Stage Your Home To Sell - It's More Important Than Ever

I think it's understandable when homeowners don't get the concept of "staging" a home they want to sell.  Their theory, though erroneous is, "why should I spend money on a home I'm leaving."  They sometimes say they can't afford to put money into a home they've been struggling to survive in, in a shaky economy.  Valid point, but staging doesn't have to be expensive.  I've prepared houses for sale for anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousands.  The results speak for themselves.

The home pictured here was lost in the 1960's, with carpet, wallpaper and window treatments dating the place terribly.  The wallpaper was flocked and the carpet was worn down to the floor in a few spots.  With a very limited budget and a directive to use the owner's furniture, dating from a much earlier time, we still managed to bring it into the 21st century. 

The next home just needed a little tweaking to set it apart and make it look cohesive and adult oriented, rather than the clearly child oriented space it was before.  Buyers fell in love with the ambiance and we managed to generate 7 offers before the sellers accepted one.

One homeowner, just a few years ago, told me he understood you had to invest money to make money, and he was so right.  His home sold in two weeks, bringing in 8 offers in the worst market we'd seen on Long Island in many, many years.  The problem is, in an inventory saturated marketplace, you have to set yourself apart from the rest to be remembered, desirable and perceived to offer greater value than the house down the street. 

The surprising thing to me, in a less than robust market on Long Island, one in which sellers and real estate professionals alike have seen their assets shrinking, is the blank stare I still get from some real estate agents who can't see the value in staging.

If you're thinking of selling your home in the near future,you should call in a professional stager to determine what, if anything, should be done to make your property the one that calls out to the buyer you want to attract.  It will involve some outlay of cash at the start, but will undoubtedly put more money in your pocket when you walk away from the closing table.