Winning the Real Estate War: 
10 Tips from Home Stagers
Excerpts from the April/May 2005 issue of MoneySense magazine 

1. Make an impression Prospective buyers make up their minds about your house even before they get out of the car. To ensure they have the right idea, clean up your yard and sweep driveways and porches. Get out the rags and cleanser and scour your front door, porch, railings and steps. Then tuck away all your recycling cans and bins.

2. Unclutter Clutter eats equity. Purge your closets, empty cupboards, box up small appliances. Rent a storage locker to keep what you want, toss the rest. Take some books off the shelves, reduce the number of CD's. Pare everything down.

3. Impersonal works You want buyers to imagine themselves living in your home. Stash anything connected to your family or personal interests. Hide the hockey trophies, store family photos, remove all traces of day-to-day life. If the rim of the tub is covered with bottles and toothbrushes are lying around the sink, it's hard for buyers to imagine that this could be their bathroom. The buyer becomes very conscious of being in someone else's space. That won't get you an offer.

4. Keep it fresh There's nothing worse than stepping into a house that smells. The easy solution is to keep your windows open for 10 minutes a day. The oldest trick of all? Leave chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. Yes, it's hokey, but the smell does do wonders to help buyers bond with your home.

5. Declare war on grime Cleanliness helps put a buyer's mind at ease since it suggests that you've probably taken good care of your home in other ways as well. So clean everything: walls, door handles, light fixtures and pantry cupboards. Hire a professional cleaner to scour the inside of your home and a contractor to powerwash outside. Pay special attention to the furnace room since every home buyer wonders what shape the furnace is in. 

6. Hire a handyman Dripping faucets, cracked tiles and mouldy caulking around the bathtub can knock thousands of dollars off the price of your home. Fix even the "little problems". It can make a huge difference.

7. Colour it up Your best investment may be a fresh coat of paint in key areas of your home. Adorn your front step or entrance hallway with flowers. It makes a house seem cared for, different and important.

8. Reduce furniture An easy way to create a sense of space is to get rid of some furniture. Moving a sofa and end tables into storage can give a small room some much-needed breathing space. So too can storing the table and chairs that normally sit in your kitchen, piled high with mail, magazines, books and groceries.

9. Light me up The brighter and sunnier a space, the easier it is to sell. Start by investing in a good window-cleaning service. Thoroughly clean the shades on your light fixtures, change light bulbs and add floor lamps if an area seems dim. Go with higher wattage lights for maximum illumination. Make sure all the lights are on when it comes to showing your home, particularly the hallways.

10. Add a touch of humanity A couple of planters on your front porch, a vase of flowers on your dining room table, candles, even a simple rose in a bud vase can warm up a room. This is where you can let some of your creativity show through. Don't let your rooms feel dull and sterile.