Home staging is an established real estate tactic, used by successful realtors and home sellers around the world. Home staging is ideal for unoccupied homes, creating life and interest in an otherwise barren space and allowing buyers to better see the full potential.

Home staging is the best way to get the most money for your property as you bring it to market. Home staging is all about designing your home with getting it sold in mind… and for more money!

The small amount of financial resources it takes to stage a home is not money spent, but money invested. If you think you don’t have the money to spend on staging your home, think again.

There are many simple things you can do that don’t cost a lot of money. For example, taking care of simple repairs that are needed will allow for higher asking prices. You can also remove or replace old fixtures and appliances that make your home look outdated.

Home staging could be the difference between selling your home quickly for a good profit, or having your home sit on the market for months on end. Furnished homes sell more quickly and for more money than unfurnished houses because it helps the buyer picture themselves living in that space.

Several independent studies have proven that staging your home results in a faster sale at a higher price than a home that isn’t staged. Typically, staged homes sold 35% quicker and for 6.9% more money. Staging your home increases your chances of a faster sale at the highest expected market value. If you’re selling in a poor housing market, staging your home sells it faster, and for more money in a hot market.

Home staging is the key that unlocks a buyer’s emotions and helps them connect to your home. The reason home staging works so well is because it sets the stage throughout the home to create instant buyer interest in your property.

If you’re selling in winter, there are a lot of things you can do to encourage buyers to keep coming back. These tips will help you provide a warm, welcoming atmosphere in your home and encourage buyers to stay longer than they would otherwise.

Keep your home scrupulously clear of ice and snow. Remove ice and snow from the roof and ensure the gutters are clean. The last thing you need is someone slipping and falling in or near your house; it doesn’t say much for the perceived safety of the property. Ensure that there is safe parking that is easy for the buyer to access.

Stage your home like you would for any other time of the year: remove dirt and clutter. Make sure that your general cleaning includes the windows – inside and out, so that nothing appears dirty. Homes can get dirtier and appear a lot dingier in winter, so be extra diligent about the cleaning. A clean, warm house is the first step to a perfect winter home staging.

If at all possible, arrange showings in the daytime, to allow the natural light to brighten your home. Also make sure that you have ample outdoor lighting in case there is a showing just before or after dark. The path or sidewalk to your door should be generously illuminated. Consider stringing cheap but attractive Japanese-style lanterns or other inexpensive lighting along a dark path or walkway.

Put attractive looking welcome mats on both sides of the door to help minimize mess and drips. Make sure there is adequate accommodation for coats, hats and other belongings that need a temporary home while the tour is being conducted.

Keep your home just warm enough to be comfortable for someone in a sweater. Most people will be wearing coats or long sleeves at this time of year; set the thermostat to a temperature that will keep them in the house rather than rushing outside for the coolness of a freezing night or the warmth of their car heater. A fireplace can add some extra warmth and also provide a cozy ambiance, if it is safely contained, supervised and extinguished.

A few hours before your prospective buyers are due to come, open some windows and doors for a change of air. This will keep the home smelling fresh and avoid stale smells. A regularly aired-out home also doesn’t tend to attract lingering odors.

You may also want to introduce a smell or two traditionally associated with winter cheer. Chocolate chip cookies smell heavenly and, left for your guests to enjoy, may leave a lasting impression. Other winter smells are apple cider, cinnamon, nutmeg and fresh baked bread. Hot cocoa left out can also encourage guests to stay around for longer.

Use soft, thick coverings and throws on beds and couches. If you are repainting, try for warm colors that emphasize the comfort of your home. Hang thick, plush robes in the bathrooms. Use fabrics and colors that feel luxurious on the skin and look good to the eye.

A little work on your part to bring the warmth and comfort of your family home out for your prospective buyers can reward you with a quicker sale. Don’t hesitate to do a little extra to make your home appear inviting this winter; it can really pay off!

Many design-oriented individuals decide to become home stagers without any kind of business training or marketing knowledge. While they mean well, they often stumble into some terrible marketing tactics that will likely put them out of business faster than you can say, “What were they thinking?”

In part one of this article series, I discussed why using sex appeal and inappropriate humor are awful ideas for home stagers trying to build their businesses and be taken seriously.Today I’ll share another marketing tactic that will probably put your home staging business under:

Offering a guaranteed sale

It’s surprising how many ways home stagers can find to bankrupt their businesses. I recently heard that some home stagers are now guaranteeing the sales of their clients’ homes.

In a tough economy and slow real estate market, one can guess why a home seller would want a guarantee when they’re investing in home staging services, and one can see why a home stager would be tempted to provide it, knowing how effective staging is in getting a quicker sale and wanting to do anything to attract new business. But, if a stager is in business for the long run, they really have to explore the business rationale behind providing a sales guarantee.

