As long as this unpredictable, topsy-turvy real estate market lingers, hiring a home stager is the best investment you will make in marketing your home. Better than the money invested in a home inspector, appraiser, or real estate agent or broker. Why? Because a home stager can assist you in appealing to the widest market audience possible in your area. Your real estate agent can do this as well, but she/he still has to get the prospective buyer through your front door. And it all starts on the outside. If the exterior of your home looks shabby, (landscaping included) then the buyer you are hoping for might drive right on by. They will make the assumption that the inside looks like the outside…unkept. As both an interior designer and real estate broker, I know. Most people (85% of the population) don’t have the ability to visualize, and that might include your real estate agent! Besides, agents sometimes get blinded by the possibility of a cushy commission, and will take the listing no matter what. As they say in real estate, it’s the agent with the most listings (not sales) who makes the most money! But not to beleager real estate agents, who oftentimes are great home stagers themselves; but because they have an emotional investment in your home just as you do, it oftentimes serves well to team up with a professional home stager.
Good home stagers can do the following things to make your home sell faster, and for more money, in the current market and in a good market:
1. Emotionally remove themselves 2. Neutralize your interior/exterior 3. Define your space appropriately 4. De-clutter! 5. Provide the workmen that might be necessary to get the job done. 6. Bring their knowledge of interior design to your home. 6. Identify critical aesthetic home improvements that need to be done to enhance interior function and appeal as well as curb appeal. 7. Provide furniture and accessories to stage your home, if needed. Furnished homes sell more quickly than empty houses. 8. The ability to work with what you have and make it work.! and finally, 9. Organizational skills.
The end result? Your home sells faster and at a higher price. When you consider the cost of a home stager vs. making two mortgage payments for an extended period of time or your mortgage and rent (assuming you have already relocated and moved in to your new home), it’s a mere pittance.
A fun show to watch on a Sunday morning is “Get It Sold!”. For more information, go to www.HGTV.com/getitsold. For those who need home staging assistance, and you happen to live in Timbucktoo, Interior Impressions offers virtual design and home staging services. Just send us your photos to get started!
Savvy home selling!
Constance & Remy
What guide lines would you use concerning fees for staging a home
what fees would be charged for staging a home
Hi Charles: Thank you for asking. The fees for staging a property are contingent on what needs to be done. If the job can be done by simply removing/moving/reusing existing items, there would be an hourly fee only.
If the restaging project requires more work or outside labor and materials, then the cost of the job would be proposed at a cost plus percentage basis.