If you’re planning to sell your house, you’ve probably heard of the term home staging by now. The goal of home staging is to make your house more attractive in order to appeal to a larger number of buyers. Since everything is a numbers game, the more interested buyers, the quicker and higher your home sells for. Sounds simple, right? The concept is, but results can vary based on how well your home is staged.

Some sellers spend a couple thousand for home staging professionals to come in and redecorate the place. If you can afford to do this, by all means, go for it. If that’s not in your budget, there are still basic principles you can follow to help your house sell faster and for more.

Follow these five steps to get your home ready to sell:

1) Declutter and Organize

This is a seemingly simple task, but daunting nonetheless due to the amount of clutter we tend to accumulate over time. However, this is probably the most important thing you can do before you sell. It’s also a great way to make some extra cash (sell what you don’t want or donate the rest) and as a bonus, you’ll get to move into a new place with a clean slate, only bringing the items you actually value.

To get started, take it one room at a time. If you hop from room to room, it can become overwhelming. After you declutter, be sure to designate where the unwanted items will go, either donate, recycle (if possible) or sell them. Next, you’ll want to reorganize your remaining items so that everything has a place. Finally, do a deep clean. If cleaning isn’t your strong suit, you may want to consider bringing in professional help.

2) Rearrange Furniture

Unless you run an interior design blog, chances are your furniture is arranged in a comfortable + practical way, as it should be. However, now is the time to style it up for looks — not comfort. This means removing outdated pieces and adding in new, modern furniture. If you simply can’t afford to spend anything, still move around what you have — sometimes that’s all it takes for a fresh look. If you’re not sure how to start arranging the furniture, browse the website or Instagram of modern retailers such as Crate & Barrel or West Elm for inspiration.

3) Paint Works Wonders

An easy and inexpensive way to update your home is with a fresh coat of paint. The safe bet is to go with light colors, such as white, light grey or blue. These are neutral colors that appeal to most people (remember that’s the goal here) and can help brighten + enlarge the look of a room. Most people are pleasantly surprised by how new paint can transform their space.

4) Accessorize Your Space

You don’t have to go all out here, but adding a decorative plant, candle or even stack of books can warm up the space and add a cozy feel. This doesn’t mean fill every inch of empty space, you just decluttered for a reason. Instead, select maybe three decorative items per room, less if it’s a small space. Also, make sure the items are relevant to the space. For example, you might add a throw blanket in the bedroom or a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. The goal is to keep it simple and attractive.  

5) Mow the Lawn

It’s easy to get hung up on the interior details, but you can’t neglect the outside either. Keep in mind, your home’s exterior is the first thing buyers see, and if they don’t like it, chances are they won’t make it inside. It doesn’t have to look professionally landscaped, but some general maintenance goes a long way.

That being said, keep the lawn mowed, edges trimmed, and weeds pulled. Give your front door a fresh coat of paint and add a new welcome mat or planter on the front stoop. Clean the windows, gutters, and remove any debris from the yard. If you have plant beds, be sure to clean those up as well and maybe spring for new mulch or flowers. It sounds like a lot of work (and it is), but the reward will be worth it.

Before buying a house, make sure to hire a professional inspector to come to look at the property. Otherwise, you might not know if there are any major problems with the house, which could cause major headaches down the road. It has almost become standard practice for a buyer to have an inspection, but even if you plan on having an inspection, there are some common mistakes you should avoid. 

Not Picking The Right Inspector

An inspection is only as good as the inspector, so don’t just go with the cheapest one. Besides, the cheapest inspector could be inexperienced or they could have trouble finding clients for other reasons. 

You don’t have to hire the most expensive inspector either. They may be charging too much for a job that could be done for less. The bottom line is: make sure you do your research. Even if your realtor suggests an inspector, it can’t hurt to go online and check them out. 

Visit their website, check out reviews and testimonials, and make sure to ask them for a sample inspection report. You want them to include lots of pictures and details that explain the home’s strengths and weaknesses in their report. Then compare their sample inspection report with other sample reports to see how thorough they are. You want as much information as possible so you can get accurate estimates on how much different repairs will cost.

Not Personally Attending The Inspection 

It is important to meet the inspector and shake their hand. Knowing the inspector on a personal basis could come in handy down the line when you have a question about the inspection report. If you know the inspector, you can call them up and ask them about something.

Also, you want to know that your inspection is being done properly, but if you don’t stick around for the inspection, it is pretty hard to tell if they are rushing through the job. 

