I have been working very hard the last couple of years promoting the Benefits of Home Staging to real estate agents, for sale by owners, and homeowners in general via the Internet.
Thanks to television the world of redesign, updating, and makeovers for the do-it-yourselfers is big. But home staging is developing a stigma that I am becoming concerned about. Since I have joined Active Rain and am reading gazoodles of posts from every arena, I am starting to see a pattern.
There are still areas of the country where Home Staging is barely a whisper, and where it is a whisper, a little back draft follows with "Ooh, watch out, they are going to take over and stage it their way!", or "I have been selling houses for years and I have done just fine without them!", or "Maybe I can use them occasionally if a new listing is really bad!", and so on. Maybe real estate agents and home sellers don't know what our intent is?
It is not uncommon for people to be a little afraid of an interior designer/decorator. They sometimes fear that the interior designer/decorator will come in and take over. They are afraid that the designer is going to fill their house with furnishings not to their liking and spend way too much money. A few bad apples had spoiled the barrel I admit. Maybe that is what is happening to the "Home Stager"?
Has the Home Stager taken on a similar stigma as the designer/decorator in their minds? I think this could be what is happening.
From my own experience, once an individual has used an interior designer/decorator, they swear by them and don't know how they ever lived without them. They also learn that they save money, time, and many regrets. The same thing will happen when you stage your listings. You will never sell another house without it being staged.
A HOME STAGER IS A POINT-OF-SALE DECORATOR. You can compare a home stager to a Macy's window dresser; they do not own the store, they do not make the clothing, they do not price the clothing. They put the clothing that is for sale on the mannequin in the window in such a way that it sells the clothing.
Selling a house without staging it, even if it has been professionally decorated, is like tacking up a beautiful Jones New York Suit in the window of a store with push-pins and tape. Yes, it is a beautiful suit made of fine wool but it is not going to sell very well because it doesn't show very well!
I hope I have a least clarified the intent and purpose of a home stager and put some myths to rest.
Please visit how2homestage.com to learn more.
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