Most sellers know the importance of staging a home when placing their house on the market. However, the garage is often an overlooked space for sellers, but it can be an important area when you sell your home. Since most people store things in their garage, they don’t think about needing to stage their garage. So let’s learn how to stage your garage so you can have some leverage over other houses on the market.
Buyers are very concerned about the amount of space in the garage. They need to be confident that their vehicles will be able to fit. It’s hard for buyers to judge how large the garage space is if it’s filled up with stuff, so make it easier on them. Staging your garage helps buyers see the potential for the area. Be sure to clean and declutter your garage enough so that you can pull a car in.
Clear the Space
Let’s be honest. Some garages aren’t even used for cars. People like to fill them with gym equipment, workshops, or even use them as an extra storage space for the house.
Do yourself a favor and clear out the garage as best you can.
If you have a two car garage, show enough space so two cars can fit. If you don’t do this and the buyer has two large vehicles, they may think the vehicles can’t both fit inside the garage. Guess what that means? A negative on the list against your house. Avoid giving buyers any negatives about your home that you are in control to change.
Go Through the Items in Your Garage
Before you do anything, take some photos! This space is about to undergo a huge transformation. These photographs will inspire you to keep your next garage cleared out and they may inspire your friends and family as well. Your garage itself will be inspiration for any potential buyers who view your home.
To get started, you’ll need at least four different piles: a donate pile, a discard pile, a keep pile, and a pack pile. For the pack pile, you’ll be packing the items you want to keep, but aren’t currently using. If your home is on the market, you’ll be moving soon. So work hard and smart!
Take advantage of this process and purge your garage of anything you no longer want. Schedule an entire day for this. If you can clean out your garage, clean your garage, and then organize your garage in one day you’ll be doing great! Otherwise, this first part may take an entire day in and of itself.
For the items you intend to keep, put as many of them as you can in the attic. Most potential home buyers want to see the attic space, but they are looking at the top of the attic for a reference point, so if your attic is full this is okay. With other spaces though, like your garage, buyers can’t use the walls as an accurate reference for sizing.
If you do decide to keep a lot of things and can’t put it all in the attic, buy storage boxes (colored, not clear!) so you can put all your belongings in contained spaces. You can then place these boxes and organize them in your garage. Try not to stack the boxes up the wall or it will cause the garage to feel just as cluttered as having boxes everywhere.
Time to Clean Up
Now you’re in for some work! The next step is cleaning your garage. Have you cleaned it since you’ve moved in? Even if you have, this space will need the most attention in your home. Clean out all of the cobwebs, dust all the areas in need, clean the walls, and fix any marks or dents on the garage doors (inside and out). Sweep the floors and pressure wash them if needed.
Ask your realtor if you need to paint the inside of your garage. Repainting this area usually isn’t needed, but get advice from your realtor since they have seen your home. The floors may need some love if there are oil spills or marks, so you may need to look into repainting and sealing the concrete flooring. Your realtor can tell you.
Wipe down any hot water heaters or other tanks in the garage.
If the tanks are too dirty buyers will associate this with them being old and assume the tank needs to be replaced. Remember, keep as much off the buyers’ to-do list as possible!
Find the remotes for the garage door and make sure the batteries work. You will need to hand over the remotes when you sell your home, so go ahead and take care of this now while your attention is focused on the garage. Make sure your garage doors are working properly. Get them fixed if they aren’t. Buyers are going to want a well functioning garage for their new home.
Make sure all the lights work in the garage and change any dim lights out for brighter ones. No one wants to walk around a dark garage!
Add Some Organization to Your Garage
There are so many different ways you can organize your garage space with wall racks, hanging racks and closets, but we will stick to the basics in this post. However one thing we do recommend is:
If you have more than one bicycle, invest in a vertical hanging rack for them.
This will save so much space on your garage floor. While you may think staging and adding racks to your garage could be a waste, this will get your ideas flowing for your next home so you can be more organized and use more of your garage!
If you don’t use your garage for a storage unit, but instead use it as a workshop, be sure to tidy up the space and define that area as well. This way buyers can clearly see that you can use it as a garage in addition to a workspace, and hey, they may like your idea and end up doing the same.
You want buyers to see the possibilities for how to use the space. In order for this to happen, buyers have to be able to see the space. The same goes for if you have a washer and dryer located in the garage. Define the space and keep it clear so buyers can walk to the laundry area easily.
Unlike the other rooms in your home where you don’t want to leave them bare because buyers can’t judge the size, the garage is an exception. Garages look bigger and better when they’re empty. So empty your garage as much as you can.
The Grand Finale
Whew! That was a lot of work, but doesn’t it look so much better (and don’t you feel so much better as well)? You have gotten rid of items you no longer need and you now have a fully functional garage! Take those after pictures, be proud of all the work you’ve accomplished. Now your garage will stand out to buyers.
The garage is the hardest area to stage for most homeowners, so congratulations! If you haven’t done so already, continue to stage the rest of your home. We’ve got you covered with all the information you’ll need for how to sell you home faster by staging it!
If you want to learn how to stage your living room, click here. To stage your kitchen, see this link. If you want to learn how to stage rooms, learn how to stage your master bedroom here and your master bathroom here. For all other bedrooms, bathroom, and closets, see this post. Finally, if you want help staging your office click here, or for ideas on how to stage your entryway and dining room, read here! Your home will be in perfect showing condition in no time!
Want to learn how to stage your entire home? Read this post that covers how to stage your entire home inside and out!
