![Clean up messes because clutter is likely to turn off potential buyers. <!--IPTC: [LIFE CLUTTER 1 AK]KRT LIFESTYLE STORY SLUGGED: CLUTTER KRT PHOTOGRAPH BY ED SUBA, JR/AKRON BEACON JOURNAL (KRT5 -March 27) Maxine Roten holds Big, one of her two cats, while her cluttered kitchen table sits in the foreground in her Copley, Ohio, home. Roten says her house doesn't feel cluttered to her and she knows 'exactly where everything is.' (Jak32318) 1997 (COLOR) (Additional photo available in KRT Presslink or upon request.) -->](/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/20090807__20090809_K03_BZ09REALSHELFp1.jpg "20090807__20090809_K03_BZ09REALSHELF~p1.JPG")
Staging a home for sale used to be considered a luxury. Now, many real estate agents consider it a necessity. The continuing housing slump has given buyers plenty of optionsmaking it increasingly important to have your house looking its best.
The website Angie’s List suggests:
• Screen appeal trumps curb appeal: Nearly 90 percent of homebuyers now research homes online, according to industry research. So it’s important that the house be staged and looking its best before the photos are taken to post online.
• Look outside in: Freshly cut grass, manicured shrubs, swept sidewalks and a power-washed driveway look inviting.
• Clutter kills: Go through every room in your house and decide which belongings you’ll need in the next six months and which you won’t.
• Nothing personal: Remove all photos, degrees and other personal effects. The buyers want to imagine themselves living there.
• Know your audience: The best home stagers research who is buying houses in your neighborhood and adjust the house to suit that demographic. If most buyers are families with kids, keep all the bedrooms as bedrooms. If more singles are looking to move in, consider staging one of the bedrooms as an office or home gym.
