Set the stage to sell your home
August 30, 2007Joyce Owen
Kids' artwork on the fridge and shelves filled with family photos and mementos might seem homey, but to a buyer those personal touches could make a house look cluttered.
Hiding everything in the attic or storage unit while attempting to sell a home may not be the answer either, say experts.
A new trend - staging a home to improve its eye appeal and increase the value - has arrived in South Walton.
EYE.SPY Consulting and Staging, owned by Candi Hagler and Josh Jerkins, offers free bids to home sellers and real estate agents on how to better package a property for faster selling.
An EYE.SPY representative visits the home, takes photos and then creates a report with suggestions on how to prepare the home for sale.
Hagler said most home sellers can't view their homes objectively and therefore can't package them to sell.
"Home staging is a marketing investment to sell a home," she said.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports a staged house sells on average 17 percent higher than a non-staged house, she said.
"If you prepare your property before you put it on the market, you will greatly improve your chances of selling quickly at the asking price," Hagler said. "If your home is already on the market, you could benefit from a quick one-day staging makeover which could turn the next viewing into a sale."
Home staging is not interior designing or decorating, Hagler said. It is marketing a home to appeal to buyers using the three R's - rearranging, removing and refreshing the homeowner's existing furnishings.
"People do not want to see all of your personal things when viewing your home," Hagler said. "It is important to make the space feel hotel-like. If potential buyers can see their things in a home, rather than yours, they are more likely to have an emotional connection to it. That can't happen in an empty, cluttered or personalized home."
The couple's first experience in staging homes came as they assisted friends and family members with their skills in redesigning, de-cluttering and organizing homes. They studied marketing and business finance at Troy University and worked in hospitality, resort rentals and real estate fields.
They wanted to own a business that allowed them to use their creative skills and relocated from Gulf Shores, Ala., to Destin two years ago.
"This is an area that supports new businesses," Hagler said. "The real estate market supports a buyers market and we wanted to bring a sense of hope to home sellers and agents."
"The key to staging is to make a home as neutral as possible so that it has universal appeal," Hagler said.
Sometimes that means replacing out-of-date fixtures or making simple repairs. Other times it might require a deep cleaning and depersonalizing the home.
EYE.SPY offers three options: A home staging consultation for do-it-yourself types on those on a tight budget. With suggested changes, the seller can then determine what would improve the look of the home. With full-service home staging, Hagler and Jerkins do all the work.
Finally there's open house staging that helps prepare for viewing.
"For some open houses we have props sellers can use," Hagler said.
The trend seems to have caught on. An open house at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort on Aug. 28 was presented as an opportunity to tour a staged condominium.
"The unit had been completely staged for a new and improved presentation to buyers," Realtor Kitty McFatter said. "This will become a new trend in our area as sellers look for new avenues to best promote their properties."
EYE.SPY targets its personal home staging for Okaloosa and Walton county properties, but they will travel anywhere in the panhandle.
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