond Designs joins KSL NewsRadio’s Dave Noriega and Debbie Dujanovic to discuss the different ways to stage a home and the impact it has on selling.

Wait, what is staging?

“Staging is going in and making your home look its very best, so that you can get the highest amount of money in the shortest amount of time,” Osmond said.

She added reading a report and viewing photos of a house for sale online is one thing, but entering the home and seeing it for yourself is for real.

“When you walk into a home, it’s the sights, it’s the smells, it’s the feeling that sometimes you can’t always see on a report,” Osmond said.

Less is more when selling a home

“One of the number one problems we see specifically here in Utah — because we’re all about families and kids and pet. We live in our homes, but we need to declutter,”she said.”Oftentimes we’re trying to just appeal to the masses, right? We just need to get rid of stuff. We can make those suggestions and recommendations.”

Remove the personal touches such as photos of family or items of a cultural or religious nature.

“You really just want that buyer to come in and visualize themselves or their family living in your home,” Osmond said.

To increase the appeal of your home for sale, start on the outside, Osmond advised.

“Curb appeal is everything,” she said.

Osmond said take care of the simple basics, such as cleaning the carpets, baseboards and windows, sweeping the floors, changing out lightbulbs, dusting off shelves, etc.

“You’d be surprised at how much more money you can get for your home if you just do this simple little basics,” Osmond said.

 

Dave & Dujanovic can be heard weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon. on KSL NewsRadio. Users can find the show on the KSL NewsRadio website and app, as well as Apple Podcasts and Google Play.