Karla M. Davis asked:




Home Staging while still new to some is sweeping the country with its amazing results. What is home staging you ask? What will it do for you in your real estate market? As a Professional Home Stager I’ll share the answers to these and other frequently asked questions so that you can learn the secrets to selling your home Fast and for Top Dollar!

What is Home Staging?

Home Staging, also know as home fluffing, or primping is a service whereby a Professional will provide expert advice to prepare your home for a sale and make it the most buyer-friendly and ready. The ultimate goal is have multiple interested buyers realize “This is the one. I love it!” Once you tap into the buyers’ emotions, their list of requirements can often become less important such as the extra bathroom they originally desired. Home Staging is the art of preparing your home properly with an objective eye to see what buyers see and make the appropriate changes to your home in terms of look and flow. The areas consist of furniture placement, flow of furniture, balance in a room, de-cluttering, general repairs, creating a clean, modern fresh look that one would find in a model home. This can be as simple as using your own furniture, or as creative as using rental furniture in an empty home, as well as the addition of small accessories where needed. It is key to remember that the cost of home staging is almost always less than the cost of a first price reduction.

What will Home Staging do for me?

Ultimately home staging is intended to get your home in shape for showings, open houses so that you can turn it over quickly and for the most amount of money possible. The idea is to not get caught up in costly price reductions, which is what happens when a home is not appealing to buyers. No matter what the real estate market is doing, it is important to remember that Staging sets your home apart from all the others that are your competition. Your home will look clean, fresh, revitalized, modern, and have a cozy feel of a home that the buyer is seeking out. In addition some simple De-cluttering can give your home a more inviting and spacious look.

It is unfortunate to me, the amount of people that have had their house on the market for more than 6 months and have price reductions hovering around $40-$60K. The whole point of home staging is that it creates a demand for your home because it will stand out. It is not uncommon for Staged homes to get offers that exceed the original asking price, which can lead to bidding wars in the sellers favor!

Is Home Staging really necessary to sell my home or can I get by without it?

Certainly many people have been selling their homes for years without the help of home stagers. So the question you have to ask yourself is how long do you want to sit with your home on the market, and how much money are you willing to lose in low offers and price reductions. Since these are the two most common frustrations that home owners face, I urge you to ask yourself how much time you have to waste waiting to sell your home. Again the idea is to set your home apart from all the others that have leaky taps, unusual paint colors and improper furniture placement since those items will make buyers weary of work ahead and wonder if their furniture will look right in a home like that.

What does Home Staging typically cost?

Staging a house can run from a few hundred dollars up to a few thousand dollars. The payoff is in the final selling price you get. It is such a vast range because you must take into consideration many things such as the square footage, price and condition of the house as well as if current furniture exists or if it needs to be replaced with rental or new furniture. Empty homes are a hard sell. This is why home builders’ have model homes. It is hard to envision the home until you can see a layout then have your own ideas of what your furnishings will look like there. Some homes just need a simple re-arrangement of furniture, placement of pictures and art and a new coat of paint along with some de-cluttering. Others require multiple small repairs, rental furniture, artwork, as well as landscaping. At the end of the day, it is best to listen to your Home Stager as they have your best interest at heart, since the results of your depend on it. Some Stagers charge by the hour and some charge by square foot. Myself, I charge by the project as to protect both the client as well as myself in terms of time and cost.

How do I choose a Home Stager in my Area?

You can look on the internet by doing a simple google search as is still your best bet as it will show you articles and websites of those in your area. I myself, reside in Orlando, FL and cover the Central Florida area. You might want to ask your Real Estate agent who they recommend, or if they use anyone that exclusively works for their Agency as this is common. Referrals are always a good way to go, as with any other service.

Most importantly you’ll want to know statistics. What I mean by this is how fast the homes sold, how many offers their clients got and what ultimately the selling price was. Was it their asking price, above that amount etc. If the client had their home on the market for many months and then decided to finally have it home staged what did they see as a result? Having a home that shows well with your personal taste is different from catering to the actual buyer’s emotions. Ultimately you as the seller only care about the final price and how long it takes to get it sold.

