Staging Your House While Still Living In It: 5 Tips

LOS ANGELES, CA – Staging a home is usually not complicated, but staging a home while still living in it is something else. It gets more complicated when you have to move the majority of your things to make the house look more appealing, according to the Local Records Office located in Los Angeles, CA. What do you with the kids? With the dogs? Do I leave when people are viewing the property? These are all common questions. The professionals at the Local Records Office created 5 tips to help you sell your home while still living in it. 

#1 – Have Money on the Side for Staging

Many people don’t know how much staging can cost and how it works. This is how staging works: You call a staging company near you, they do a walkthrough, and they will see what’s the best thing to bring in to make the house look more appealing. This process can take up to two weeks. 

The staging company will let you borrow the furniture and lighting to try to get your home to sell faster and get a bigger offer. The cost of all this usually costs anywhere between $2,000 to $3,000 and if the house sells it will pay for itself. 

“People don’t realize how much time is spent staging a single home, it gets more complicated when the house is bigger. Don’t be cheap when hiring professional stagers” says, Henry Dawson from Greenville Staging-R-Us in Cerritos, California. 

#2 – Remove the Majority of Your Belongings 

By removing the majority of your belongings from the bedrooms and master bedroom you will make it look cleaner and a lot bigger. This will be a challenge for families that are still living in the house. Planning ahead will be the best thing to do. 

Start by removing large furniture, personal items, and clothes. The goal is to declutter every room possible. 

“Buyers don’t want to see your personal belongings laying around, nor they want to see your family vacation pictures. Keep your house clean and simple, it will make a greater impact on the buyer” says, Valerie Brooks from Villa View Crest Real Estate Management. 

#3 – Hire Movers in the Los Angeles Metro Area

Hiring movers to put your personal items in storage is a great way to get ahead start. Save yourself the headache of moving things and hire professionals to do it. Not only will they do it in half the time they will take everything in one trip. 

Moving heavy furniture is not only tiring but it can also be dangerous when kids are running around. 

“Hiring professionals will be the best way to go and the easiest. Movers have big strong men that know how to pack and get stubborn furniture out of the house” says, Brooks. 

#4 – Find a Place to Sleep At

Finding a place to crash for the day or weekend will be your best bet. See if you can stay with a family member, friend or get an affordable hotel so you won’t have to break the bank. If you have kids try to make it an outing. Most hotels have pools so it will be a great place to take the kids during the day. 

The downside of hotels is that it will become expensive if the house doesn’t sell as fast and you have to keep booking rooms over and over. 

#5 – Get a Storage Space

Storage places come in handy when in times like these. Don’t be cheap; get something slightly bigger so you can fit as many things as possible. The reality is you don’t realize how much junk you have until you actually start packing and moving.