We're all guilty or at least I am! We walk through a sellers front door and immediately sum up the house by what we see in the first few rooms. I can't tell you how many times I've decided if its going to be easy or hard right there or think I know what the master bathroom looks like after I've seen just 3-4 rooms. Well, just like us the buyers are doing the same thing, so remember the first few rooms a buyers sees can either send them packing or intrigue them with what is yet to come. You get to decide!
In a recent case, Chicagoland Home Staging was asked to stage a very nice 3500 sqft historic home which was on the market for many months in downtown Naperville Illinois. From the curb I thought hmmm...pretty nice, but within seconds of entering the home I stopped in my tracks and thought "what the heck is this tiny room and why is the foyer over there in the hallway!" Not only were you immediately faced with an awkward room but the natural traffic pattern made it even worse. Well like any good stager I couldn't move on until I could figure how to make it better, meanwhile the REA showing me the property kept trying to get me to move on but nope I was stuck right there. The homeowner who was frustrated with the lack of offers could never figure it out what to do with it so she just did nothing.
After previewing the whole property it turned to be a very nice home but no one including me was getting past the first impression so the only thing that was selling was the competition.
Here are several before pictures...you can see the small writing desk is giving the room scale but it is not helping the buyer see the true potential. (sorry for the point and shot camera)
View #1 View #2
AFTER STAGING.
Well here is what we did...a living room. It instantly made it feel twice the size. We redirected foot traffic with furniture placement to the next room and not straight back into the dining room.
As many stagers know when done properly staging will 'create a path' for the buyers that pull you through the property. It can help them make sense of something as in this case or draw you into rooms that they might otherwise just glance in and move on.
So, if your getting your house ready for sale and not sure where to begin, start in the first rooms a buyers sees because they set the tone for what is to come!
THE RESULT was PROPERTY SOLD!
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