8 Great Reasons To Ensure You Stage Your Home At The Right Time

Selling Your Home?

Don't Leave Money
On The Table
Stage Your Home
To Sell Faster For More

I recently worked with a client to help her sell her property that had been on the market for 8 months and had had no offers.

“I just thought I’d put the house up for sale as it was and see how I got on”

Was Jane’s answer when I asked her why she hadn’t done anything about the unfinished DIY, the piles of clutter, the wild state of her back lawn and the confusion of boxes & office items in the second bedroom.

“I knew that it needed a bit of work but I hoped that I would avoid doing it by finding a buyer…”

I finished off her sentence….”who would do it for you…once you’d left!”

Jane isn’t the only client I’ve had say this to me as a Home Stager, in fact I’d say that 80% of my work comes to me from clients, just like Jane, who put their properties on the market and then discover it wont sell.

“But”, you may ask yourself. “What’s the problem?” “So you put it on the market, see if you get any offers, if you do ‘Great’ if you don’t…you do the work…what’s the problem?”

Well there are 8 very good and compelling reasons why this is not a good idea and here they are:

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1. You’ll become disenchanted.

Imagine it, your home is on with the Estate Agent/ Realtor and every day you wonder

“will the Estate Agent call and tell me he has a viewing lined up?”

In the first few weeks this can be very exciting. Of course any good agent will have a string of buyers lined up that he will want to show your home to. However once his list has dried up, with no offers, you’re left wondering when the next viewing will be. It’s disheartening enough having viewings and no offers, but no viewing and no offers!

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2. Will you get the right valuation…read the best valuation!

Now in an ideal world the Estate Agent would be doing everything they can to sell your property, and many do a good and honest job. But if the property you ask him to sell isn’t very well presented, then they know that they will have a harder job at shifting it for the same price as ‘that lovely property down the road’. So they value it at a price that they think it will sell at. They have to think about the time they will spend taking viewer after viewer round with no return! And they want a return….a sale. Less scrupulous agents will be thinking about getting a fast turnover and so if they value your property at say £10, £15 or £20 thousand below the ‘nice’ properties asking price they may score a fast sale…to them 2% of that £10 thousand is only £200. So on your £300,000 property that's only £200 from the £6,000...most agents would prefer £5,800 in their bank account now than £6,000 in three months time (if they're lucky). Are you prepared to loose thousands for their convenience?

So less cash for you!

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3. A picture says a thousand words

Think as if your home is going on a date with the buyer.

Today’s buyer uses all the technology that they have available…lets face it you’re using it now! Buyers are likely to have seen the photos of a property on the website of whichever agent you’ve put your home on with and that

Will be their first …and last (if they don’t like what they see) image of your home. Would you post a dodgy picture of yourself on a dating agency? Are those pictures doing your home justice?

Sure your property is lovely but remember that day when the agent’s photographer guy came round? Oh THAT day, the day when the washing machine blew up, the kids had run you ragged and for some reason you’d decided to clear out the under stairs cupboard, and then this guy turned up to take the photos…THAT day…bad day.

Get the place looking like a million and get some photos to really market the property with. Fresh Flowers…don’t go mad, move them from room to room, perfect cushions, no kids stuff (no kids), fresh towels and bed linen.

4. A chance to sort out, pack up and prepare.

Another reason, and this one is good for you personally, is that by choosing to prepare you home in advance of putting it on the market, you will have a great opportunity to have a good sort out. Now’s the time to get your ‘Clutter Clearing Bible’ out and feng Shui the place. Seriously if you’ve just gone through winter, you could start to pack up all those things you wont need until next year, by when you will be in your new home. This means you can really get ahead of yourself.

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5. You can plan the work and do more of it yourself…and save a packet.

Giving yourself a couple of months or longer if possible, will give you the opportunity to plan what you need to do, and then do it over a sensible time frame. Most of us have enough skills to get an average home ready to sell but just find we don’t have enough time or energy. Well if you break it down into small chunks you can get through it, without it getting through you!

6. You’ll get a faster sale and for more money.

Loads of comparison statistics have been done on this subject, Ann Maurice, TV’s House Doctor says that “on average a home that has been staged sells for 10-15% more money and faster” well it stands to reason that if you appeal to more people, your buyers will be in competition to buy your property…kurching!

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7. You wont miss out on that property you really wanted.

How many times have I heard a client say to me “how quickly can I get this place done and sold…I’ve seen my perfect property?” Don’t be in that position…be ready to move fast by having your property ready too.

8. If all else hasn’t convinced you …it’ll be less stressful.

If nothing I’ve said so far has convinced you then just think how much stress you will take out of the selling process knowing that your home is well presented and ready to go to market?

Need more help with Home Staging? Take a look at my recommendations for great books and home courses to get your property prepared for the selling or rental market. See the Home Staging Books & Courses Section