One of the things that every homeseller should ask an agent is for a marketing plan to sell your home. I would go as far as asking for a written marketing plan or schedule so you know what to expect in the process.

The first thing you should ask a listing agent is if they think your home needs to be staged and if they work with a home stager. Home staging is an important act of marketin because nobody wants to buy an ugly house. As a homeseller you want your home to sell as fast as possible. Home staging is not just about decorating your home, it is about making your home more attractive to homebuyers. Research shows that home staging can reduce a listing’s time on the market by one third to half and could increase price by 10-15% more than if your home was not staged.

The best way to stage your home is to use a professional home stager because they know how to arrange furniture in an attractive way, how to present the outside and show space in its best light. Some listing agents will provide a home stager as part of their service and others will recommend one for you. Fees can range anywhere from $500 to $7,000 depending on the home stager and your market. To find a professional home stager you can ask your listing agent and if they do not have one you can also contact people in your neighborhood who have recently sold homes and find who they recommend.

Some things you can do to make a home stager’s job easier and faster:

• Declutter - clutter makes your home look and feel small, which does not make a house attractive
• Clean your house and your yard – I know this seems like a no-brainer but I have recently seen a home on sale that badly needed some cleaning
• Repair and paint your house– Nobody likes to se a house where things look broken or run down so take a few minutes to repair all that needs repairing and to apply a fresh coat of paint to rooms that need it
• Let light in – Very few people like dark spaces unless they are depressed