...Unless you're ready to listen to your agent and stager.
Home staging is effective but it can’t perform miracles. Too often stagers receive calls from sellers and agents about homes that have been sitting on the market with no offers.
They’ve decided to bring in a home stager to get it sold. While it’s true that staging your home can help to get it sold by showing its possibilities, it doesn’t cover up issues that can impact its perceived value.
Below are 10 instances when staging alone can’t help...
1. The bathrooms aren’t updated.
You don’t need to knock down walls but buyers will look for new fixtures including lighting. The less they have to do, the more they can live with it.
2. The kitchen was updated ...a dozen or more years ago.
This is the heart of the home. Today’s buyers want move-in ready and tops on their list is the kitchen. New appliances and fixtures, recently updated countertops can go a long way in making the sale. Towels, cookbooks, and kitchen accessories help but aren’t enough.
3. There is a built-in Formica headboard in the master bedroom.
I’ve seen this on more than one staging consultation and needs to be removed. Trying to bring in new linens and lamps and working around the built-in is like putting lipstick on a pig.
4. The carpeting is worn.
Stagers and agents aren’t in the business of covering up. Old and dated flooring still looks old and dated in the light of day, even with a sofa and chairs on it.
5. The paint color is very taste specific.
Furniture and accessories are meant to complement the wall color. It can’t make you forget about it.
6. The dining room has one wall that is all mirrors circa 1980.
This just screams old! Instead of picturing themselves in your home, they’ll be trying to figure out how much it’s going to cost in time and money to remove it.
7. Your wonderful 4 legged family members have left a distinct odor that permeates throughout the house.
Ask any agent...this is a huge turn-off. Again, furniture and accessories won’t help. In fact, some stagers will refuse to place inventory in a home with pets or heavy odor.
8. Your home is next to a very busy street and you can hear the traffic as soon as you step out.
Unless you provide earplugs for your buyers, we can’t change the location. There are some things that you can do such as placing trees along the property line that might minimize the noise.
9. Your home backs up to a commercial business that you can see from the entry.
Once again, we’re not in the business to deceive or hide. However, we did work with a client who upon our suggestion planted a large tree in the sight line between her patio door and the offending business. The contract was forthcoming.
10. You have a laundry list of deferred maintenance issues.
Not to repeat myself but these are things that buyers WILL see regardless of any furniture that is in the room. Sellers are better off tackling these as they turn up.
You may think that addressing these distractions won’t be worth the money you invest. And that may be so.
Or, by not addressing these issues, you may not even get an offer to consider. Discuss this with your agent.
Not sure what to do? Call for a Home Staging Consultation whether you’re ready to sell now or in the next few years!!!
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