Staging your home can help sell it faster and for more money – provided it's done right, that is. Avoid these staging mistakes that could sabotage your sale.

- Not staging your storage space. It's tempting to cram everything you want hidden out of buyers' sight in your closets and cupboards, but they're definitely going to be looking inside your storage spaces, so make sure such areas look just as spacious and neat as the rest of your home should.

- Masking, not eliminating, odors. Some sellers try to hide unpleasant smells with air fresheners, but buyers can often still detect them and are often put off by the too-strong scent of the freshener itself. Your home should smell neutral or faintly of a fresh, clean scent like citrus.

- Leaving repurposed rooms as is. If you've turned a spare room into a home office or gym, for example, you'll want to stage it back to show its intended purpose before listing your home. You don't want buyers leaving confused, thinking you lack a dining room or are short a bedroom.

- Over-staging. Yes, there's such a thing as looking too staged. Fully setting up your dining table as if ready for a dinner party or over-accessorizing with throw pillows is just clutter of a different kind and can smack of desperation to buyers. Your home-staging efforts should feel natural and be simple.

- Assuming you can't afford staging help. Sure, you can hire a home stager for the works (e.g., bringing in furniture, hiring a painter), but stagers offer less pricey services, too, like touring your home then providing a staging plan for you to implement yourself based on their recommendations.

From The Virani Team February 2016 Newsletter - Courtesy of Market Connections Inc.