To Stage or Not to Stage
Some houses are good to go – they have no clutter, are decorated well and are in excellent condition. Closets, even the basement, attic or garage, are organized. Decks have an umbrella and inviting seating arrangement and flowerboxes. They look like they could be in the pages of a magazine. These houses do not have to consider staging.
But most houses can use at least a little help. The idea is to help buyers picture themselves living in your house. Home staging, or preparing your home to make it more appealing, is one of the best ways to do that. It helps your place stand out in online searches, shine during open houses/showings and secure competitive offers sooner, possibly resulting in a higher sales price.
I often assist my sellers in determining how and what to declutter, how to rearrange furniture, what to clean or fix, and generally get your home to show well. This will cost very little, often nothing at all but a little work. Bins of unnecessary things which will move with you can be stacked in the basement, shed or garage. I am very good at this. It is a team effort with my sellers and we’ve seen excellent results. I can also recommend professionals who can help with the decluttering.
Another route to take is hiring a professional stager and renting furniture and furnishings. This is much more costly and not generally necessary.I have been very impressed with virtual staging. If it is not possible to stage your house, the photos of your house can be staged so that it looks impressive online.
A very low cost alternative is virtual staging. The idea is that the photo of an empty room is staged virtually to give buyers an idea of the potential. A photo of a room with existing furnishings can also be virtually staged. All of the furniture and furnishings like drapes and artwork is virtually staged. The following photos are ones I had virtually staged for a seller client for their online marketing and I also printed the photos to have in each corresponding room at the property.
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Here are some strategies to save on home staging costs.• Get the ideas without paying to implement them: Many times, the home sellers stop at the consultation with a professional stager just to get ideas and then do some of the staging themselves.• Choose your rooms: See if you can negotiate with the stager to reduce costs by having only certain rooms staged.• Ask about minimums: If you need to rent furniture, try negotiating how long you have to pay for it. Some designers have three-month minimums for furniture rentals. If your home flies off the market in a few days, you don’t want to be on the hook for unnecessary rental charges.• Consider virtual-only: The cost to stage a home virtually is a small percentage of what a physical staging would run. • Clean up: Declutter and clean your home to make sure buyers can actually see what they’re potentially purchasing. Box up, clear out and spotlessly clean every surface to make it sparkle. Confirm there are no bad odors like from pets. Pack up your out-of-season clothing to make closets look roomier. Give away, donate or throw away what you don’t want. You can rent a storage unit or ask a friend to temporarily store bins of things you do want to move to your new home.• Paint it yourself: Painting interior walls with a white or off-white color can change things dramatically. • Let there be light: A simple cleaning of the windows can help showcase your home’s natural light. Removing heavy window treatments will let in more light. Updating your lighting fixtures can also enhance rooms and make them seem more open. You can also add decor such as mirrors or lamps to help brighten things up.• Rearrange furniture: Doing this will sometimes create the ideal flow in each room, helping buyers envision how they can maximize the space.
Another thing to consider, especially if the house needs a lot of work, is getting a pre-sale home inspection. It can be a wise upfront investment by identifying any structural or mechanical problems before you list. It will alert you in advance of issues that buyers will either notice or that will come up during their inspection. You might consider doing some repairs in tandem with other home prep work.
Another thing to consider, especially if the house needs a lot of work, is getting a pre-sale home inspection. It can be a wise upfront investment by identifying any structural or mechanical problems before you list. It will alert you in advance of issues that buyers will either notice or that will come up during their inspection. You might consider doing some repairs in tandem with other home prep work.