I find that many home owners see staging their home for sale as unnecessary or a last resort. It is only natural to think your house is fine just the way it is. The argument being "If it is good enough for us than it is certainly good enough for anyone else". However I couldn't disagree more. There is a distinct difference between decorating to live and staging to sell. When it comes to selling houses we need to step back and look at it for what it is. A valuable piece of merchandise that requires strategic marketing! I like to use a "used car" analogy. If you were planing to sell your 3 year old car for $20,000, it would be a no brainer to invest a few hundred dollars and time to clean out the car, change the oil and get the the car detailed. Especially when that small investment will help ensure your 20K asking price. Selling and staging your home is no different.
Anyone who has purchased a home is familiar with the long days of house hunting. You typically schedule a couple of days to see house after house after house. In my experience I find it interesting what home buyers remember vs. reality. I commonly find that when returning to a house they liked for a 2nd showing the details are a bit fuzzy. For example I have heard "I thought there were 3 windows in that room not 2" or "I remember the carpet being much darker in the bedroom than it actually is". This comes as no surprise. When looking for a house buyers are bombarded with different kitchens, yards, closets and bathrooms etc... No wonder a few details get lost or mixed up. However there is one thing that they never get wrong, and that is how the home made them feel. That's where I come in. I firmly believe in selling a feeling, an idea, a lifestyle! I want every house I list or stage to feel fresh, warm and current. Through careful thought and planning I device a plan to prominently feature the positive aspects of a home, while downplaying the not-so positive aspects. Through this blog I will be sharing images and stories of homes I have staged. I want them to serve as a reminder to how important it is to create a marketing plan that is visually stimulating, therefore increasing the probability that your home sells for the price you want and in a timely manor.
