To Stage or Not to Stage?

The answer is probably! If your home is nicely decorated, clutter free, and CLEAN, you probably don't need to stage your home for sale. The outside should be neatly landscaped, windows clean, and the entry to the home should be inviting. I list a lot of homes that don’t need anything done and are ready to show. I’ve sold real estate in Texas as well and am really impressed how Jonesboro women are so talented at decorating. On the other hand, I've shown a lot of homes and it's not very impressive when you reach the front door and see cobwebs, piled leaves, etc. at the entrance. The buyer's are already commenting about it and we haven't even entered the home yet. But if the exterior looks neat and clean, the buyer's are impressed and anxious to see the inside.

The inside of the home, above all else, should be clean and clutter free. Each room should be arranged to showcase the features of that room and to make each room appear spacious. De-personalizing a home is very important as well. I’ve shown so many homes that have a lot of personal photos and the potential buyers are too busy looking at photos and miss the features of the home. Plus, it’s hard for them to imagine living there themselves with the current owners family photos everywhere.

However, you don’t want to over stage either. When a home is obviously staged, buyers seem to put up a guard. I’ve even heard buyers tell their spouse, “This home has been staged, they want us to fall in love with it and pay top dollar for it.” Then they will go on and tell me how they watch HGTV and they know all “the tricks”. So to avoid over staging, be careful not to make the home look like a model home and unlived in. When you stage a home, you still want it to feel warm and inviting like a “home”, not a staged “house”.

As far as vacant homes, it’s been my experience that subtle touches with accessories can help a lot without the expense of furnishing the home. The whole point of staging is for your home to appeal to buyers without spending a lot of your equity on staging. I’ve seen people spend over $2,000. on staging and the home would have sold for the same price with less expensive staging techniques. Sorry professional Stagers! See the photos below of an example of a new house I staged and sold within 30 days.

And lastly, you want your photos for advertising to look appealing to buyers searching online or in a magazine. If you follow the advice above, your photos will look nice, appealing and will attract potential buyers.

Hope this helps!

Sheila