If you or someone you know lives in the Central Florida (Orlando) area, please feel free to refer them to me, I’d also be happy to answer any questions they may have. Due to popular demand we will be offering an email consultation service shortly whereby Florida and out of area clients can take a series of photos of their proposed rooms and send them to us by email. We then assess the photos and provide them with suggestions for improving the look and flow of the room and explain how to stage the room using props and accessories they may already have or can purchase for a nominal cost. Fee: $200 per room, Payment through paypal.

I wish for you the best of success in preparing for the sale of your home. As I always say-

Get it Staged. Get it Sold. Get Top Dollar!

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Jeffrey Lynn Johnson asked:




Gone are the days you could simply put a listing on the market and receive multiple offers in hours. But even with this crazy market homes are still selling IF they are (a) priced correctly and (b) look their absolute best. You and your real Estate agent can set the fair price based on the comparable homes being sold in your area and the price they are fetching.

Making a home look it’s very best is where home staging comes into play. Often for a small investment a seller can see huge returns in a short period of time. A good example is retail store windows that draw customers in with captivating visual marketing followed up by inviting, and even inspiring visual marketing inside a store. It really is no different when selling a home. Every home should look its very best from the curb to the back yard. Homes should look warm, inviting and inspire an air of “house pride” winning over the hearts of home shopping public.

Today more then ever it is imperative that all homes listed for sale look their absolute best, otherwise you run the risk of a home sitting on the market month after month while the asking price continues to drop ever lower. Here are 10 reasons you should hire a professional home stager to help stage your home and get that home sold!

1. You Will Make More Money. U.S. Housing and Urban Development reports that a staged home will sell, on average, 17% higher than an un-staged home. It makes more then cents it makes real money to stage a home.

2. Your House Will Sell Faster which = Less Headaches and Hassle. The New York Village Voice reported that the average number of days an un-staged home is on the market is 30.9 versus 13.9 for a staged home.

3. The Cost of Staging Doesn’t Cost A Dime. In a 2003 Home Gain Survey of over 2000 Realtors, it was discovered that sellers who spent up to $1000 staging their home recovered almost 200% of the cost in the sale of their home.

4. Most Home Sellers Can not View Their House Objectively. If you can’t see objectively, you can’t “package” effectively. Have a staging professional get your home into its most advantageous condition for showing.

5. Less Guesswork and “Do It Yourself”. A professional home stager can manage your projects from start to finish. Or, they can give you a detailed enough report based on their extensive knowledge and training to have you “do it yourself”.

6. Only 10% of Home buyers Can Visualize the Potential of a Home. That’s why staging a home is critical! You don’t want the advantages of your home overlooked and left up to the buyer’s imagination.

7. The Longer Your Home is on the Market, the Lower the Price Will Be, so STAGE FIRST! According to a National Association of Realtors survey, homes that sold after 4 weeks on the market sold for 6% less then ones within the first 4 weeks! Don’t be in a position where you have to lower your price…have your house staged.

8. The Money You Make May Be TAX FREE! Take advantage of a possible tax-free capital gain by getting every dollar possible!

9. Leaving Your House in “AS IS” Condition Will Help Sell the Competition. Right now the number of homes for sale on the market is at a record high. Competition is stiff and buyers have very high expectations. Successful agents know that the key to selling competing is professional staging.

10. You Can Relax. You will have the satisfaction of knowing you have done absolutely everything
possible to affect a quick sale of your most valuable commodity and for top dollar!

Now that you know some of the reasons to stage a home and the thought process that goes into staging, perhaps you’re considering hiring a professional stager. You’re probably asking yourself; how much does home staging services cost? Professional home stagers can offer a variety of levels of service, from consultations to full-service staging of a model home. Costs can vary depending on services required and home size. Some staging companies like Home Staging Design Pros offers their initial consultation free of charge so they can evaluate the need and provide a comprehensive pricing structure and customized proposal. In this case the seller has nothing to lose and may even get a lot of helpful hints in the process. Other staging companies charge a small fee for their consultations but then deduct it when the stager is hired. Either way every home put on the market should, at the very least, be visited by a home stager to evaluate the home’s visual impact, from a buyer’s eye, and discuss marketing strategies. Just remember, stagers are your helping hand when it come to the sale of your home. Be sure to take advantage of all your locale stager has to offer.

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