Pros and Cons of Home Staging

The decision to sell your home is generally a difficult one. There is a lot of doubt and second-guessing involved. Not only do you have to contend with emotional attachment, but deciding the best time financially is another can of worms: Is the market right? Will I get full value? Where do I want to move? Where do I put all my stuff? And the list of concerns and uncertainty goes on and on.

Once you have made your final decision to sell, it’s not over. If you stage your home as is, you will not get full value. It’s important that you attract a lot of buyers and keep the price as high as possible.

Staging a home may seem like an expensive endeavor, but it’s important to account for all the money you will be gaining. The value you get out of it exponentially exceeds the value you put into it by carefully staging (as long as you don’t get too carried away).

As complex as this sounds, following these 3 simple steps will give you perspective on what course of action to take and what to expect in terms of costs.

1. Clean, Organize and Assess
The first thing you need to do is de-clutter all the useless items in your home. Make sure all counters and tabletops are free of any loose papers or documents and that nothing is out of place. All personal items (family pictures, toiletries, etc..) should be stored in cabinets.

Once you’ve finished de-cluttering, clean the inside and outside of your house. Wash all windows inside and out, make sure your lawn is well manicured and nice flowers in your garden bed are a plus too.

Once you’ve finished this process, assess the situation. This brings us to step 2.

2. Contact a Home Stager
Having an outsider’s opinion is essential. What looks great to you may not be aesthetically pleasing to the average person. It’s a numbers game; you want the highest percentage of people to be pleased with your home’s appearance.

Nobody knows how to achieve this better than a professional home stager. A consultation can range from $200 – $500.

They will give you an idea of total costs, for example, if your rooms require painting, you will be able to more or less forecast that into your cost. Exterior window washers and landscapers may be required if you can’t do it yourself. If the de-cluttering process requires a temporary storage facility those costs and much more can be factored in as well.

3. Major Renovations
Any home stager worth their salt will tell you to avoid major home renovations at any cost. A fresh coat of paint is a far cry from tearing out your floors or knocking down walls.

All in all, staging your home, if done properly and responsibly, shouldn’t cost you more than $5000. This amount, of course, varies depending on your home’s value. Beautiful homes that are well kept require far less work and likewise, you have to be careful in areas where home values are relatively low. That’s why a staging consultant is well worth your money. The last thing you want to do is spend more money staging your home than the dividends it will pay.

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Want to learn more home staging tips? Here’s how you can stage your home on a budget.