Skipping the inspection also means you probably won’t get another opportunity to see certain parts of the house until you own it. You might not have seen the attic crawl space or inside the electric box during the open house, and the home inspection is a perfect time to tell if there are any problems with those sorts of areas before it’s too late.

Lastly, you want to be there during the inspection to talk to the inspector about certain problems. It’s one thing to see the inspector’s notes in the report, but those can often be too technical for the average home buyer. If you are at the inspection, there’s a good chance that the inspector will talk you through any problems they find. 

Not Letting The Inspector Do Their Job

While it is important to be at the inspection, you should be aware that the inspector is focused on looking for flaws in a house they’ve never been to before. You want to ask them questions, but it’s best to wait until they are done with one area before you start talking their ear off. 

The worst thing you can do during an inspection is hover over the inspector and distract them so much that they end up missing some major problems. An inspector should be there for about 2-4 hours, depending on the size of the house and the problems they find. So, there is plenty of time to talk to them about what they find at some point during the inspection. 

Many times, the inspector will initiate the conversation. Inspectors are not always the most chatty people, but when they find a problem they will usually call you over and explain things to you. It might be difficult to comprehend what they are talking about if they are explaining technical issues, but if you’re not present, it will be much harder to understand an issue while you are reading their report. 

Not Taking Lots Of Pictures

Inspectors will often ask you to take pictures while they are explaining a problematic area to you. These pictures could come in handy when you are trying to get proper estimates down the line. You should take as many pictures as you can, especially when it comes to anything that the inspector told you might need attention. You want to get close-ups from multiple angles and capture all the serial numbers and stickers on anything you can. 

You should even take pictures of things that might not seem important at the moment. You might not need these for getting estimates, but there might come a time when you wish you had them. The inspector will also be taking pictures during their inspection, which will be included in the report, but they are often smaller and might be hard to see. 

Not Reading The Inspection Report

Even if you followed the inspector around and asked all the right questions, you should still read the inspection report. There might be problems that the inspector didn’t talk to you about because they don’t need immediate attention, but you still want to know that information. You may be able to include minor issues in your request for repairs, which could help bring the sale price down. 

The inspection report will also be a good reference when you want to make repairs or have any problems down the line. If you asked questions during the inspection, you will be more detailed when talking to contractors or technicians later. For all intents and purposes, an inspection report should almost be considered to be the user’s manual for your new house, and the people that read the user’s manual usually doesn’t have as many problems as those who skip it.

If you’re not in the habit of cleaning daily, it may seem daunting, but many tasks are simple to keep up with once you get in a routine.

So whether you’re in the process of selling and need a squeaky clean home for showings, or you’re just sick of the constant grime, here are four daily tasks that will keep your home looking spick and span.

1) Dishes and Countertops:

It’s no secret that everyone’s least favorite chore is doing the dishes, but if you let them pile up in the sink, it only creates more stress and grime to tackle later. Instead, make it a rule to clean the kitchen immediately after use, and you’ll find over time, cleaning the kitchen will stop being a point of dread.

This rule not only applies to doing dishes, but to cleaning countertops and the stove as well. Be sure to wipe down all surfaces you cooked or ate on and if you’re feeling extra productive, a quick sweep of the kitchen floor never hurts.

2) Straighten Up and Declutter:

This is a seemingly simple task, but it’s one that people often neglect until company is coming over. Instead of letting the house descend into chaos, try straightening up as you notice things. Perhaps, it’s just folding the blanket on the couch or putting an item away instead of leaving it on the counter. If you can’t find a place for an item, and it’s not something you actually use, consider donating or selling it.

3) Make Your Bed:

Nothing will instantly pull together the look of a bedroom like a nicely made bed. If you feel overwhelmed by the mess in your bedroom, start with your bed, which is usually the centerpiece of the room. That should immediately improve the look of the room and make it seem more manageable to tackle the rest. If you get in the habit of making your bed as soon as you get out of it, you’ll hardly consider it a chore. If you have kids, get them in this habit as well — it teaches them responsibility and it’s fewer beds for you to make!

4) Folding Laundry

Similar to dishes, laundry is a task that can pile up, except it’s considered more acceptable to leave it for multiple days. It’s easy to understand why laundry becomes such a nuisance, it’s a multi-step chore. You have to separate colors, load the washer, load the dryer and then fold everything and put it away. If you have a large family, this can be an overwhelming task. Consider folding the clean laundry while you watch a show or movie — you’ll hardly even notice you’re doing a chore!