STAGE RIGHT

No, I am not talking about my recent freedom from glasses, provided by Lasik surgery. Professional home stagers provide an unbiased, objective view. A stager will evaluate your home with the eye of a highly critical buyer. You, as a homeowner don’t see the flaws of your property. You are accustomed to the way your home looks, and has looked for years. You find it difficult emotionally to change things. As part of the consultation, the stager provides a report that includes repairs, maintenance and other undertakings to improve the appearance of your property. This list identifies areas of priority for inspired sellers to invest their time and efforts to benefit the property most.

Buyers have raised the stakes. They can’t be bothered with painting or repairs. They are looking for a house that is move-in-ready, and if your property isn’t, they will insist on a price reduction. Stagers know what is required to sell a home while being mindful of your largest asset and best interests. If you choose to work strictly with your existing belongings, stagers will use their skills to create the best designed space possible given the items you have provided. If you are open to a small investment, the stager can provide an enhancement proposal, for your consideration, that includes furnishings, art and accessories selected to turn your house into an irresistible, marketable home. An enhancement allows the stager to replace outdated décor, while increasing the impact and appeal of your property.

Provide buyers with a memorable image and it will be love at first sight. Home staging, our vision means your sale.

Typically, one would think a vacant home would be easy to sell since there is no clutter, collections and/or furnishings to distract the buyer from the home.  However, the reverse is true – when a home is vacant there is no place for the eye to rest and buyers often walk through and go on to the next house. When a house is empty there is nothing to connect with and buyers move on quickly. 

 Reasons why it’s important to stage vacant homes:

• Homes that show well are the ones that are warm, inviting, and make an emotional connection with the buyer. Vacant homes rarely accomplish this goal.
• When homes are vacant, every flaw is exposed. Normal wear and tear, a chipped tile or small crack are magnified. Buyers will focus on the negatives rather than the positives.
• Without furniture, there is no frame of reference, making it difficult for buyers to tell the scale and size of the rooms. “Will my furniture fit in this living room? Will the master bedroom fit a queen size bed?” If buyers have to start questioning . . . they will walk away.
• Only 10% of buyers can visualize, so when they walk into your home, 90% won’t be able to actually visualize the home’s potential.
• A vacant home sends a message to buyers that the seller is desperate to sell.
• On average, a buyer will stay in a vacant home about 5 minutes, but will linger 30 minutes in a staged home.

The price of leaving a vacant home on the market can be a lower selling price and a longer time on the market. Is this a price you can afford to pay? The cost of professional staging is less than the first price reduction.

Stage Right can provide you with a Home Staging proposal for furniture and accessory rental that will change your vacant property to a home that buyers can visualize themselves living in. Using our extensive inventory, we will turn your cold, vacant house into a warm and inviting home. When staging vacant properties, it is our goal to infuse the house with the necessary furnishings to enhance the features of the house and allow potential buyers to connect emotionally with the space. Creating that connection is the beginning of the sale.

Spending some money to stage your vacant property is a worthwhile investment. It could mean the difference between a quick sale versus your property lingering on the market.

Check out the gallery on our website (http://www.stageright1.ca) today!

Staging, the secret weapon of real estate, is the art of preparing and packaging a home for sale. Current industry statistics clearly indicate that staged homes sell quicker than non-staged homes, and many professionals report that staged homes bring in top-dollar offers.

In a slumping market, real estate agents often recommend lowering home prices around 3% after seeing no action in the first few months. Professional home staging costs far less than the first price reduction.

The benefits of having your property professionally staged before going on the market are tremendous. Professional Home Staging has become an essential marketing/merchandizing tool in a competitive market. In the U.S., the vast majority of realtors recommend home staging to their clients and it has become a MUST in the industry.

Any realtor will tell you, it’s a beauty contest out there.

Realtors understand the benefits of professional home staging. They recognize that staged homes are properties ready to sell, so they are more likely to show a staged home to potential buyers. Realtors like the way home stagers take a house and turn it into a product that stands out from the competition. This results in more showings and more offers. Realizing the benefits of Home Staging, many successful realtors include a Staging Consultation as part of their listing service to clients.

Failure to utilize Professional Home Staging has been cited as the #1 biggest real estate mistake by HGTV.

While making the home show at its full potential is the ultimate goal of the home stager, the process begins with the Stager providing a list of repair, maintenance and other tasks the seller needs to complete before the property can go on the market. This list directs motivated sellers to areas to invest their time and efforts that will benefit the property most. Buyers are prepared to pay a premium for a home that will not require a lot of improvements or upgrading.

The house that shows the best gets better offers faster.

Home stagers use their knowledge to prepare properties to appeal to the broadest number of buyers. They use their professional experience to evaluate the home’s design, color scheme and accessories, and either remove, re-arrange or add furniture, art and accessories to enhance the presentation of the home. Home stagers have the psychological artistry to transform the property and satisfy the buyer’s innate desire for open spaces, lots of light and just the right amount of stimulus. Our goal is to have buyers develop an emotional attachment and visualize living in the home.

With people busier than ever, buyers don’t want to waste a lot of time going from house to house. The vast majority of buyers narrow down their selection by viewing listings on-line. It’s important to grab their attention! Professionally staged homes result in great pictures for on-line marketing and memorable first impressions for buyers.

Depending on client needs, the Home Staging will range from:

• Consultations where the Stager works with the existing furniture and accessories, editing and re-arranging to prepare the property to a higher potential.
• Furniture, art, and accessory enhancements that provide visual punch to the existing belongings.
• Full or partial staging to create an inviting atmosphere for vacant properties where potential buyers can visualize the home’s potential.

Your house is your biggest asset; make sure it shows at its full potential and has a competitive edge. Once your house is on the market, it becomes a product. The way you live is not the way you sell your home. Contact a stager today!

Your house is your largest investment and you deserve to get what its worth. When you list your house for sale it’s competing with all of the other houses on the market. It’s important to have an edge on that competition. Leaving your house “as is” will help to sell the competition. Read the rest of this entry »