What is Staging?

 Elaine Ramirez, Accredited Staging Professional
Published in the Argus Courier Newspaper 02/2005

What is staging? Staging is the process of preparing any home for sale, regardless of price or location.  Staging is a proven method and technique. When you get ready to place your home on the market, it becomes a product, and just like any other product on the market for sale, buyers will compare one product to another by weighing the benefits and deficiencies of each.

The reasons you should stage your home are the same reasons you detail your car when you put it up for sale.  Just think of the things you do to sell your vehicle-- you clean it inside and out, shampoo the carpets, clean out the glove box and polish the chrome. Staging a home is similar –you want to clean your home so it shines, and you want to present your home in its best possible light to get top dollar for your property.

In general when staging your home, try to look at your house “through a buyer’s eyes” as though you’ve never seen it before.  This little exercise will help you see what needs to be done.  The first impression when a buyer drives up to your home is critical. Walk across the street and look at it. Be tough on yourself---what do you see?  Take a hard look at the front door and trim- does it need repainting?  Paint is the least expensive thing you can do to dress up your home.  How is your landscaping?  Are there dead plants in the flowerbeds, any moss on the walkway or old newspapers in the driveway?  A freshly swept front porch with a bright new doormat can do wonders.

When you visit a new home subdivision you will notice that the model homes you’re most attracted to are the ones that are sparsely decorated. In a re-sale home you need to create space so buyers can visualize themselves living in your home.  A good way to accomplish this is by packing early. Rent a temporary storage facility if necessary in order to reduce your clutter. Pack up your collections; although dear to you, collections become a distraction for buyers from the desired focal point…your home. Reduce the number of books in your bookshelves. Remove unnecessary objects, including family portraits from countertops, coffee tables, dressers, walls and floors.  Your goal is to de-clutter and de-personalize!

Make your home spacious! Rearrange and remove furniture--take out the table leaf from your dining room table to make the room feel larger.  If you have a sofa, love seat and two chairs, then remove the sofa.  Rearrange your furniture so it doesn’t block the flow of traffic. Try to imagine 5 people in the room--Realtor, hubby, wife, and two kids, does the room feel spacious or cramped? Make each room will feel larger than it actually is.

When you walk from room to room stand in the doorway and look inside.  Does the room’s appearance make you want to enter or turn the other way? Is the room dark in one corner?  Then place a lamp there and leave it on during showings. What’s the focal point of the room- if it’s the fireplace for instance, then dress up the mantel with one or three decorative items. If the bed is the focal point then dress it up too- treat yourself to a new bedspread (neutral), pillows and linens; it’ll fresh up the entire room.  If your bathroom is dull, then accessorize it with bright new bath towels, a matching shower curtain, and bath mat.  If your living room furniture is worn then purchase neutral slipcovers and add small decorative pillows. Take down the multi-colored mini blinds and replace them with tan roman shades from Target. There are so many inexpensive items you can purchase to help sell your home, and the best part of all--you can take them with you to your new home!

More and more Realtors are recommending their clients to stage their homes, because staged homes sell quicker and for more money in most cases. For more information on how to stage your property, please contact Elaine Ramirez at (707) 762-5611, or toll free (877)593-1198.

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Robert and Elaine Ramirez
707-762-5611
hometeam@petalumahomes.com