Home Staging

Staging is one of the most underutilized marketing tools in the real estate profession and yet it is the one tool available to every homeowner that can transform their living space into a welcoming and attractive product that “wows” prospective purchasers every time they open the door. The importance of “setting the stage” and creating an emotional impact on a buyer is more than huge; it is vital. We stage every home – whether occupied or vacant.We do this for a very simple reason:To make every home we market stand out from the competition and,therefore, to make sure it sells for the highest possible price. Staging creates demand and the more demand that is created for your home, the higher the ultimate sale price. We want to control the price of your home. We do not want to let your price be controlled by the buying public. We have proven that our listings sell for more than the competition. We have testimonials to show that our efforts work. We work with all our sellers – within their budgets – to stage their homes before they hit the market. On day one, your home must be in the absolute best showing condition possible.

Real estate is very visual. First impressions are lasting impressions. At little or no cost we can transform your home and make it look like a property featured in Architectural Digest.. This is called Merchandising or better known as STAGING.

What is home staging? It is the art of making your home look neat, stylish and inviting to a potential home buyer.  It is the essential first step in selling your home. It is the process of making your home stand out from the competition. As much as 78% of the buyer’s decision is already predetermined. Homeowners and their agents cannot do anything about a home’s location, its view or its size, but we have complete control of its curb appeal and its first impressions when a potential buyer enters through the front door. Those impressions, created by the seller, will make the difference between its sale or lying dormant on the market which will result in lower offers and lower selling prices.

Staging involves several steps in an occupied home:

1. De-cluttering

2. Depersonalizing

3. Painting, if necessary

4. Repairs, if necessary

5. Rearranging furniture

6. Accessorizing

1: De-cluttering. Very simply put, it is getting rid of everything that is not necessary or detracts from the beauty of the space. Our clients understand that, once listed, the buyers must see themselves there. A seller is going to have to take inventory and get ready to move anyway. So why not do it now? Our 3-Pile Method includes garbage; charity;and/or storage for all objects that are not necessary for day-to-day living while the home is on the market.

2: Depersonalizing. Again,you want the buyer to be looking at your home; not your photos and memorabilia. Therefore, our clients store all personal photos and items, which in most cases, go into storage until the move.

3: Painting. Current,neutral colors always work with buyers.Whenever possible, we repaint white walls or specifically colored walls(e.g., purple) that may work for the current owners. We keep up with painting trends and blend the colors with the furniture, floors and surroundings.

4. Repairs. This is mandatory. Whether a leaky roof that has caused stains on the ceilings or a condo with a shower that needs new grout, we try to anticipate buyer reaction. We do not want to call attention to possible problems with the property.

5. Rearranging/Removing/Adding Furniture. We try to maximize the space of the area being staged and wherever possible, fit the furniture to that space to make it inviting. Many times we even take up area rugs that cover beautiful wood floors or we need to add a table here and there. In occupied homes, we may ask that our client rent furniture to fill a space.  We select it from reputable furniture rental companies.  In unoccupied/vacant homes, if the seller does not rent furniture for some of the important spaces, we do virtual staging. This is where we photograph the empty spaces and go to companies that add furniture to the photos. Again, the goal is to provide an inviting visual image to the potential buyers.

6. Accessorizing. Our last step is to put the finishing touches on the space. This includes hanging art on empty walls, adding colorful decorative items to counter-tops and table tops, setting the dining room table so it looks like you are having company, adding light in dark spaces,etc.

We keep an inventory of items that we use to stage on client’s homes.  We do this as part of our job as realtors. We set ourselves apart by providing this service, free of charge, to our clients. Besides selling our clients’ homes for the best possible prices in the shortest time, the best compliment we can get from our clients is “Wow, this is beautiful.Why didn’t we do this before?”