I am against home stagers making any guarantee of a real estate sale from their staging because of the numerous factors involved that the stager has no control over. No matter how well a home is staged, there are several factors that will help determine whether a home sells or not.

For example:

• Is the house being listed in the right season? (Christmas and Spring Break are known for being poor times for real estate sales)
• Is the house priced correctly for its location, size and market conditions?
• Does the house have the features buyers are looking for in that area? If it’s a one bedroom home in a family neighborhood, it’s going to be a tough sell no matter how well it’s staged.
• Will the agent do an effective job of marketing the property?
• Will the home seller maintain the home in showing-ready condition 100% of the time?
• Is the home seller going to make it easy to show by not requiring lengthy notice, preventing showings during certain times, etc.?
• Will the home seller keep the house sparking clean and odor free during all showings?
• How are the agent and home seller going to handle offers they receive? Negotiations break down all the time for different reasons.
• Will the home seller accept any offer? More goes into an offer than the price.
• Will the home pass inspections?
• What if the buyer doesn’t get financing and the deal doesn’t close?
• What if there’s a natural disaster, political or economic event that interferes with the real estate market when the house is listed?

A home stager can guarantee that a house will show better when it’s staged, but they can’t guarantee a sale unless they’re prepared to buy the property themselves! It’s a much better business practice to gather statistics from past clients about the average amount of time properties remain on the market after you stage them and how that compares to similar properties in that price range at the time.

Collect testimonials and be prepared to share your track record and show off your knowledge of the local real estate market, but don’t guarantee a home sale.

In the third and final installment in this article series, I’ll discuss why giving away free advice can sink your home staging business.

Home owners who are putting their homes up for sale must be aware of the importance of staging their home. Why is staging a home important? Because staging a home is all about maximizing the potential of a home and minimizing its flaws with the end goal of receiving the best possible value of the home, in the shortest time frame possible, and doing so in the most economical way.

There are many tricks to the trade that home owners can use and the internet is a great source for finding these ideas, tips and techniques. Some of the ways home owners, real estate agents or home stagers can show the home in the best possible light are as follows:

- De-clutter by removing all knick knacks, photos, souvenirs, personal items, mess, etc.
- Clean all rooms from top to bottom, vacuum carpets, wash dishes, and ensure everything is dust free
- Deodorize, this is particularly important if there are pets, smokers or cooking smells. Place fresh flowers as centerpieces
- Organize closet and storage areas. Remove junk and place extraneous items into storage
- Address any and all repairs
- Countertops and shelves should not be filled with food and appliances. You want your kitchen space to appear large, clean and functional
- Ensure there is good lighting by keeping blinds / drapes drawn, replace burnt out light bulbs
- Have soft background music playing in the background
- Ensure each room has a set function
- Ensure traffic flow is smooth and uninterrupted by ensuring proper placement of furniture

Statistics show that potential buyers make their decision to purchase your home in the first 60 seconds upon seeing a house. Statistics also show that well staged homes sell for 40-50% faster than their competition. First impression is the key to selling your home fast and for top dollar. Ideally, using an accredited and experienced Home Stager who is trained to identify how best to stage or show a house is the best route to take, but in today’s difficult financial times, in an effort to save cost, home owners can learn the tricks and techniques themselves.

There are numerous resources on the internet for ideas on how to stage homes. In today’s troubled real estate market where the competition is stiff and home owners must do their utmost to tap the most value out of their homes as possible. Houses must show well and compete with other similar houses for sale in the same neighborhood or area. Home staging is a great option as costs can be minimized (controlled by home owner) and simple do it yourself techniques implemented that can truly raise the value of a home.

Did you know that a buyer has developed an opinion of your property within 15 seconds? I have pulled up to many homes with clients who did not want to consider a property simply because the exterior needed some attention. The following ideas will help your homes exterior make a great first impression:

* Make sure the street and, sidewalk, walkway and porch are free from litter and debris
* Reseal a worn or stained driveway and repair cracks in the walkway
* Re-Paint the Shudders and front door
* Apply new door hardware and a brass kick plate
* Replace the house numbers
* Put a flower box with seasonal flowers alongside the door
* Install a new front light fixture and check that all exterior lights are in working order
* Have a cleaning service wash the siding
* Clean windows and replace any cracked or broken glass
* Replace any missing or broken shingles on the roof/If the roof is very old consider having it replaced prior to showing the property
* Make sure the gutters and downspouts are in good repair
* Mow the grass weekly and keep weeds under control
* De-clutter the deck or patio

Creating a cheerful, clean, neat entrance is one of the best investments of time, money and effort you will ever make. Don’t let a potential buyer slip through the giant crack in your walkway! Fix the crack and keep the buyer! I hope these tips for preparing the exterior of your home are helpful and I will post some interior home tips in a future article.

