Staging can make the Difference

When a homeowner puts his or her house on the market, they want to receive the best price for it in the shortest time possible. Staging can help realize those selling goals. It uses the artistic vision of a staging professional to bring out the hidden personality of a home.

Staging puts the finishing touches on your home, and adds an air of ambiance. You already know that your home is cozy and warm, but when you're ready to sell you need to do everything possible to convey that impression to potential buyers. Staging can be expensive (though it doesn't requisitely have to be), but the results can be well worth the investment. Here are a few reasons why staging may be a good idea for your property:

• Staging adds to and accentuates the work that you've already done. You still need to clean, make repairs, straighten the yard and get rid of old junk. Stagers come in after you've done all that you can and add their bit of artistic magic. You can make use of your own furnishings or opt to use items provided by the stager. Take your lead from the professional.
• Vacant houses can greatly benefit from staging. This is not to say that buyers don't have an imagination, but an empty house can be overwhelming. Potential buyers have a more difficult time getting a feel for what the house can become when there's nothing already in it – in fact, one vacant house can look similar to another. A stager uses his or her talents to engage the buyer's mind. They may even want to buy the house as-is.
• Staging often comes with a showroom full of goodies. Most sellers would love to get their hands on new furniture and other accessories to fix up their home for sale, but the expense for this can be prohibitive. When you hire a stager, you can get all of that great furniture for a fraction of the cost, plus the know-how to arrange it to the property's best advantage.
• Staging can significantly reduce the amount of time that a home stays on the market. The work that these professionals do can be absolutely breathtaking. They make their living with their imagination. A fully-dressed home might resemble one that you'd see at a "gallery-of-homes" show.
• You'll have a much better chance of getting your full asking price for a staged home. Staging isn't just about bringing in new things to replace your old stuff. Think feng shui; it's all about arranging furniture, pots, baskets and other items in such a way that it catches the eye and draws the buyer in. A home that's staged from the beginning of its marketing simply stands a better chance of selling.

If you're truly serious about selling your home at the best price that you can get (which is crucial in today's down housing market), then you should give staging serious consideration. It's the icing and the cherry on the cake that is your family home.