Ask The Roseville Expert: Staging Your Home During the Holidays

If you are trying to sell your house during the holiday season, the challenge to keep your home appealing but looking neat can be extra tough, according to Roseville house staging expert Julie Overbye.

Overbye, a real estate agent for about 23 who launched Expertly Staged this fall, offers a few tips for sellers trying to move their homes in the midst of the holiday season:

• When you have a photograher take photos of your house, particularly the interior, get pictures that don't show holiday decorations. That wil eleviate your photos in online advertising appearing outdated if your home is still for sale once the holidays are long gone.
• Curb side appeal is very important, Overbye said, noting that prospective buyers typically decide within 30 seconds of driving up to a house whether they are interested in buying it. Have something seasonal at the front door or landing. But keep it simple, with either a wreath or a pot filled with evergreen branches decorated with either a few ribbons or lights.
• Confine your holiday decorations inside your home to one or two areas. Don't have a hodge podge of Christmas bobbles and trinkets through the house. That may make your house look messy.
• Consider establishing a theme with your holiday decorations. For example, decorate your Christmas tree simply with snowflakes or silver ornaments as opposed to a mish mash of family ornaments. Establish a color theme in bedrooms. For example, a red lamp accents a red rug.
• De-clutter your house to help make rooms and living areas appear more spacious.
• All your holiday decorations need to be taken down by Jan.1 if you are selling your house.