Staging Your Home For Sale
You have decided it is time to sell, what’s all this talk of home staging? Well, it certainly has its benefits. Here’s a snapshot of what to expect.
Depersonalize Your Space: this seems to be one of the most difficult things for people to do, especially if the home carries a lot of memories. You have decided to sell and have signed the Listing Agreement, now you go through your home at the advice of your Real Estate Agent or a Home Staging Professional with the task of depersonalizing. Overwhelming, it may be, impossible, no. Take a deep breath, you will get through it. One thing I have told many of my clients who are considering a move it that the best part of memories is that you get to take them with you. It is not so much about the space but the remembrance of the fond moments stored within you. Carefully pack up the photos and mementos to display them in your new space. The goal of home staging is to allow it to appeal to the greatest number of people possible.
Depersonalizing also involves:
Wall colour- keep it neutral and light, that lime green wall in your office may have invigorated your workspace but it may not (read: won’t) appeal to everybody.
Pack up the loads of nick knacks- you may love your special Disney Figurine Collection but it can be a distraction to potential buyers going through your home. They will be noticing your “things”, whether because they like them or not, and this distracts them from their original purpose, to see your home and hopefully buy it!
Declutter and Declutter Some More: perhaps you have outgrown your current home, but do you want the first (and last) impression a buyer has to be, “Wow, that place had stuff EVERYWHERE!”?
Clutter can make some people feel anxious and for many, it indicates that there may be a serious problem with not enough storage. Ask yourself if you want this to be at the forefront of their minds when comparing your home to others? I didn’t think so. There are companies who specialize in decluttering and can guide you through moving the belongings you truly need to your new place and finding a great new owner for the extras that are just taking up space. Think about breathing freshness into your new space without the weight (clutter) with the things that you truly don’t need.
Don’t Forget the Exterior: “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”, we have heard this countless times and it is usually in reference to meeting a person but imagine a potential new buyer meeting your home for the first time. What do they see? The exterior! Take a few moments to tidy, fix, paint, top up the mulch, change the front screen door falling off its hinges and remove the wilted flowers from the planter. It may not cost a lot but it could make the difference between a sale…or not.
Role of the Home Stager: typically a Stager will work with as many pieces as you have that will give your home a fresh, open style that shows your home in the best possible light. Some people think that staging costs thousands of dollars which is not necessarily the case depending what they are working within the existing home. Consider this, is it better to spend $1000-2000 to sell your home for top dollar in the shortest time possible? It may be a small price to pay for an incredibly happy outcome. The most important piece of advice here, do not take any of the suggestions/actions personally, they have a job to do and it is to help you sell your place.
I'm ready to get the selling process going, contact Tina now.
Advice From a Pro: Gabby, Owner from Staging 2 Sell Your Home Inc. is a Professional Home Stager working from the GTA to Hamilton. She offers the following tips to some questions I asked recently.
1) Why do you think people don’t stage their homes when selling?
Every day more and more people know home staging has become very popular in many real estate markets and is a powerful marketing tool that can make homes not only sell on a record of time, but at a higher list price. However getting ready to put a house on the market usually requires some work, time and lots of dedication. That’s where I come in, "making a home looking appealing to the highest number of buyers not only means de-cluttering and getting rid of all the stuff I think may interfere with the look of each room. - all the years homeowners spent collecting family treasures meaning an emotional transaction with lots of implications”. I tell people what they might not want to hear, but need to hear.” In my experience what stops many people from staging is that sellers sometimes are emotionally attached to their belongings. They are afraid someone can show up asking to remove all the small things they have been collecting in the past.
I have found with my personal experience that selling a home is one of the most challenging and stressful activities we undertake in life… yes, selling a home is in the list of the most stressful lifetime events, the stress of putting a house on the market came above the levels experienced when losing a job, becoming a parent or planning a wedding. The process of selling a home should be as stress-free as possible. An experienced Realtor has the knowledge and skills and can feel overwhelmed with all the stress around in the process of selling suggesting home staging services to all potential clients.
2) What do you see as the main rooms to stage?
It's an emotional time for the sellers when selling, but it's also emotional for the buyers to find the right home of their dreams. The outside is very important, I keep saying that sellers need to boost the curb appeal, make it say "welcome home". First impressions are very important when selling, we want people come back and make an offer, so every room plays a very important role in the process of selling a home. Main floors are usually the most important rooms to stage, right now Home Staging Industry is heading to target the buyer who is most likely to make an offer on the property. In home staging, every item we put to décor speaks to tell a story people want to hear. It’s all about emotions where we create a lifestyle people are looking for. When people look at this scene, they won’t be thinking “tiny” they will be thinking “what a gorgeous room to gather with friends and family”.
Main floors are a must when people ask me about which rooms they should stage with a low budget in mind. Painting is always recommended when the paint is too specific, shows wear or outdated. We also recommend some small renovations like changing light fixtures or backsplash tiles to spruce the look of the entire home, sometimes small changes make huge impact with the only goal to sell the home faster and many times for more money, I keep saying that people like to see well organized, neat and clean, welcoming homes. Home staging helps with all these challenges. Home staging offers a complete and creative way for sellers to stand out amongst 10 times better than their competition, home owners are now educated about how to prepare their homes for sale and show potential buyers that “YOU” do care about the home’s condition and look.
3) Any tips you can share when looking for a Home Stager?
Professionals have the connections to help you overcome the stress of selling a home. Home Staging simplifies the selling process, giving sellers a great tool in today’s competitive market, when sellers implement home staging solutions, the results are always a well-presented property that sells in a short period of time. At Staging2Sell your Home Inc. we carry our own inventory and warehouse offering our clients more flexible packages, offering bedding and lifestyle accessories not being at the mercy of the furniture rental companies.
We love to see you succeed, experience means a lot when you are planning to sell, get involved and make sure you are well knowledge, home staging can make a huge difference and can make a great impact on your profit.
-A very special thank you to Gabby for joining in on this article! Contact Gabby today.
About the Blog Author:
About the Author: Tina LaBonte-Gordon is a Licensed Real Estate Sales Representative with Sutton Group About Town Realty Inc., Brokerage serving the local Real Estate markets of Burlington, Hamilton, Oakville, Milton, Waterdown and surrounding areas. Contact: e: tinal@sutton.com t: 905.681.7900 w: www.tinalg.com www.facebook.com/TinaLGRealtor
