Setting the Stage

Do you have an unfurnished house you want to sell quickly? How do you set yourself apart from the competition and change that For Sale sign into a Sold sign?

One marketing concept that offers many advantages is home staging. Think of it as something like stage "props". Although similar to a furnished model home in a new subdivision, home staging is not as elaborate and is more cost effective. In staging, you don't furnish the entire house, you highlight only selected rooms or areas. For example, accent a few select features of the house such as the powder room, the stair landing, and the foyer. A grouping of well placed plants, candles, bookends, knickknacks, and other accoutrements can often create more ambiance than an entire model home full of furniture. Staging creates a warm, friendly, relaxed atmosphere that helps the buyers connect emotionally to the house, and for these reasons, staging can improve your chances of selling your home. Prospective buyers are not always creative in imagining what a house will look like with furniture and decorations. That's where staging comes in. It provides the vision many buyers may lack and takes the guesswork out of the equation for the buyers. Staging allows you to highlight functional areas by simply showcasing the finished product in these portions of the house. These may be warm cozy areas like a sitting room or hard to decorate areas like a small alcove or a long hallway. Staging gives the buyers a sense of perspective and shows them how to use these areas of the house for maximum effect.

Investors who buy, remodel, lease, or sell properties can benefit from showcasing their properties through staging. Providing ideas for furniture placement and arrangement, showing how to best use what would otherwise be wasted space, and showcasing the best details of the home can be invaluable in the marketing arena.

Staging is relatively economical compared to a fully decorated model home. There is less furniture and accessories involved, so decorating costs are lower. If you have a flair for decorating, you might want to stage portions of the house yourself. You can use your own decorations, perhaps filling in with a few new items. Or visit a home rental store, where there are usually many styles of d?r available and rental charges are generally quite reasonable. There are also live plant rental companies, and some libraries have artwork which can be checked out for extended periods of time.