A few months ago I provided a Written Staging Report to a client. The clients home was going on the market and her Realtor recommended Home Staging to her. The clients home was full of clutter. In addition to that she had wall to wall wallpaper. In the Written Staging Report I recommended that she remove the wallpaper and paint the walls a neutral color. I also recommended that she pack up a lot of the nick knacks and clutter she had throughout the house. Remember clutter eats equity! I recommended that she edit some of her furniture and play up the homes selling features. In the family room there were beautiful built in bookshelves which were being hid by a huge big screen television. Of course I recommended that the television be moved to showcase these built in bookcases. As a compliment to the client I agreed to return to the home once the recommendations were complete to do some fine tuning.
When I returned to the home the client had packed up a lot of the nick knacks in the home. She didn't edit any furniture or move the television as recommended. She also refused to remove the wallpaper as I suggested. She told me that she liked the wallpaper and didn't see the reason to remove it. The wallpaper was very colorful and well honestly very unattractive. I explained to her that the wallpaper was very taste specific and may not appeal to the most buyers. I also explained to her that removing wallpaper is a tedious task. When your home is on the market it becomes a product and it's important to display that product in a manner that will attract buyers. Editing furniture is important so that the rooms don't appear smaller than they really are.
This home has now experienced its first price reduction. The price of the home was reduced $33,900 from its original asking price. OUCH! This homeowner can never get this money back! Most of the feedback coming from the buyers are complaints about the wallpaper. One person said that "she liked the neighborhood but would not purchase this home because of the wallpaper." If the homeowner would have made the initial investment on the front end to have the wallpaper removed perhaps she would not have lost $33,900 on a price reduction. It would have also helped if she would have followed through with all of the recommendations provided to her in the Written Staging Report. You can either make necessary changes to a home prior to going on the market or pay in the end in the form of price reductions.
Buyers have control over two things when their home is on the market. The first is the price of the home and the second is the way the home looks. Staging will improve the homes appearance highlighting the best features of the home. The average investment for Home Staging in the Midwest is only $1,800 dollars. That is a far cry from $33,900. Remember you only get one chance to make a first impression!
The investment made in Home Staging is ALWAYS less than the first price reduction!
Happy Staging!
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