When you’re trying to sell your house, hiring a home stager
can make all the difference when it comes to attracting potential homebuyers. Kathy
Wood, certified staging specialist and owner of Divine Redesign helps clients
sell their home by enhancing its market appeal.
Whether your house is old, new, or just recently built, every house can
be staged to achieve that ‘wow’ factor.
“It takes a lot of preparation, but you can do it with any
home. You want to showcase the house to accentuate the positives and deter from
the negative,” says Wood. The staging
process beings with a consultation appointment at the client’s house. Together, Wood and the client walk through
the home to decide what needs to be done, whether it’s decluttering a room or
moving furniture around. Wood then walks through the house again, taking photographs,
which she later uses to evaluate the rooms. A date and time are then arranged
to stage the home.
“First impressions are critical,” explains Wood, adding that
it takes 60 seconds for a potential homebuyer to decide whether they could live
in the house. The first impression starts as the buyer drives up to the house.
“Curb appeal is really important in buying a home. If the
facade and front entrance are not appealing, a potential buyer may not even get
out of the car,” says Wood. As a home
stager, it’s Wood’s job to draw the potential buyer into the house and become
excited to see more.
Every aspect of the house should be showcased. A harmony
throughout the home should be created to establish a flow as people walk
through. Buyers should be able to
envision themselves living in the home as they walk from room to room. One
thing that helps potential buyers daydream of where they’re going to put their
furniture is to declutter the home of personal belongings. Although some clients have a difficult time
removing their knick knacks, Wood explains to them that it’s imperative to
selling their home. When it comes to staging a house, less is definitely more.
“Staging homes is a passion of mind,” Wood admits. “Seeing
the homeowner’s reactions to what we’ve done is very gratifying.” In today’s
competitive real estate market, having your home staged can make a huge
difference to the number of potential homeowner interested in making an offer
on your house.
For more information on having your home staged, visit
www.divine-redesign.com.