It’s no secret that the real estate market has been nothing less than challenging for anyone trying to sell a house during the last couple of years, and the news just seems to keep getting worse. However, hope still remains for those in the know about the great benefits of home staging. Home staging is simply the art of preparing a home to appeal to the largest group of buyers through the careful use of furniture, lighting, art, accessories, and color, to accentuate the positives of the property.

My smartest home staging clients are the ones who call me BEFORE they list their properties for sale. Realtors know that a house that is priced well and SHOWS well, WILL sell, even in a down market. Putting your house on the market for all the world to see without staging it first, is like showing up to a job interview in your pajamas. Let’s face it, no matter how great a fit you might be for the job, the interviewer will not be able to get past your appearance to see that.

It’s the same case with a house. Your house might have a ton of great features, but if you haven’t staged it, particularly in a down market, than you are just selling buyers on why they should buy the next house. I once had a client who had a house on the market for almost a year, before his realtor finally convinced him to give me a call. He had already dropped his price about $50K over the course of a year and was desperate to get the house sold.

Not surprisingly, the house had some quirks that made it difficult for even the most understanding buyer to see past. On the other hand, the house had some charming features as well, including a double-sided fireplace, a wood-burning oven, a large eat-in-kitchen, and a beautiful outdoor deck off the breakfast area. Following my advice, the owner of the property made some minor updates and coupled with the home staging that we did, the property sold in just three weeks. It would have likely been faster if we were able to stage the whole house (after all you are selling a whole house), but the seller’s budget was minimal and we wanted to help him finally move on.

The lesson here is, call in a professional home stager BEFORE you lose thousands of dollars in price reductions because the house isn’t showing well. At a minimum, request a home staging consultation, during which the home stager will walk through the home with you and make recommendations for changes, and provide you with a detailed report at the end to complete the work yourself. Be wary of FREE home staging estimates, and unusually low estimates, as you get what you pay for. Good home stagers value their time.

After giving out so many Staging Reports to clients it was now my turn to put my home on the market and see what staging could do. First step before listing was to make the “dreaded” list – the Staging Report. Me being a professional stager thought my list was about half the length just because I like to live clutter free.

We started de-personalizing so others could see beyond my family living there and most importantly, took de-cluttering to the next level. We cleared out half of all closets, all cabinets and made sure everything was completely neat and tidy. The laundry room got new baskets for containing detergents and the pantry was tip top with every can turned just perfectly with nothing on the floor to show ample storage. The house was pristinely clean, cobweb free and had no pet odors (we have three dogs). But one very important aspect of staging my house was that everything we didn’t use on a daily basis was packed away and delivered to a storage unit off premises.

Doing that took about 3 full days. We were exhausted yet anxious to get it “show home” perfect for listing and new pictures. Let’s face it; if a Stagers house doesn’t sell quickly, I’m in trouble, especially in my own neighborhood where everyone sees my car driving around and knows what I do!

So to make a long exciting story short…we listed with pictures on Wednesday, had 7 showings within a week and had a contract that next Sunday! I need to mention that the houses around us are on the market several months and going on average at $92.00 a sq. ft. Ours sold within a week and a half, at $103.00 a square foot.

I do not say this to brag or pat myself on the back. I say it so every seller out there can see the importance of staging. I say it because every back breaking moment and my kids asking everyday if they have to make their bed today is WAY WORTH IT!

Now if your house in on the market already or plan to list soon, you’ll want to get a Staging Report.

Call a professional stager, call Cindy Richter owner of Interior Motiv. You’ll be glad you did!
Interior Motiv – metro 817-925-2021, www.interiormotiv.com

Staging your home takes some time, focus and objectivity but you can do it and save money when you sell.  Let’s start with a basic understanding of the fundamentals of home staging.  The goal is start thinking like a Professional Stager.

Staging essentially falls into three categories:

• Image Staging

• Display Staging

• Value-Added Staging

Image Staging is about creating the mood for your potential home buyers when they walk through your door.  Placing two cocktail glasses on a tray with a bottle of cosmopolitan mix might suggest that the people who live there are hip, trendy, or maybe an artist.  Image Staging one of the bedrooms as a nursery could communicate that your home is a perfect place for a young couple with children.

Display Staging is simply showcasing the most desirable features of your home. Placing furniture to better highlight your beautiful fireplace is a perfect example of “Display Staging”.

Value-Added Staging is really more of an investment in your property, like replacing the carpet, upgrading kitchens and bathrooms or adding closet organizers.  In the kitchen you might add new counter-tops or luxury appliances.  You might upgrade the bathroom with a jetted spa tub.  Depending on what you choose to upgrade, Value-Added Staging can be costly in the case of kitchens and bathrooms, or relatively low cost when adding closet organizers.  Either way, it can be a smart investment when you’re preparing to sell your home.  Be careful not to over-improve your property.  Your Real Estate Agent can be a big help identifying what’s worth improving.

