For most people, staying in their home until it sells is really the only option. Once you’ve made the decision to put your home on the market you’re probably ready to sell and sell fast. Figuring out how to live in your house while it’s on the market can be tough, but it can be done. In fact, staying in your home can be a positive, and here are four reasons why.

1. People in a home creates a feeling of warmth.
   You’ve heard time and again how much you need to “depersonalize” your home when it goes on the market to make sure buyers can visualize themselves in the space. Yes, that can be slightly more challenging to do when all your day-to-day belongings are still in the house, but you won’t run the risk of over-emptying the space creating a cold, sterile atmosphere. Imagine how different the feeling is between a fully-decorated model home and a completely empty spec house. You want buyers to feel comfortable and welcome in your house, and knowing it’s being lived in helps give them that feeling.
2. Save money on staging.
   Did you know that you can still stage your home while you live there? Home staging isn’t an all-or-nothing process, and a professional stager can easily work with what you’ve got to create a marketable space. By staying in your house, you can save money on staging costs by avoiding renting outside furniture to fill the space; an experienced stager can do as little as provide advice on what needs to be done to rearrange all your things and help you decide what goes in storage.
3. You can get a jump start on the moving process.
   When your house sells you’ll be moving out anyway, so why not get started now and improve your chances of selling? Staying in your home means you’ll be forced to pare down your stuff in order to show your house in its best light. Go ahead and box some things off into storage and donate what you just don’t want to move. You’ll save yourself valuable time – and headache! – when you do eventually sell and move out.
4. You’ll always be ready to handle a showing.
   Showing a long-empty house isn’t always preferable to showing one that’s lived-in! In fact, when you live in your house, you’re always ready to get it in the best possible shape for a pop-in. When you get the call that a buyer’s on the way, every family member should perform their own specific cleaning duties. Since you’re home, you can also open all the blinds and curtains, turn on all the lights, and lower or raise the thermostat a few degrees (depending on whether it’s hot or cold outside). If you want, you can even get the fire going for extra coziness!

Showing your home while you live in it isn’t easy, but it’s easier when you have a plan. Once your home is staged and ready you’ll only be a few minutes away from picture-perfect at any given moment.

Need help with the staging process? Creative Home Stagers offers several cost-effective options for staging your home for sale. Give our experienced team a call today to find out more.