Home Staging Tip, Part 1 of 5

The most important thing any homeowner can do when it comes to getting a house sold is to have it staged.

I recommend Professional Staging. I believe so much in the difference Professional Staging makes that I have become an Accredited Home Staging Specialist. It is part of my business activities to continue my education in staging so I can bring the best techniques to my clients and customers.

There are five parts to staging. I will be posting each one with its explanation.

Is it possible once a consumer has the knowledge of the parts of staging the home for them to "go it alone?" Yes and no. Yes because they have the knowledge. No for many reasons. A few are: the consumer doesn't have the experience to pick up on the fine points; they lack the necessary objectivity (the consumer is personally attached to the home); time and where to start.

As a Professional Stager, I work with the client to get the job done. We work together to come up with a time line for Staging the House for Sale, identify the things the client can do and the areas where professionals are needed. I coordinate the arrangements with the professionals. We also have follow up appointments to fine tune the house and then activate the listing. In my experience, it is better to wait until the staging is complete before activating the listing. Although buyers come on the market every day, a new listing gets exposure to the larger pool of buyers that haven't found the home they have been searching for.

Step 1:  De-clutter. You need to get rid of the "stuff." Some things you will be taking with you. These get packed up and stored. It is important that the storage boxes fit unobtrusively somewhere in the house. You want to showcase how much space the house has. This is the prime reason for de-cluttering. Where do you begin? One room at a time. The fact is, you will be doing this anyway when the house is sold. Consider de-cluttering as pre-packing. There are options for storage and each clients needs are different. As a Professional Stager, part of my job is to make sure de-cluttering showcases space. I address each clients needs individually.

Note:  I refer to the clients home as "house." It is important to start thinking like this. The whole process becomes easier when you are staging and selling a house and not your home. It is the job of the REALTOR® to have the buyer looking for a "home." Simply, "houses are sold and homes are bought."

A tip on where to start - the bathroom first and then the kitchen. Why? The bathroom is the smallest room and has the least amount of clutter. Starting here gets the ball rolling. It takes the least amount of time. The sense of accomplishment fuels the excitement for moving on through the rest of the house. Moving on to the kitchen next sets up the process of eliminating everything but absolute essentials. It helps my client as we move on through the rest of the house. They begin to get into the process of pre-packing and choices of what to keep, what to pack and what to get rid of begins in the kitchen. Experience has shown me this approach works for my clients.

Complete Step 1 throughout the entire house before moving on to Step 2.

See you again.