The first step in your stage-it-yourself planning is to decide which category (or categories) of staging makes the most sense for you.  Walk around your home and ask yourself what image you want to convey, what great home features you’d like to highlight and what home-improvement projects might give your home the edge in this competitive market.

Thinking like a Professional Stager is your starting point when deciding to take the stage-it-yourself journey.  Try on the basics, and walk through your home with the simple fundamentals in hand.  In spite of what professional stagers might tell you, most homeowners can develop the objectivity to stage their own home if they’re prepared for the tasks at hand.  Remember, you don’t have to be the best home stager in the business.  If you do your staging “homework”, and are realistic about what you can take on, you can give your home the best chance to stand out and sell quickly for the most amount of money.

Staging a home for sale is getting the house ready in order to show off it’s best features. For some time now people have been using Home Staging as a marketing tool to get their home sold and often time for more money. Since Selling houses and Home Staging has gotten more television exposure, more homeowners as well as Realtor’s, see the importance of it.

Preparing a house to sell is no easy task. Some details can be forgotten and can cost you money. Here are three common mistakes people make when staging their house for sale.

1. Not Staging the outside of the house.
First impression is everything. The outside of the house is the first thing a prospective buyer sees. Go across the street and look at your house. What do you see? Is your yard in bad shape? Does the front door need repainting? Are the gutters coming loose? How long has the wood pile been stacked against the house. You’ll notice things you haven’t seen for years. You must assess your house and property with an unemotional eye.

2. Not de-personalizing the house.
Staging is not about the ruffles you love or your favorite collectibles. It is about getting the house sold. You want to neutralize the house to appeal to the general public. This means packing and putting away, all your collections, such as sports paraphernalia, plates, and teacup, etc. Anything that is very personal. This goes for the kids rooms as well. Personal family photos should be packed away because prospective buyers want to be able to envision their family living there.

3. Not making the rooms look more spacious.
After you have removed all the clutter from a room look to see if there is any furniture that can be removed. Usually, we do have more in our rooms then we think. Try taking something more out and then rearrange the rest of the furniture to give the room a feeling of more space. Buyers will be impressed by space and light.

There are so many tricks to help you Stage a house for sale that are easy to do. It doesn’t take a degree in design to learn the Staging techniques either.

Staging a house to sell is absolutely required if you want to sell your house fast. Although this isn’t the only thing that will help you sell your house faster, its one of the things. Check out my website below to get the full picture on how to do this. This article is for the homeowner that needs and wants to sell their house in half the time its taking everyone else.

Staging House Options

1. Staging your home yourself
2. Hire home staging companies that are professionals.

Lets talk about the first option.

Staging Your Home To Sell Yourself

If you don’t have a clue of what your doing, you have several options.

• You could buy either of these books – Home Staging for Dummeis  or The Complete Idiots Guide to Staging Your Home To Sell. These are the two most popular staging house books on Amazon.
• You could have your Realtor friend who “thinks they know how to stage” come over, yeah right…
• I came across a great staging resource that offers two options. You can take pictures of the way your house looks right now and send the pictures in. They’ll take a look at your house and tell you what you need to do. This makes staging seem really easy. The same website also offers a great course for do it yourselfers. If you want to sell your house fast this course has it all. It shows you how you can sell your house in 5 days in a round robin with staging tips and other secrets. One of the best things is that it shows you how you can have all your marketing paid for. Oh Yeah and selling your house in a week. You can possibly even end up with more money in your pocket rather than actually paying for all the marketing. Please check the bottom of the article for more info on this resource.
• You can go to certain Staging House websites like Front Door or watch HGTV. HGTV owns Front Door. They offer staging tips in video which is really nice.

Now lets talk about your 2nd option for staging your house.

Hire Home Staging Companies

You can search in Google for home staging companies and you’ll find that Staged Homes and Home Staging Resource are the top two. At the site click on find an ASP home stager or directory of home stagers. Next, click on your state and call a few home staging experts. If you go with a staging house expert make sure they have experience in selling homes in your area that are similar in location and price to your property. Also, make sure they have experience. Staging homes is really hot right now (March 2009) and will continue to be hot because staging a house is effective to selling it quicker. So make sure you get an experienced home stager who works in your area.

At Staged Homes they have a chart that compares avg. days on market for a regular house vs. a ASP staged home. The difference is incredible. 175 days vs. 35 days.

Also look at the survey on Staged Homes that talks about return on staging investment. It talks about what the best stuff to do with your house that you get the biggest return on.