Is it better to show your house occupied or vacant?

It’s better to show your house occupied than vacant. A decluttered, staged house feels warm and inviting. A vacant house feels cold and dreary. When a house is occupied and depersonalized a buyer can visualize himself living in the house. Buyers can also get a feel for furniture placement in a room when its occupied. This is critical for rooms that are awkward shapes or smaller rooms.

When a house is vacant there’s no furniture and personal possessions to distract the buyer. When viewing a vacant house buyers see every little ding in the baseboards, nail holes in the walls and nail pops in the ceilings, paint touch-ups where the paint didn’t match, drywall seams, and the uneven wearing of the carpet due to furniture placement. All of these add up to more work and more money for the buyers which they want neither of.

If due to your circumstances your only choice is to sell your house vacant, then take a close look at its condition after you move-out. Repair all the blemishes that the buyers are going to notice. Do a thorough clean of the home. Bring in some staging items to warm up the house. These steps will help you get your vacant house sold quicker and for more money.

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