- A home that has been inspected (if the roof leaks or plumbing leaks they should be addressed before going on the market and/or inspections)
- A home that has been updated with repairs in mind. Take updated flooring for instance. You don’t have to tear out the beautiful tile floor to repair damage underneath found by the inspector later. The buyer doesn’t have to wonder if the new floor will look as good as you may not want to spend money on it now that you have a buyer.
- Happy buyers who remain happy during a transaction are more likely to remain happy with their purchase next month or next year resulting in fewer problems, fewer buyers backing out of transactions, fewer lawsuits later.
- A home that is given the opportunity to show what its assets are. Clutter and “stuff” distracts from the assets of the home—size of rooms, flow of floorplan, the office that is a dining room shown as it was meant to be -a dining room clarify a confusing floorplan.
- Buyers (and appraisers) only know what they see today. They cannot imagine what your home will look like with fresh paint, and they won’t come back to take a second look generally. They make their first impression the first time they see it. The old saying “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” is key. In person, on the website first impressions are the drive by of today’s buyer.
The most common time and place for a purchase transaction to fall apart is after the inspections. If this is 14-21 days after the buyer has purchased, the chances of buyer’s backing out is increased as their fears take over. The buyers who fell in love with your home, get a different reality of what they are buying, may feel overwhelmed, frightened or feel they paid too much based on the amount of work needed versus knowing what needed to be repaired, and getting to see the final product after the repair is completed. The issue is solved before it is a problem. Your Realtor and Stager TEAM believe in being proactive and know you’ll have a quicker sale, happier buyer and the maximum return with this approach to your home sale.
Let me take a moment to remind you about buying, a car for instance.
When you go look at a car, all shiny and clean, smelling good, looking it’s best, (staged) and your expectation is that the car is as you perceive it. It works well, has no repairs needed, does not run rough or noisy, or have transmission problems, etc. When you take it to the mechanic and he tells you otherwise, you are disillusioned, disappointed and feel you are paying too much possibly. Well home buyers feel the same way.
Problems with a home are your problems until they are purchased by someone else. Would you purchase a good looking car and take on the problems without some sort of credit from the seller or expectation that it is working, running right and as presented to you? No, most people would not. Why then would a buyer be expected to make what is often the largest purchase in their lifetimes with less care and concern?
How does this help? This type of preparation gives the buyer the peace of mind that inspections were done, items found are disclosed and/or repaired, improvements were made with repairs in mind and that you are buying a product that is well taken care of and “as presented”.
It gives the seller the peace of mind that nothing was missed and will come back at them later as they used due diligence to make sure all issues were addressed and/or disclosed to the buyer prior to the buyer purchasing the home, better yet, prior to their offer.
As Wayne Dyer says “Start with the end in mind”. How do you want your ending to be? Your Realtor and Stager Team can get you a happy ending.
Seller-You home becomes a house which becomes a product that you market and sell. Staging helps you earn more equity in a quicker timeframe so you can go to your next home. Buyer-The house you are buying becomes your home and a place to grow your dreams, not nightmares, right?
Selling a Staged Home, Buying a Staged Home…a winning proposition for both buyers and sellers.
- Terrylynn Fisher is a Realtor®/CSP Staging Consultant listing and Staging homes with Diablo Realty in Walnut Creek, 925 876-0966.
Staging your home to sell – Manipulation? Trickery? Deceit? What do Buyers and Sellers get from a “Staged Home”?
Recently a Realtor I know told me they have had people ask them if staging was just a way of manipulating the buyer to want something that wasn’t what it appeared to be? Are Realtors tricking buyers into buying homes they may not want? Are we deceiving people about a home’s condition? Does staging really benefit buyers and sellers? Here is what your Realtor and Stager Teams recommend and believe should occur in preparing a home and staging a home for sale that adds benefit and value to both buyer and seller.
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