MYTH: Staging is INTERIOR DESIGN
TRUTH: Interior Design personalizes a home to reflect the individual homeowner’s style and taste. Staging depersonalizes a home so that it will appeal to the broadest potential market of homebuyers. This is the key to hiring a professional who markets the seller’s home, not furnishings and accessories.
As Staging Professionals, we subscribe to a “less is more” philosophy. Whether using the seller’s furnishings and accessories or bringing in our own, we add just enough to give the home warmth and dimension, but little enough to allow potential buyers to “visualize” their own things in the home. We also adjust placement of furnishings, look at window coverings and address lighting issues so that the home is perceived to be as spacious and bright as possible.
MYTH: Staging IS TOO EXPENSIVE
TRUTH: Staging is a powerful marketing tool. It costs significantly less than the first price reduction and also reduces the risk of paying ongoing mortgage fees, utilities, taxes, HOA dues, etc. that are incurred monthly as the house sits on the market. Staging reduces the possibility of leaving “thousands of dollars on the table” which may occur when a home is NOT prepared to reflect its maximum perceived value.
We are trained to work within an individual’s budget. As an alternative to Staging homes, we can provide a Consultation (and Written Report when requested), giving sellers the tools to Stage their home themselves. In most markets, Consultations and Written Reports cost less than Appraisals or Home Inspection Reports.
MYTH: I Can LEARN FROM HGTV
TRUTH: The shows that air on HGTV and TLC help homeowners realize that they should do something to prepare their homes for sale. The question is…”WHAT?” An objective opinion from a Staging professional provides the seller with ideas for accenting the positive attributes in their home while de-emphasizing problem areas. This professional guidance can help in preparing the home properly so that it is STAGED and SOLD in the shortest amount of time and for the best possible price in the home’s current market.
MYTH: All I Need is Lights, Flowers & Music
TRUTH: These things add warmth to a home. However, Staging is much more. It is part science, part intuition and is based on the same basic principles as interior design, requiring an acute eye to execute properly. About 10% of the population has these skills and if you are one of these people, you may be able to Stage your home yourself, following the guidelines in a Consultation and Written Report. However, for the remainder of the population, the “intuitive” part of Home Staging escapes them. If you find yourself saying, “It just doesn’t look quite right, but I don’t know why”, call a Staging Professional to transform the home into a property that potential buyers will fall in love with and want to purchase.