Home Staging Errors To Avoid

More and more agents and brokers are beginning to recognize the importance and benefits that comes with real estate staging before putting the properties they represent on the market. But what they fail to realize can waste valuable time, create undue pressures and stress, and sink valuable resources into a black hole. There actually is a science to house staging.

Here are a few of the issues that cause many agents to stumble when trying to stage a home according to Barbara Jennings, director of the Academy of Staging and Redesign.

1) Inability to advise sellers of the benefits of redesign – No seller looks forward to spending more money to prepare their home to sell. Yet it is a rare home that requires little to no work. But if the proper tasks are done right, it is amazing how costs for redesign are reduced while making a dramatic improvement in the look and feeling of the home.

2) Inability to keep from offending the sellers – No one likes to be told that their home is a mess, that their decorating efforts are dreary or dreadful, that their home is in disrepair, or that it smells terrible. So getting the truth across to a seller without totally offending them is an art that few agents have mastered. This is one reason why it helps dramatically to bring in a professional stager to give the bad news, keeping the seller/agent relationship in tact.

3) Ignorance of interior design concepts – One cannot hope to properly conduct a proper house staging service if one does not know basic redesign concepts. How much furniture is kept in each room and where it is placed are crucial elements to successful staging of the property.

4) Failure to go far enough in the staging concepts – Knowing how much to do is as important as knowing what to do when it comes to house staging. Far too often untrained beginners are afraid. Fear immobilizes. You really only get one chance to launch a home for sale for the greatest impact. So if it is not handled properly the chance is lost, or at the very least, it is downgraded.

5) Failure to hire professionals to manage the staging – Reducing costs is always a concern and no one like the idea of spending money to make money. But when it comes to house staging, spending money is often required. There are many tasks that will not involve money, such as rearranging furniture and accessories however. Professional stagers are the most reliable people to lean on when it comes to good redesign techniques.

Because home staging is so important, it is something that we offer to all our clients when they list with us.  Contact us to learn more if this is something that you are interested in having along with your listing.