Staged to Sold: How to Sell a 58-Year-Old Home in 48 Hours

This home built in 1961 in Tampa, Fla., had not been renovated in 30 years. The vintage décor elements could have easily turned away many buyers. However, my staging firm, Home Frosting, and its new division called Home Sprinkles jumped at the chance to reposition the home’s old charm with the popularity of today’s mid-century vibe to appeal to potential buyers. 

The result? This Tampa Heights home received multiple offers at full asking price after its first open house, which occurred just two days after it was listed. The home sold within 48 hours for just over $300,000.

A fresh staged look played off the original wood paneling, blue carpet, inset shelving, and even the patterned linoleum flooring. The Home Sprinkles staging team quickly curated a stylized, hip look to market the property.

5 Simple Steps to Selling a Home That Needs Updating

1. Do what you can to eliminate distractions that draw attention to the home's age. This can mean replacing outdated light fixtures or just capping them and adding current on-trend floor lamps. Also, make sure the home smells fresh and clean. (Read more: What If Your Listing Stinks?)
2. If the floors are in bad shape, use large area rugs to show how easy it is to improve the look. Invite a flooring company to leave samples and an estimate to update the floors.
3. Use large art to show modern possibilities, and add plants to add life to the rooms. Keeping small, old wall decor makes the listing appear stuck in the 1960s, so be sure to modernize accents to give the property an overall updated look.
4. White towels and shower curtains can make even an old bath feel newer.
5. Change out yellow light bulbs to brighter white options.

Dawn Dominici with Tomlin St. Cyr Real Estate Services credits home staging for helping to sell the Tampa Heights listing. "Everybody loved the house's presentation," says Dominci. "The sellers and their friends loved the home staging and said it was the perfect furniture, art, and accessories for the style of the home. The fact that we got full asking price was a big deal."