When many people think about staging their homes, they think about ‘the pretty staging’. Did you know, that for your home staging to be successful, you need to make sure that you pre-prepare your home ahead of bringing in the bling? If we do not pre-prepare our homes for home staging, we are really in essence ‘camouflaging’ our homes which an astute home buyer, realtor, or home inspector will see right through.
So what does this mean? This means putting in the groundwork to have a beautiful canvas on which to project our home staging. So many times I have been into homes where the sellers think that cleaning is enough to stage a home. I can assure you, that is well and truly not enough to stage, and that just putting ‘makeup’ on a home, without correcting any underlying issues is just not a recipe for success. Homebuyers need to buy a home that has been properly taken care of and do not deserve to have been duped into a sale by some clever décor, well placed to hide imperfections.
I once worked with some realtors who I had worked with for many years, who tried to get me to put a rug in a room that had significant and noticeable carpet damage. They thought that by hiding the damage with one of my rugs, a buyer would be none the wiser and they could get the sale done. I told them that as an award-winning home stager, my job, my role, is to add beauty to a room, not to be duplicitous in hiding damage that would clearly be discovered by either a home inspector or the homeowner upon a final walkthrough. I thought that it was disingenuous to buyers to hide damage and flaws and that I wanted no part in engaging in trickery; my name is at risk if I engage in this behaviour and I wanted to be known for the beauty of my décor, not how good I was at fooling people into not finding flaws until it was too late. So I encouraged them to either repair the rug or be honest in selling the home with the flaw. Really, we should always repair all such things and not give potential buyers or realtors excuses to knock down our price, so always do your homework before you stage and sell!
So here is what I recommend be done before beginning staging your home:
1-PURGE
Now is the time to get rid of all old furniture, clothing, toys, books, collections etc that you have no intention of using in your new home, or that you have not interreacted with in many years. Please donate these to women’s charities, health charities like the Heart & Stroke or Kidney Foundations, or a charity like Habitat For Humanity. Be of service and give to others what you are not using or no longer need.
2-REPAIR
It is crucial that you repair things that need it in your home before selling. Potential buyers and realtors will pick on outstanding repairs and use this as a method to hammer down your asking price. You can prevent or reduce price drops and requests by making sure that your home’s paint, appliances, trim, plumbing, and electrical items are all in good working order.
3-CLEAN
Clean all your appliances, get your windows washed, pull weeds and freshen up your entire home inside and out. Open the windows or turn on your outside vent fan to get your home smelling fresh. Never use artificial plugins ever! They do not smell real and can bring on allergies in many people. Do not bake bread or cookies, they are old tricks. Your home should just smell fresh and clean.
I hope you found the pre-staging tips helpful and that you do use these methods before beginning to stage your home. They will give your home a more polished look, a newer and fresher look and that is what the buyers are looking for.
Happy selling!
Lead Designer
Homes Beautifully Design & Staging
Calgary, Alberta, CANADA
homessolbeautifully.com
hello@homessoldbeautifully.com
Monique Shaw is a British-trained, multi award-winning Interior Designer, a Certified Home Staging Professional and mentor. She is Houzz Recommended, a Houzz Influencer and was one of ‘150 Canadians To Watch’ in 2017 (Standout Publications). She writes about interiors, staging and lifestyle topics.
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