Home Staging Takes the Unsellable to Sold

Selling a home can be difficult enough in a healthy real estate market and strong economy, but mix a mortgage crisis with a recession and the task becomes overwhelming. Over the last couple of years even the most desirable homes have gone unsold and the need to have a listing stand out from the rest is all important.

Home staging is a selling tool that is widely practiced in the coastal regions of the United States but has only recently gained a Midwestern following. The goal is to make a home appealing to the largest number of potential buyers making the home sell more quickly and for more money.

JoBeth Bryant is an Accredited Staging Professional and owner of Total Transformations Home Staging in Beavercreek, Ohio. Her firm offers a complete line of staging services to prepare a house for market or help to create just the right atmosphere in a client's current home or office.

According to www.stagedhomes.com an average of 95.6 percent of well-staged homes sell in 37 days or less and for substantially more money. Despite what popular cable TV shows present, Bryant insists that sellers do not have to spend thousands on major remodels or expensive furnishings to make their home more attractive to buyers.

"Home staging is a mind set," she said. "You have to think of your home as a product and position it as the best on the market." Bryant also noted that there are many misconceptions about what it means to prepare a home for sale through staging.

"Home staging is not decorating," she said. "Decorating involves personalizing a home to the taste of the occupant and staging is the process of removing the clutter and depersonalizing a space making it as neutral as possible, while still being warm and inviting."

"Potential buyers want to be able to mentally move in as they explore the house," Bryant continued. "Personal items take away some of that imagination and allow some people to see only what is there, rather than what the space could be."

In order to create a house to sell rather than a home to live in, dramatic changes often take place in the look and feel of a residence. Bryant pointed out that homeowners can sometimes have a difficult time with this process.

"Depersonalizing a home can be an emotional thing," she said. "It's important to remember that you're taking your belongings and memories with you when you sell the home anyway. All we are doing is packing up a little early."

Often, sellers find it necessary to move to a new home before the previous house is sold, which presents a new set of problems for realtors and sellers. "Vacant houses are especially hard to sell," Bryant explained.

When preparing a vacant home to show, staging professionals borrow or rent furnishings that will give the house a warm and livable yet neutral atmosphere. "Without a sense of space, it's difficult to imagine how the house will look when furnished."

In addition to interior staging, the outside of the home can be reworked for better curb appeal. Slight changes in landscaping, lighting, placement of patio and lawn furniture or decorations can substantially alter the look and feel of a home's outdoor space.

"Curb appeal can make or break an open house," Bryant said. "As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression and when a potential buyer pulls up in front of the house, that's the first impression. It needs to be a good one."

JoBeth Bryant is a member of the Columbus, Ohio Regional Chapter of International Association of Home Staging Professionals. For more information contact Total Transformations Home Staging by calling (937) 470-2649 or go online to www.tthomestaging.com.