When getting your property ready for sale, every detail counts. Whether you’ve owned and lived in your property for a lifetime, or just recently purchased it as a fix and flip project, it’s going to need a little sprucing up before being put on the market.
First things first: clean up and declutter your space. Home buyers are picky, especially buyers looking for a turn key property. They want to see a space free and clear of junk and personalized items so that they can envision themselves living there. Envisioning themselves living their dream life in your property is a huge part of the buying process.
Build Their Vision
Although it may seem preferable for you to have your home completely empty before listing it for sale, your buyer most likely won’t see it the same way. One of the most important factors for a buyer is the ability to envision themselves living in that home, which is rather hard to do with an empty shell. This is where staging comes into play. Sure, your real estate agent will help you declutter and identify a few home improvement techniques, but they may not give you the best advice on how to stage a property.
A professional home stager is similar to an interior decorator, but instead of creating a space that fits your personal needs and taste, they create a space that is aesthetically pleasing to many different types of people. A home stager knows how important it is to make the buyer feel comfortable in the space by helping people envision their day to day lives there. You may think your eclectic décor has a great feel to it, but not everyone has the same taste as you. A home staging professional will help you find the perfect set up for your property. Depending on the items you currently have in the home, your stager will either pick and choose a few pieces to add to the collection or completely revamp the entire home!
Spend Money to Make Money
You’ve probably heard the phrase “you need to spend money to make money,” and this scenario is no different. Hiring a professional stager could cost you anywhere from $500 to $5,000 depending on the size of your space and the amount of changes that need to be made. This investment is one to consider because buyers are picky, and a well-staged home will always stand out in the market. In fact, a Coldwell Banker study concluded that staged homes tend to sell for 6% above asking price, and spend less time on the market!
An empty home will make the rooms in your property look much smaller than they actually are. Filling your home with modern furniture and decorative fixtures will bring the space to life! Thanks to the increasing popularity of the fix and flip industry, there are a multitude of home options available for every buyer! In order to sell yours, and to sell it quick, you need to give your viewers the impression of a lifelike, cozy environment. A properly staged home will help you turn the highest profit on your property, without having it sit on the market for months at a time! Remember, the longer your property sits on the market, the more soft costs you accumulate.
Accentuate Your Property
A good stager has a warehouse full of items ready to place strategically around your home. Whether you just completed a rehab on a rundown property and need to fill an entire empty house, or just a few smaller pieces to make your lived-in condo “pop,” your stager will be there to help!
Your professional stager will help you find ways to accentuate your property – maybe by turning your small guest bedroom into an office by simply removing a full-size bed and replacing it with a small desk. This will give the impression of a larger space; the stager will teach you how to work with what you already have to grab the buyer’s attention.
Not only are you paying your stager to fill your home with the nicest furniture, textiles and décor, you are also hiring them to add the finishing touches before you have an open house or showing of your property. They may spruce up the place with a few fresh flowers, or even go as far as popping a few cookies in the oven to fill the home with a delicious aroma, again, bringing the property to life.
Staging a property takes a lot of work, and a lot of materials. Sure, you can plan to set it up yourself, but you may not be as prepared – or have the same resources – as the pros. Save yourself time and money in the long run by hiring someone to stage the property for you!
Good idea! I am just starting flipping houses and from all the research I’ve done I came to the conclusion that staging your home for sell will shorten the time the house spends on the market. Since I am going to borrow most of the money, the shorter holding time will result in smaller holding costs that will offset the cost of the staging.