Whether it's your home for sale or your client's home for sale, not every seller is convinced right off the bat that staging the home is necessary to get it sold.
In a previous blog, I addressed three common objections from both real estate agents and home sellers to staging a home when it's for sale:
- But, why would I want to be spending money when I can't afford to? I just need to sell my house/apartment.
- But, why can't buyers just look past the décor and envision themselves living here?
- But, my home looks good. It doesn't need to be staged.
In another blog, I addressed three more objections:
- But, why can't the real estate agent or homeowner figure out what needs to be done to stage the home and make it look better?
- But, similar homes in the neighborhood and/or building sold without staging.
- But, the home has already been decluttered and cleaned. That should be enough.
So if you find yourself or your client asking the following questions or stating these objections, carefully consider these answers before you make that final decision not to stage.
But, my home is in a great location/area/neighborhood and I've priced it right. I don't need to stage.
Yes, location is one of the most important factors in setting your home's value. And pricing it right is also important. But the right price is only one of the three legs of a three-legged stool when it comes to doing the right thing to sell a home successfully. The second leg is good outside marketing, and that's what a good real estate agent brings to the table. The third leg is inside marketing, or staging - improving the home to make it more desirable. Remove one leg, and the stool collapses.
But, if it doesn't sell in 3 months, then I'll consider staging it OR Let's see if someone makes an offer after this weekend's open house.
If a home seller waits to stage if it doesn't sell, it then becomes a stale listing. The owner will be offered less than the listing price because potential buyers know it's been on the market for a while. Also, the owner and agent end up missing out on any interested buyers who first saw the house and decided it wasn't for them for one reason or another. Why not capture them right away because the home looks its best?
But, why bother with making the home look better when the new owners will change it anyway?
While a total kitchen and/or bathroom remodel may be unnecessary prior to selling, the reasons you want to at least do some updates like painting, new carpeting, floor refinishing and changing out lighting/plumbing fixtures is to 1) first, eliminate the turn-off that buyers will have once they step into the space, and 2) to improve the space enough so that buyers feel they can move in and wait awhile prior to doing their own updates. And things as simple as repairs need to be done so that buyers don't make a mental checklist and offer a lower selling price.
But, I don't have the time to stage.
Ask yourself, do you have the time to wait around while you're home sits on the market? Your home is probably the single greatest asset you have, so why gamble with the equity?
The more time you put into making your home attractive to buyers, the higher your potential sales price will be.
Take one thing at a time. First and foremost is decluttering and paring down. You are going to need to pack anyway at some point (hopefully), so why not take the time now to go through everything and discard, donate or sell anything you don't use or haven't used in the last year or two. Pack up and store items and out-of-season clothing that you won't need in the next 6 months. Then move on to the next project, whether it's painting or getting around to those repairs you've been ignoring. Enlist the help of a professional home stager and get your family involved too.
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