What is the purpose of “staging your home?”

Home staging

Home staging is the art of making slight changes to your home’s décor so that it is more appealing to a buyer. Just like you would detail your car before trying to sell it, you would also do the same for your home. Making your home more appealing to the buyer results in a faster sale and more money in your pocket.

Think about all the model homes you have ever visited. There is less furniture than you would find in the average person’s home. These model homes are never “cluttered” or have numerous personal belongings. Understandably, we would not want to live our lives in a model home, we like our furniture, knick-knacks and personal items that make our house a home. However, when you are attempting to sell your home the goal is to make YOUR HOME become your BUYER’S HOME. In staging a home we make small changes to give the rooms a better flow and a more open feel so that they appear larger and more inviting to a buyer. We “depersonalize” and “de-clutter” the home so that the buyer can envision their own personal items in the home rather than yours. We “freshen” up the home in the most inexpensive manner with paint or touch up paint and by cleaning and polishing items so that the home appears cleaner, newer and more desirable to the buyer. We want the buyer to want to live in your home!

Try to view your home through the eyes of potential buyers and notice what you can easily “tweak” about your home that bothers you. The best way to “see” your home through the eyes of a buyer is to start by standing across the street and then standing in the front entrance doorway and notice what “pops out” at you both positive and negative. Ask yourself “what would make me want to come in and view the rest of this home rather than jump back in my car and leave?” Do the same thing as you walk through the rest of your home. Stand in the doorway of each room and make a mental note or jot down on paper “what do you first notice?” “Does the room feel inviting or uncomfortable?” Be honest with yourself. It is also a great idea to ask your friends or extended family members, who do not live with you to “honestly” help you find items and points of interest that could be featured, improved or removed since it is difficult to “see” your own home through the eyes of a visitor. As an accredited staging professional, I help my sellers to make small changes that make the home much more desirable to buyers. The changes we use to improve the home’s appearance are often free or cost very little, mainly just a few inexpensive supplies and or reusing what we already have available in the home. I consider myself very fortunate to know and work with very talented professional home stagers and decorators who are available to me for consultations. As a member of my international home staging association, which is very different than my real estate multiple listing services and association networks and groups, I have the unique opportunity to work, communicate, brain storm, and exchange ideas with some of the best and most talented home stagers and decorating professionals both locally and around the world! My goal is to find your home’s best features and make them “pop!” I am such a big believer in staging a home prior to taking excellent photos and virtual tours and placing it on the market that I “put my time and money where my mouth is” by including home staging with every home I list!

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about staging your home for sale please don’t hesitate to contact me at (661) 310-8215 or email me at RealtorLauren@gmail