Reluctant to stage your home ? I get it.

You are reluctant to stage your home, I get it. You love it as it is, so why shouldn’t someone else. You took time to pick out that purple/orange/lime green paint for the bathroom. You love the layout in your family room with those 2 comfy sofas you have had forever, where the dog loves to curl up. Your wall of family photos makes you happy and no, you don’t have a bed skirt, they are too much trouble. I get it.

So here lies the problem and might be the reason your home isn’t selling as quickly as you had hoped. How does that purple paint in your bathroom look in your online images. Does it make a small room look even smaller and darker. Does the floral shower curtain look too busy. Does it really show off the good points you are trying to emphasize in that room.  Does the lack of a bed skirt, lumpy, flat pillows and mismatched bedding say “Serene Master Bedroom”

You may think that your home looks perfect and is ready to sell, but remember: not everyone likes green paint in their living room or a floral bedspread in the master bedroom. Both men and woman want to envision themselves in your master bedroom. Show the buyer there’s enough space for both. You’re going to need to stage your home.

When listing a home, especially if you haven’t been involved in the world of real estate for a few years, you make the mistake of assuming that everyone walking in for a showing has the same taste as your family, and it would sell in no time. After two or three months on the market and zero interest, it may be time to switch things up a bit. Despite your reluctance to change the place you called home for 20 years, calling in an expert who does this for a living could be a game changer.

I sometimes have clients who are resistant to staging a home (a realtor may have called me in to be the bearer of bad news) but by the time I have done a staging consult they are starting to “get it”. Even newer homes need staging. One particular client was dead set against staging, but the area and price bracket their home was in, dictated the presentation required to sell. After a few days and a lot of persuading on the part of the realtor and input from my report they finally decided to go ahead.

Result, the home sold in 3 days after I staged.  A similar home, 3 doors down had been on the market for 6 months and had had a price reduction, which was far more than the cost to stage.

Change is hard but sometimes necessary and getting the right advice can make the process so much easier.

 

 

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www.prepstaging.com

902 489 6162

Using moveable colour in home staging

You hear the word “neutral” all the time when talking about home staging but neutral has many different meanings. Using neutrals on large elements in a home makes sense. Flooring, surfaces, wall treatments etc. are large investments and a homebuyer wants to know these will be elements they can live with for many years. Having said that, if your home has features that date it, there are techniques home stagers can use to enhance the positive features and using “moveable colour” is one way to do that effectively.

 

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Colour moves us. It attracts us and stirs our emotions. I have seen many homes where the homeowners have put some staging techniques in to play by decluttering, depersonalizing and removing every last accessory etc. until they are left with a bland, beige box. Yes, you can go too far when preparing a home for sale, removing focal points, colour and anything that will attract a buyer to those online images.

Movable color in items a seller can take with them can update a home for very little cost. Moveable colors are bedding, towels, area rugs, artwork and accessories. By adding pops of colour to every room you instantly freshen and add interest but they have to be the right colours in the right amounts.

Stagers know how to get this right. We stage to highlight positives, create focal points and showcase a home that will attract your target buyer. If your home is occupied, very often we can use what you have, in a way you may not have thought about. If moveable colour is needed to add the finishing touches, we can make you a list of items needed and recommend where to find the best prices or we can shop for you or rent items from our staging inventory.

 

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With a vacant home a stager will choose the furniture, accessories and moveable items that will best highlight your property and appeal to your buyer.

You only get one chance to impress and cutting corners will only hurt your home sale. A small investment ensures you have your best foot forward from day 1 and saves you time and $$$$ by doing it the right way.

 

A little Prep

Home Staging in Fall

Home Staging for a Fall buyer

What could be better than a cable knit throw, a good book and a comfortable chair on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Sounds good doesn’t it, chances are your home buyers would love it too. Selling a property nowadays requires careful marketing. You aren’t just selling four walls, you are selling a lifestyle, a feeling, a place where memories will be made and you are asking buyers to invest in your property with their hard earned $$$$$$’s.

Image : Farm Gate Imaging

As a home stager and photo stylist my job is to market a product in the most attractive way possible to drive sales for my clients. Setting the stage,  to woo home buyers, apartment seekers and retail  consumers to choose to purchase your product over the competition’s. Sounds pretty straightforward right, but a lot of thought, time and effort goes into each and every project I do. Every home is different, every product comes with unique attributes and challenges. How you present a property (your product) changes with the seasons. Colour, texture and pattern all evoke a feeling, a lifestyle, whether a buyer is aware or not. Emotions are a large part of the buying process. Evoke the right emotions from a buyer and your home will stand out, be seen and attract attention.

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Two words. Details matter. Even the smallest ones. When the business of living takes over your home, many things go unnoticed that a buyer will pick up on in 2 seconds flat. Those flat as a pancake pillows on the old sofa mean many happy nights of kicking back and watching your show on Netflix, but to buyers it looks shabby. Not quite the look they envisioned for the living room they will entertain friends and family in. Yes you say, they are only pillows but all these little things add up and to get the buyers with the offer you are looking for it takes putting your best foot forward, every time you show your home.

 

Image Farm Gate Imaging

 

So have a good look at your surroundings, scrutinize every room, every closet, every nook and cranny. Your online images can make or break a sale and with all the resources available nowadays it is easier than ever to get your home in tip top selling condition. A great real estate agent, realistic pricing, professional looking presentation and images will get you well on your way to hanging that SOLD sign.

 

All images by Farm Gate Imaging

Online images make or break a sale

We all keep hearing over 90% of buyers are searching for their dream home on line . A captive audience,or is it? Bad images don’t entice a buyer, grab their attention or do any listing justice. A great picture should stop a prospective buyer in their tracks enough to investigate that listing further and arrange a viewing. There is no way to get people in the front door if they don’t like the image on the screen. We see it all the time. Agents eager to get a listing on the market snapping a home that is nowhere near ready to be photographed, with a cell phone camera or a good quality camera for that matter. Having a better than average camera doesn’t guarantee good images. It’s not what you have, it’s how you use it! Not marketing a property with all the tools available in this day and age is doing a client a great disservice.

Before staging
Before staging

 

Staging and professional photography has to be seen as a very worthwhile investment. The two go hand in hand. A home can be beautifully staged and ready for buyers but bad lighting and odd angles don’t do it justice in the eyes of a buyer. Having professional pictures done of a home that has not had the trained eye of a Home stager do at least do a consult at the property, is not maximizing the potential of a client’s largest investment.

After staging
After staging

 

In the images above you can see the before and after. In the first first image the room has awkward furniture placement and too much has been removed, leaving it sparce and uninviting. Only one section of the room is featured, leaving it to the imagination how much space there really is. Light is poor out and even the wall colour is not true. The second image after the room has been rearranged and a few items from my staging inventory have been added for colour and interest. You can see the whole room, light is balanced and you can see the view outdoors. Some light staging was all that was needed in this home but it made a vast difference. This property was sold within 3 weeks after staging and professional photography.

If you were in the market to buy a home either for yourself or as an investment, ask yourself this: Would the pictures you take draw your attention to the property?

A good picture is worth a thousand buyers.

prepstaging.com

902 489 6162