Home Staging, or property styling as it's called sometimes, is the process of redecorating a home to be sold on the 'for sale' market. You see, although you have decorated and laid out your home to suit you and the way you live day to day, when it comes to selling that same property, how your property is seen by buyers is very different.
Home staging has been around since the 70's, and is used by shrewd home sellers and real estate agents to help a buyer see maximum value in the property. Still, in most markets, here in Australia and abroad, it's a new concept.
And because home staging (or home presentation) is such a new concept for many Australian home owners, in this article we'll answer 8 of the most common questions about the home staging process.
What is Home staging?
Home staging is a re-decorating process used in real estate circles to help market a property's best features to a variety of buyers. It's often a fairly simple process of re-arranging the furnishings the home owner already owns, but there are more complicated tasks, like hiring new furniture and accessories that suit the property's target market.
What's the difference between home staging, property styling and property presentation?
There is no difference. All these names mean the same thing.
What's the use of spending money on a home I'm just going to sell?
I'm often asked this. And I always say "If you were selling your car, wouldn't you detail it?" If you've left your belongings sitting on the floor, on the backseat or in the boot, wouldn't you remove them so that your buyer can see things like the seat condition, colour, how much leg and boot space there is? If a windscreen wiper needed replacing, wouldn't it make sense to replace it rather than let a buyer find it and ask for a substantial discount? After all, you wouldn't want buyers to think there was something else seriously wrong with it.
Home staging is really very different to interior design or renovating. Staging focuses on making simple, cosmetic improvements only. The other terms involve making structural, and often fairly expensive changes to a home's floor plan.
What this means is, when the improvements are cosmetic in nature, as they are in home staging, the time and money spent can be looked more as an investment. You could spend $200 - $1000 on improving the selling appeal of your property for sale, and then within weeks or even days, you'll see a return of at least 40 times your original investment. It makes for a far safer investment than a horse race.
How is it that home staging can boost my home's selling price?
Buyers shop with logic, but buy on emotion. Ever done that? Bought something you hadn't planned on, or that wasn't precisely what you set out to buy? We all have. House hunters can become very emotionally attached to a home they have connected with on some level.
If your property looks and feels out of sight compared to anything else on the market, buyers can make an instant emotional connection and see themselves living there. This kind of scenario is much more likely to prompt a serious offer. Part of the goal of home staging is to help stimulate this sort of emotional appeal to a broad range of potential buyers inspecting your property. If enough buyers make this kind of connection to your 'For Sale' property, this can get you closer to, or even exceed your asking price.
Don't home stagers just bring in all new furniture?
Many stagers/stylists do, but not all. The goal of home staging is to keep the costs to a minimum, by using what the owner already has. Hiring furniture is more often used when staging a property that is completely empty of any furnishings, or when existing furnishings aren't in keeping with the property's asking price.
Aren't home stagers expensive?
No. I once heard the saying that "a home stager is the decorator for those homeowners who wouldn't normally hire a decorator". And that's very true. You see, an initial consultation that usually goes for a few hours, starts at around $150. And that may be all you need to spend on a professional home stager. Although it does depend on things like;
* Your home's size and its current condition
* How much of the preparation you'll do yourself - a home stager can advise where to start.
* The asking price of your home and its target market
So for example, a property with a million dollar+ asking price is usually larger in size, and the kinds of furnishings required to show it at its best need to be in keeping with the home's target market.
However, most home owners do have what's needed to re-package their home for sale, and this may mean investing $150 - $500 is all that's needed, depending on those 3 things we spoke of.
What's the point of getting a home stager just to clean and clear out my stuff?
One of the most difficult things to do as a homeowner, no matter who you are, is to separate your emotional attachment from the look of your home. It's next to impossible to see your property the way a buyer would. And that's exactly what a professional home stager does for you. It's their job to give you an unbiased point of view on the features that will (or will not) sell your home. Even some real estate agents find it very difficult to speak to their clients about this sort of thing, as they fear they may lose your listing altogether.
After living in a space for any length of time, you will have grown used to how a room looks - even those things you don't like. For example, a horrible paint colour (that you may never have liked), a dated looking kitchen or bathroom, light fixtures that don't work properly. Yes, even things that bugged you before can be totally forgotten about in life's daily routine.
There's more to the process of home staging than cleaning and de-cluttering. A professional stager is someone who sees what a buyer sees and knows exactly what it takes to give a for sale property that WOW factor that ALL house hunters hope to find.
Should I do something to prepare for a Home Stager's visit?
No, not at all. It's part of a home stager's job to look past the homeowner's belongings and furnishings and see the selling features of the property. So don't feel you need to make more work for yourself. Think about it; would you pre-iron your clothes for your ironing lady? Or clean your bathroom before your cleaner arrives? You can bet that even a professional stager's home doesn't look like a 'Hot Property' all the time.
Donna Ross in an Australian based Home Staging/property styling expert. Her home staging company Great Impressions helps home owners in the NSW, Central Coast, Lake Macquirie and Newcastle areas, enhance their home's best features to sell faster an at top dollar.
Along with running her Home Staging company, Donna is also studying a Diploma in interior design with the Interior Design institute in Sydney, Australia.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2122563
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