GOT STAGING? Part 2 of 2

Stage Fright?     Relax.  

Want to make your home irresistible in a challenging market?      Home staging is today’s key marketing strategy.   Remember, 90% of your buyers see what is.   Allow them to see themselves living in your home.     You can take home staging as far as you want.   A consultation may be all it takes, and you can implement the changes yourself if you like.   You may also consider virtual staging as an alternative to traditional home staging.

Here’s some free advice from home staging experts:

Clear the clutter.   And not just inside the house.     How do you draw buyers into your door?   From the front yard, says Barb Schwarz, CEO of StagedHomes.com.     Cut the grass.   Rakes the leaves.   Sweep the walk.    Clear, open space just feels good-inside and out.     You want your buyers to fall in love with your home’s visually pleasing exterior to draw them inside.

Depersonalize your home.     ASP Teri Lucas says to remove religious symbols and family photos.   Why?   It helps buyers imagine their family photos and religious symbols in your space.   Remember:   Only 10% of your buyers are able to envision this on their own.

Balance hard and soft surfaces.     Combine a coffee table top, a hard surface, with the soft surface of an area rug, suggests Barb Schwarz.   Don’t go too soft, by having a roomful of cushy furniture or hardwood floors without rugs, Barb says.

Furnish your home.   If you have an empty home to sell, this is especially true.   Words can’t capture the visual difference in space.  While ASP, Heather Cook, believes in traditional home staging makeovers.

Worried about the costs of staging an unfurnished home?   Don’t be.   Virtually Staging Properties has a cutting-edge marketing strategy to help you market your property without high rental costs of furniture and accessories.   This is an affordable alternative to traditional home staging.   Simply send VSP photos of your vacant rooms, and VSP will artfully transform them to attract buyers to your door.

Freshen up your home.     Get on your hands and knees to clean every corner thoroughly to show your buyers the pride you take in your home.   Remember, your prospects have only exteriors to judge at this point, so your home should pass the white glove test.     Get rid of artificial floral arrangements and get some nice, fresh flowers and a green plant.

Be mindful of scents.     If the weather permits, open the windows and bring in a little fresh air.  Don’t overpower potential buyers with scented candles and air fresheners, say Teri Lucas and Ralph Roberts.

Distract them from your liabilities.      If your light-hued carpeting has a few stains that a steam cleaner and your mother’s home remedy of club soda and salt just can’t conquer, distract your buyers from the stains, says ASP Heather Cook.   An empty home with this problem is all the more challenging.     No need to replace the carpet.     Rearrange furnishings to create pleasant focal points in the room.   Heather used this strategy and within two weeks, offers came through after six months on the market.

Remember, the costs of staging are proven to sell a home in a third of the time than an unstaged one, says Heather Cook, ASP of Rooms in Bloom.     Staging may prove less expensive than having to pay for two homes if you’ve already moved.