Questions About Home Staging
Why should I stage my home?
In the current buyers’ market, prices are just beginning to recover, but it’s still critical for you to do whatever is necessary to make sure a prospective buyer can walk into your home and visualize living there. Remember, keeping your home as is will help to sell the competition.
- Most buyers cannot visualize their possessions in your home unless you assign a clear purpose to each room, including leaving some empty spaces in the right places.
- Realtors surveyed by HomeGain agreed that home staging and inexpensive cosmetic and basic home improvements can greatly enhance the value of a home. In the 2010 Home Improvement Guide for Sellers (www.homegain.com), Lighten and Brighten, Clean and De-clutter, Landscape front/back yards, and Home Staging were ranked as the first four best home improvements with the highest return on investment.
- Buyers view professionally staged homes as being well maintained.
How long does it take for a prospective buyer to connect with a home?
The first impression is critical -- within fifteen seconds, a buyer already knows if they want to look further. Purchasing a home is based on emotions...“Love at First Sight.” ON CUE will help you establish emotional connections throughout your house to ensure the love affair goes on beyond the initial curb appeal.
What is the profile of a typical buyer?
The median age of a first-time buyer is 30 and typically does not want to purchase a “fixer-upper.” There are too many risks and unknowns involved–these buyers want to purchase a home and move right in, doing as few repairs and changes as possible. The median age of the typical repeat buyer is 49, with 50% trading up. These buyers are savvy about current decorating trends and expect to see them in any home being considered.
How competitive is the market?
Depending on where you live, the market may get worse before it gets better. You may be competing with houses that are short sales, as more banks agree to sell houses at less than the full-mortgage value. You are also competing with homes in the same development or area that may be already staged, so it's extremely important that your home is showcased with all positive features highlighted and minor imperfections camouflaged.
How does a consultation with ON CUE Home Staging work?
Simply put, we'll sit down and talk about your home, expectations, goals, home staging and what buyers want, in general. During a complete walk through, ON CUE will take lots of notes and we’ll discuss the biggest issues. Within 24 hours, you’ll receive a written plan or proposal. You will decide what your budget is, taking into consideration where your home fits among the 3 phases of staging:
- Phase 1: using only what you have
- Phase 2: using small purchases to make a dramatic effect on your rooms
- Phase 3: making small cosmetic changes like paint, plumbing, lighting, etc. or other small improvements to certain areas
Relax-we'll have fun and help you all along the way. Depending on the service you have chosen, we'll do a second in-depth walk though to take notes and even give you some homework to do before we come back. You'll also get lots of information about what buyers want, tips on organizing closets and a month-long check list for you to use prior to moving day.
ON CUE is here to help you.
