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Susan, I believe that home staging is when you or in this case, a professional decorator, fix up a home to make it more saleable. This often involves repainting, de-cluttering, repairs, replacing tired furniture and anything else that would make the house look its very best. The cable channels are full of shows about this process - Sell This House is the one that comes to mind. When the market is glutted as it is now, this can make one house stand out in the crowd.
It's when a "decorator" comes into your home to "set the stage" to sell your home. There are so many tricks to making your home look more attractive to potential buyers, that this can actually be a very lucrative business, given the right area.
Side note: Be aware of "housewives-with-a-flair" when hiring a designer. I've spent many years studying to become a designer, the term "decorator" makes me crazy!
Just put a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and clear out the non-essentials. Smart buyers will measure the total square footage of a house, so making it look bigger rarely works.
People who are the most agreeable to hiring a designer are usually housewives with flair.
Just put a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and clear out the non-essentials. Smart buyers will measure the total square footage of a house, so making it look bigger rarely works.
I took a month and a half staging my house in California before I sold it. Yeah, I had tons of clutter and stuff to get rid if. You CAN make a place look bigger and more inviting by staging.
I understand that the market was alot hotter 1.5-2 years ago, but my experience was as follows...
The house hit the MLS system at 10:00am on a Friday morning. We had tickets to fly to North Cariolina to look at houses late that afternoon. I got a call from my realator just before my flight boarded and she told me there were 2 offers being written up already. By the time we got back on Tuesday we has SIX solid offers on the table, all but one of them for more than asking price. And we prices our house a bit on the high side to begin with!
We had to cancel the open house that was scheduled for the following Sunday.
I took a month and a half staging my house in California before I sold it. Yeah, I had tons of clutter and stuff to get rid if. You CAN make a place look bigger and more inviting by staging.
I understand that the market was alot hotter 1.5-2 years ago, but my experience was as follows...
The house hit the MLS system at 10:00am on a Friday morning. We had tickets to fly to North Cariolina to look at houses late that afternoon. I got a call from my realator just before my flight boarded and she told me there were 2 offers being written up already. By the time we got back on Tuesday we has SIX solid offers on the table, all but one of them for more than asking price. And we prices our house a bit on the high side to begin with!
We had to cancel the open house that was scheduled for the following Sunday.
Never said it wouldn't look bigger, but unless you knocked down some walls, it was the same size as before. Only gullable buyers would offer more money after the clean up than before. Square feet is square feet. A smart buyer would have used the clutter as bargaining leverage.
In your case, the offers were made not because the house was staged, but because you took out the clutter. You could have had an empty house (saved on the staging), and the same offers would have been the result; especially with the market being so hot at that time.
Just put a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and clear out the non-essentials. Smart buyers will measure the total square footage of a house, so making it look bigger rarely works.
People who are the most agreeable to hiring a designer are usually housewives with flair.
Staging is not necessarily an effort to make a house look bigger. It is usually done to help sellers make their home look more desireable in a competitive market. A small house is a small house, no matter how much you try to "fake it". There are several key points used in staging (here are just a few):
1. Remove all clutter (i.e. "collectibles" of any kind). "Busy" rooms confuse the eye.
2. Get rid of any wallpaper that has too much pattern or is peeling. Walls painted in neutral tones are always a better "sell".
3. Opt for bedding/comforters that are mono-chromatic, again not too much pattern.
4. Repair any leaks, cracks or nail pops on walls.
5. Make sure bathroom tiles are not loose or missing grout.
6. Wash your windows (believe it or not, this one is very important!)
7. Sense of smell is important. Buy one of those "Airwick" or "Glade" plug ins. I always use the vanilla scented ones in kitchens. It smells like someone just baked a cake. Use "fresh scents in closets or bathrooms. Be careful not to over-perfume your home. That can be a turn-off.
8.Clean your house before you have anyone in to see it...yes, first impressions are always most important.... You would think that this one is a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised what condition some homes are in when people are attempting to sell them. (Years ago, I walked into a home that looked beautiful on the outside, but when I walked into one of the bedrooms, there was dirty underwear, socks and assorted laundry all over the floor and a large hole over the bed....hmmmm?!)
Believe me, I understand how difficult it is to keep a house clean while your house is on the market, but it really makes all the difference, when it's time to cut a deal. I also understand that the points listed above should be common knowledge...you'd be surprised what people deem as acceptible!
By the way, I wasn't implying that "housewives with a flair" don't hire designers. In fact most of them don't need designers, they usually already have a very good sense of style. I was cautioning people to hiring those persons that think they know the difference between, for example, a load-bearing wall and and a non-load-bearing wall. I apologize for making a somewhat sexist statement...
.....mea culpa.
Last edited by stmaarten; 11-04-2006 at 01:29 PM..
Reason: content and grammar
Wow - great imput everyone! It seems like houses sell so fast in NC. I hope there are still some good ones available when I come down in a few months. I' headed toward the Concord area.
thanks everyone!
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Home staging
