Whether you’re planning to sell your home in six weeks or six months, it’s never too early to call a home staging company. The role of a stager is vital to preparing your home to enter the real estate market. They help you decide what to repair before you list and know precisely how to draw a buyer’s eye to that perfect bay window or exquisite fireplace. Most of all, since they don’t live in your home, they can be objective about what should go and what should stay.
“Knowing what to remove from your home is where most people struggle,” says home stager Beth Walder, owner of Turn Key Homes – turnkeyhomes.ca. “Stagers can see a room and how a potential buyer is going to look at it. We can direct the buyer’s eye to key features of the room with the right lighting, furniture, or artwork.”
The staging process begins with a consultation that takes about one and a half to two hours. The stager will go through your home and make a list of suggested modifications, including what should be removed, added, repaired or rearranged. You will be provided with a list of recommendations, decide what jobs to tackle yourself, or hire the staging company to help. Typically, it’s a combination of both, and the stager will provide a quote for the various options. You may be able to tackle jobs such as putting away personal
items and repainting a room but hire the stager to choose the right accents and do the final editing. The stager can also be hired to help with all stages of the preparation, including packing boxes and decluttering.
If you’re reluctant to hire a stager because you think it might be too expensive, think again. Taking the time to invest in preparing the home will increase the offer amount and result in a shorter period the home is on the market.
“If a client looks at the list and thinks, ‘this is too much work,’ that’s how a potential buyer will feel,” says Beth, “There’s a greater chance of more offers if buyers don’t see a lot of work or think they’ll have to spend money once they move in.”
It’s important to make sure a room is minimalist and for closets to appear spacious. A room with too many items will confuse the eye, and a potential buyer may be too distracted to see its potential. Many homeowners don’t consider what’s in their closets. Let’s be clear, buyers will open your closet doors to see how much storage is available. An overcrowded closet or cupboard, or even additional shelving, can give the appearance there is not enough storage room, and that can be off-putting to a potential buyer.
The colour of the rooms can have a dramatic impact on the appearance of size and space. If an update is recommended, the stager will suggest two or three neutral colours that work with your décor and lighting to create a flow throughout the home. Potential buyers don’t want to imagine repainting their new home, so it’s preferable to give the illusion of less work.
“The money a homeowner will invest in updates is a lot less than the first price reduction a realtor will make if there’s no interest in the home,” Beth points out. “Repairs and updates may cost as much as one or two thousand dollars, but a reduction in your home price would start at 10 to 15 thousand.”
Also keep in mind that in the current climate, many potential buyers are first looking online to narrow down their search. It’s more important than ever to ensure your home looks like a showroom.
Consulting with a stager before you’re ready to list will eliminate unnecessary stress and give you more time to prepare. Stagers like to have a home set up before it goes on the market, and some repairs take longer than others, so the sooner you book that consultation, the better.
Written By Julie Achtermeier
