This is my very first blog post and I hope you enjoy it.

First off, let me say that I am happily married, and it’s been quite a few years since I’ve been on the dating “scene”. My idea of great date now constitutes a quiet dinner with my husband, sitting at the kitchen table after the kids are asleep. Although my dating years are far behind me, it’s the anxiety that I clearly remember, and led me to parallel the experience with the effort of selling your home.

When selling your home, you are essentially courting your buyers. Imagine it as the most expensive first date you can imagine. Blow this first impression and you’ll have more than unreturned phone calls; it will be price reductions in the tens of thousands.

How do you channel that first date anxiety into preparing your home for sale?

- Pull out the proverbial full length mirror and be honest. You must scrutinize your home with a buyer’s eye. Stand in the doorway of each room and take pictures. This is what buyers will see online, where you have 3 seconds to grab their attention. Is there more furniture than open space? Does it look inviting?

- Just as you would be selective with your fashion accessories, the same applies to your home. Pack up the nick-nacks and personal photos and breakables. You are planning on moving anyway! Your goal is for the buyer to envision themselves in your home. De-personalizing and de-cluttering is key.

-When selecting the look for your big night, determine your best feature and highlight it. Do the same in your home by creating a focal point in each room. Create a conversation area around it, or use it as inspiration for what colors or furnishings should remain in the room.

If you find that you’re still not sure where to begin, your Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) takes on the role of the trusted girlfriend; sharing your goals, being supportive yet brutally honest when a complete makeover is needed. ASPs can do as much or as little as you like. If it’s your furnishings that could prevent your home from looking its best, they offer accessories and furniture for rent, and provide much needed direction for what it will take to sell your home for more money in less time.

Leigh Newport is the owner of Staged by Design, a Home Staging and Interior Redesign company based in Loudoun County, Northern Virginia. Visit us online at www.staged-by-design.com.

*Originally published in the Loudoun Independent, September,  2008, written by Leigh Newport