I am not sure why but I am being asked to stage quite a few vacant properties in the Montreal (Quebec) area these days. I think I am becoming the Vacant Property specialist! LOL
We all know that vacant properties are even harder to sell, as the defects on walls, floors and ceilings stand out more and over 90% of people are unable to visualize the empty space and what it MIGHT look like furnished...
I used to be scared of these phone calls for several reasons. I was afraid to make a mistake -miscalculate the amount of furniture required, choose the wrong furniture and accessories, not have enough stuff to stage it with, etc...Well, now they are my favorite kind of Stagings!
True, there is more work involved, more preparation, more organizing and more sweating! On the first visit, I take pictures and make my list of everything needed - especially the furniture for the living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom..Usually, I can reuse the same or similar furniture from one property to the next - off-white micro suede, chocolate brown leather - contemporary style - will look good anywhere! Then, depending on the wall colors, style of the house and the accessories available at that time in my inventory, I decide on the ACCENT color.
The day or two before the staging, I prepare my furniture, bins (all accessories), artwork, mirrors, lamps, bed coverings, etc...and I go shopping if I am missing some items. And then I am ready for a day of hard work and pleasure after I see the result. I hire an assistant from one of my Home Staging courses and we set everything up, sometime trying different things until we are satisfied. It does take several hours but the end result is worth the effort! And the best part is that it's going to stay that way until the house is sold!
The only part I dislike is DESTAGING - after the house is sold, when we have to come back and dismount everything, pack it up and move the stuff back...but that's part of the job, so I try to stay positive and think that all this furniture and accessories will be finding a new home very soon!
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