If you stay on top of the trends in the real estate and home staging industries you have probably heard of virtual staging. This is where stagers that are savvy with graphic design manipulate photos of vacant properties to make them look like model homes. This helps to show the proper scale, function and layout for each space.

While this concept is brilliant for vacant home sellers that do not want to hire a home stager to physically stage their home, it leaves me wondering:

1. What happens when a buyer goes to see the home in person and there is nothing there? and

2. What about resale home sellers? They typically do not have a vacant home to sell!

As a home staging professional in one of the most challenging real estate markets ever I know that families are struggling to find ways to sell their homes in a down market, get out of debt and move on to the next phase of their lives. Even though home sellers understand that staging is something they must do to make their homes more marketable, finding the dollars to hire a professional seems out of the question when they are faced with short sale, foreclosure, credit card debt or loss of job. Some home sellers make do with purchasing a staging-how-to-book or downloading a checklist off the Internet but we all know that the best book and the most comprehensive list will not give sellers the same advice as a professionally trained real estate stager.

I started to think about how I could help home sellers on a budget without compromising the quality of the services that I offer. I began going online to look at photographs of their homes on the MLS and sending them advice via email. Weeks later I would get follow up emails telling me their homes sold and my advice had helped. Soon I realized that I could help clients virtually and save them money at the same time! Money they need to pay their mortgage, or use to make updates needed to sell their homes.

This new take on virtual home staging is not an entirely novel concept for me- I have offered this service since 2005 when happy home sellers would call and ask me to travel to their new home to help them get set up with the same look and feel as their staged home. With two small children at home I could not easily take off for Florida (although I did this once for Miss America!) or Cincinnati on a whim but I could look at floor plans and photos and get them off to a great start. If I needed someone to look at the home in person I knew I could always refer a local home staging professional.

I am excited to announce the launch our new Virtual Real Estate Staging Services^tm. Aimed to help resale home sellers, it is an interactive website portal where clients from any town, any place can upload pictures of their home and get expert one-on-one home staging advice. If needed we can match home sellers with local home staging professionals in their home town through Select Home Stagers^tmour network of home staging professionals. I think this is a win for home sellers- expert advice, on their time and online. I invite you to visit our website today and learn more about this exciting staging service.

Kate Hart is an award winning home stager servicing clients in the Main Line and Philadelphia regions of Pennsylvania. Visit www.hartstaging.com to learn more about our services and our new Virtual Real Estate Staging Services^tm for every home seller's budget. For all other locations contact us at www.selecthomestagers.com to find an associate in your local area.