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Staging and Decorating to Sell your Home
Staging aims for quick, profitable home sale!
Staging is a relatively new concept in the residential resale market. But new-home builders have been staging homes with good results for decades. It’s not uncommon for a builder to pre-sell an entire housing development of unfinished homes by using a few decorated models.
To understand why staging helps sell homes, consider why model homes sell new homes that don’t yet exist? Most model homes are well decorated; they look inviting and livable. They fulfill a fantasy of the way many buyers would like to live. Your aim when you stage your home for sale is to present it at it’s best. Staging can involve a minimal effort like painting a few rooms and rearranging furniture to show the home off to its advantage. For some sellers, however, staging is a monumental project involving hiring a fix-up-for-sale decorator who rents a home full of furniture complete with art work, and house plants.
Before buyers decide to buy a home, they mentally move in. If your home is loaded with too much stuff – as most of our homes are – this mental process may be impossible. That’s why most sellers start with de-cluttering. Removing clutter and excess furniture will improve the salability of your home even if you do nothing else.
Staging doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You can develop a staging plan based on what you can afford to pay. Work with your agent to create a list of staging projects that you will ideally complete before showing your home. Then get estimates for jobs you can’t do such as painting, household repairs or landscaping. If your financial resources are limited, ask your agent to prioritize the list.
Staging will help sell your home faster and for a higher price. It’s not a must, but it makes good sense. Also consider that real estate agents like to show homes that show well. The more your home is shown, the more likely you are to have a quick, profitable sale.
Dian Hymer is author of “Starting out, The Complete Home Buyer’s Guide,”
Chronicle Books.
Prepare your home properly for a quicker sale.
Proven decorating assistance created by Linda Whitehead.
UA-17861956-2
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