How to Organize Staging
Staging is the proactive process of readying a home for sale. Designing and detailing a home to look its best and appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers is the goal of staging. Prospective buyers are the target audience for staging, and putting them foremost when organizing staging prepares your house to compete more effectively in the real estate market. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Assess the home. You may want to have a real estate agent or other professional assist with this process as it often will entail getting an idea of the home's value and the market characteristics of the particular location. Staging a home is best when the design keeps within the price range and appeals to the buyers in that market. From a budget of a few thousand dollars there is the potential of adding tens of thousands to the selling price of the home.
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Set goals for staging. Target the home features that are attractive to buyers. Your goals will answer questions related to the market and buyers. What are buyers looking for in kitchens and baths? How does the curb appeal of your home compare with competitive homes? What are the less expensive improvements that can be made to add value? What color palette and design style will maximize features of the home and mask flaws? Set goals room by room, although the majority of the staging budget will be spent in rooms used most by home owners, often the kitchen and baths.
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Make a checklist. Organize the details of the staging project by breaking the staging goals into specific tasks. This can be done by making a checklist for each room or by listing tasks in order of priority. Note measurements, materials, and professional resources that relate to the tasks. Schedule the tasks, then get the required resources for each staging task. For example, painters, furniture, and art rentals need to be scheduled. Shop for or order any items to be purchased for each task.
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Declutter and depersonalize. The mantra of staging is to declutter and depersonalize in order that potential buyers can walk into the home and see themselves living there. This is the step where it's necessary to roll up your sleeves and get to work removing items that are too personal. If there is any emotional attachment, focus on the likely profit to be gained by depersonalizing and getting rid of personal effects, such as pictures, memorabilia, and very stylized décor items. Should there be a tremendous amount of clutter, it may be advisable to rent a trash bin for this step in the process.
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Stage. Following your checklist, implement the staging design. Most staging checklists involve a measure of painting which is inexpensive yet highly impactful on the appeal of a home. Updating cabinet hardware, light fixtures and window treatments are other quick staging fixes that can increase a home's value for a small investment. Pillows and new decorative items that fit the staging design effectively add style and panache that liven up a room.
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