Staging Your Home

SANDPOINT IDAHO REAL ESTATE 

What is staging and why should I do it?

Staging is the art and science of making a house more inviting and appealing to potential buyers. House Staging can be as simple as moving a few pieces of furniture and de-cluttering or, it might also involve basic changes such as painting, replacing carpeting, updating lighting fixtures or buying new appliances.

Hiring a staging professional to assists a Realtor and/or homeowner by assessing the overall impression a potential buyer may have of the home may be outside your budget. This is our top 5 biggest bang for your buck home staging tips:

Top 5 biggest bang for your buck home staging tips

1. Paint. Painting is cheap and can do wonders at making a home look clean, fresh and move in ready.
   
2. Pack your things. Pack family photos, personal effects and pretty much anything that isn't necessary. Maybe, leave a few books on the shelves for color, the more it looks like an Ikea showroom the better.
   
3. Lighting. Get some quality full spectrum bulbs and put in a lamp when necessary. Lighting plays a huge role in the overall mood of a room and costs almost nothing.
   
4. Everyone has heard of curb appeal. Mow your lawn, rake your leaves, go get some planter boxes and make the place pop.
   
5. If at all possible, do something with your pet. Sure, you love Fido but to a potential buyer, your barking dog is distracting and potentially causing damage to the property. Even a well-behaved pet may turn off potential buyers, there is a reason rental properties require a pet deposit.
   

First impressions are critical and that opinion - good or bad - is formulated within 15-90 seconds of entering a house.

When you get ready to place a home on the market for sale, it becomes a product, just like any product on the shelves at your local store.  It has features and benefits, pluses and minuses, and there are other products to compete with.  To gain an edge in your marketplace, you must be priced right and look better than the competition.

Staging a property is a smart investment!  It sends the message of a well-cared-for home.  By creating a series of first impressions, and showcasing your home’s best features, the buyer connects emotionally and is able to visualize living there. 

Staging is to place the home in the best showcase condition, so it sells at the best possible price in the shortest possible time.  The feeling to convey is de-personalized and de-cluttered so the potential buyer can see the house and its features, not the current homeowner’s “stuff”; the best view of each room, the best traffic pattern through the home and the best curb appeal.  This is to make the buyer feel AT HOME, not in YOUR home.