Benefits

 

The Benefits of Home Staging

 

Hiring someone to prepare your home so it makes a good impression on buyers can pay off.

 

With the real estate climate making selling your home difficult, home staging can be an effective tool to help seller's out. You probably know that your property needs to be as clean, clutter-free and in as good repair as possible, inside and out. But you can further distinguish your home from the competition by having your home staged -- or window-dressed -- for sale.

Professional stagers can see your house as buyers will, and they'll set the scene so that buyers can imagine living there.  They're likely to simplify or streamline the furniture in a room for better traffic flow and to enhance its spaciousness. They may neutralize a too-personal color scheme or add touches of color or accessories where needed. In vacant homes that feel cold and lack visual landmarks, stagers often bring in rental furniture and create "vignettes," say, a seating area in front of the fireplace.

Homes that sell fast in any given market share 3 similar facts;

1. They are priced competitively with respect to similar listings.
2. They show like model homes.
3. Their agents use powerful and strategic marketing combined with great photos.

Barb Schwarz, president of StagedHomes.com and founder of The International Association of Home Staging Professionals, says that staging helps exhausted buyers "mentally move in" and feel that when they move in for real, they'll be able to kick back for awhile and relax.

Schwarz says homeowners typically pay from $200 to $3,000 depending on the level of service required. But the pay-off -- in time saved and higher sales price -- can be nice. In 2006, StagedHomes.com looked at the sales history of 200 properties staged by its members. Homes listed for sale prior to staging sat on the market for an average of four and a half months and sold within just over a week afterward. Homes listed for sale after staging sold within 32 to 42 days. In either case, the homes sold for an average of $26,000 more than expected.

For more staging tips and strategies, see Schwarz's book (with Mary Seehafer Sears), Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money.  If you're not ready to sell but you wish your home looked that good, see the chapter on "Staging to Live."

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The Benefits of Home Re-Design

 

"A change is as good as a move". That saying applies perfectly to the benefits of home redesign! By altering furnishings and through decluttering and the addition of certain props or changing color schemes of rooms we can transform a single room or an entire home into something brand new. When you achieve a balanced new look you will feel calmer, happier and more at ease.

People often collect objects and furnishings and bring them home and place them somewhere and that's it... over time they add more to our rooms but tend to forget that the order and balance and colors of these new additions don't always create harmony, instead they can create subtle disturbance in the energies of the home. Concepts like Feng-Shui have become more popular as people spend more time in their homes and want to create the most comfortable environment but our redesign of the home doesn't involve esoteric or complicated theories like those of Feng-Shui. We use simplicity and taste as our guides for your transformation. After your redesign or home dressing consultation you will learn ways to improve the flow, efficiency, clarity and overall style of your home. The consultation will introduce you to new ideas and new ways of bringing your home into a more comfortable state.

When it comes to organizing closets the benefits can be dramatic! Bringing order to your clothes closets, arts and crafts closet or any cupboards in your home can make your life so much easier. Cutting through the clutter and getting rid of things that you don't will help keep you living "in the moment". It can be a daunting and time consuming task on your own, but with the help of a qualified redesigner it can actually be fun! Closest organizing is a very affordable and fast way to improve your quality of life. Knowing that there is "law and order" behind your closet doors can really bring peace of mind. Having us redesign, re-organize or de-clutter your home will frees up your energy and allow you to move on with more important things in your life because it means you spend less time cleaning and organizing. Having newly defined and decorated areas will open up space in your home and in your mind and you will spend less time procrastinating as well as save money and storage space.