• Selling Costs
• Making An Offer
• Realtors
• Buying Bank Owned
• Mortgages
• Buying Real Estate
• Sell Your Home
• Seller's Guide
• Selling Basics
• Selling A House

• List With A Realtor
• Setting The Price
• Preparing Your Home
• Listing And Advertising
• Making The Sale
• Closing

Professional Staging

If your home just isn't selling, consider taking it off the market for a while. Then hire a professional stager who will help you to sell it quickly. Of course, you can stage it yourself, but a professional will be able to offer you the benefit of her experience and expertise.

Curb Appeal

One of the most important factors in selling your house is what they call 'curb appeal'. The professional stager will help stage the front of your house so that a buyer will go 'wow' as they drive past. Tidying up the outside and even spraying your lawn green will certainly help to give curb appeal. Then put tubs of plants, real or artificial, on either side of your front door, and get the front of the house power washed or repainted.  This will really revamp your home.

An Empty Property

If you have already moved out of your home and the property is vacant, the professional home stager will lend you furniture, rugs, lamps and other props. This will enable buyers to get a feel for what is possible in the house, similar to the way a show home in a new building complex gives you the feel of a home, rather than a house. The idea is to give a minimalist feel to the house, so that people can see the potential and imagine putting their own furniture in the room. Most people need a few items in each room to get their imagination going. For example, the stager will perhaps use a few swashes of a luxury looking material like silk to drape over a bay window, and put an armchair, a side table, a book and a lamp in the window. That way your prospective buyer can imagine sitting and reading while looking out of the window.

For the kitchen, they may put a few cookbooks on display and set a breakfast bar or kitchen table with a couple of place settings to give a cozy suppertime effect. If you have a colonial home, they can put one or two antique pieces in the master bedroom to enhance the period feel of the house. For the bathroom, they may put lots of lovely soaps, towels and potpourri to give a spa look to the room. This all helps create a luxurious feel to your house and helps encourage your potential buyer to make an offer.

At Home

If you are still living in your home, they can help you to depersonalize your house and rearrange your furniture to give the impression of clean lines and maximum space. They will also show you how to disguise features that don't have so much buyer appeal in an economical way. For example, if your kitchen is looking a bit tired, an inexpensive way to give your kitchen a makeover is to repaint your tiles or cabinet doors.  This will completely freshen up your kitchen without the costs of replacing the whole thing.

Professional Association

You can find an accredited professional staging professional company or individual through the Association of Staging Professionals (ASP) or the RESA (Real Estate Staging Association). They will help you to professionally stage your home and bring out all its best features. They will help you declutter your home and often have  space to store your precious possessions. They can also bring in appropriate props, including furniture, to enhance the look of your house. Prices vary from about $500 to around $5,000 depending how much staging you need and where you live.