A Little Staging Goes a Long Way

Staging is all the rage on the HGTV Self-Help shows, but many people still think they can sell a home "as is". When the housing market was so hot that almost any house would sell without a lot of effort, staging was a hard sell. But those days are gone and it’s time to realize that your home has to compete with the best model homes in every new home community.

Sometimes all you need is a fresh pair of eyes to make your home look fabulous. You could ask a friend to help you, especially someone whose home everyone raves about. Take the same approach getting your home ready to sell that you would take preparing to attend a special function. First you might go through your closet and pull out a favorite outfit. Then you might get it cleaned and finally you might buy some new accessories to dress it up and make it feel brand new.

Most Sellers can benefit from a Staging Consultation.

Let’s look at three basic scenarios and see how it might work and how much it could cost

1. A house you’ve lived in forever. You’ve raised your family in this home and collected memories and cherished objects.
2. A vacant house. For whatever reason, you never moved into this house or you have already moved to another house and took all your furnishings with you.
3. A great house for sale that is getting a lot of showings but no offers. You have beautiful furnishings and nice artwork, but it just isn’t making the right impression.

The first example is the easiest for many Sellers to understand. What to keep and what to put away? You don’t want to turn a warm home environment into a cold showroom. A professional Staging Consultant can not only help you de-clutter but they can rearrange the remaining furniture and accessories. You’ll be amazed at what can be accomplished in a few hours.

The second example is tougher. A vacant home does not show well when compared to model homes. To stage a vacant house will involve renting or buying some furniture, buying or borrowing accessories and working with a Staging Consultant who can make it all look inviting. The budget for staging a vacant house can vary greatly and the costs should be appropriate for the location and price range of the home for sale.

Another new option for the vacant house is "Virtual Staging". We use a company that digitally and realistically places furniture into photos of vacant homes that we list for sale.

The final example is perhaps the best example of just how Staging can make a difference. I’ve seen what they can do in just a few hours without buying one thing. My last home was a renovated historic home with a large great room addition. With a mix of antiques and new furniture and everything from botanical prints to Jazz posters, I was having difficulty making it all work. The first thing the Stagers did was to pull everything away from the walls. They rearranged rooms to provide personal space and entertaining space by moving our furniture around and grouping artwork and accessories we already had in more imaginative ways. When it comes to Staging, the KISS method works best and a little does go a long way to selling your home.

For more information, please request our free Home Selling Guide.

All of our Listing Clients Receive a
Complementary Staging Consultation.

Curb Appeal

Staging is just as important for the outside of your home. We call that Curb Appeal thanks to another HGTV show.

You only get one chance to make a first impression. When a Buyer pulls up in front of your home and takes it all in - that is the first impression. If they don’t like what they see outside, they may not want to see the inside.

Here is an excerpt from an article published by Kiplinger back in 2009 - “Walk across the street from your house, turn around, take a good look at your yard and ask yourself if you're impressed by what you see -- or just plain depressed.

We can't all have yards worthy of being on the cover of a landscaping magazine. Those yards generally come with a high price tag. But a little cash can go a long way to improve your home's curb appeal. In fact, with existing homes selling at the slowest rate in a decade, if your house will be on the market, you can't afford not to spend some money and time on landscaping that will distinguish your house from others.”