Staged to Sell

Don’t wait to stage your home.

According to Erks, realtors and sellers continue to employ an outdated home-selling strategy: Put the house on the market as is and stage it only if the property sits. More often than not, the property sits. “What they discover is that unstaged homes are on the market longer,” she says. And the longer a house goes unclaimed, she adds, the more leery potential buyers become.

“Buyers know the neighborhoods they want to buy homes in; they watch to see what homes are on the market, what they’re asking, and if they sell. Buyers today are really savvy, so the seller needs to be able to implement every measure possible to bring that buyer forth in a good way. And staging helps take away some of that stigma buyers might have about a potential home.”

Ramp up curb appeal.

Most stagers will start their consultations with clients on the front sidewalk—or across the street. “Starting there helps them view their home as a buyer,” Tobin says. “Curb appeal is so important. If you can’t get buyers in the house, you can’t sell them the house.”

Again, don’t assume that buyers are eager to invest in doing work that you should have done. “I have clients tell me, ‘I don’t want to paint,’” Tobin says. “Well, the buyer isn’t going to want to paint, either. If you don’t paint on the outside, then buyers are going to feel like the inside isn’t well maintained, either. And they’re not going to buy your house. They’re going to find a house they can move right in to.”

Stage the whole house.

When it comes to prioritizing staging budgets, the main floor comes first, according to Palm, followed by the second floor and the basement. That said, all areas of the home, inside and out, should be touched. That includes the spaces behind closed doors, such as the utility room, which should be cleared of boxes and other stored items so buyers can examine the furnace and hot-water heater.

“Closets must be staged, too. If a buyer comes into your house and sees the closets are overstuffed, they immediately think there won’t be enough room for them. It’s important for buyers to see those open spaces,” says Palm, who recommends renting portable storage units to temporarily unburden overburdened closets.

Revert rooms to their intended uses.

Palm recently staged a home in which the owners had moved the dining area into the more spacious living room. “Regardless of how you live in your house now, you need to change rooms back their intended uses,” she says. “Buyers expect to see traditional rooms used in traditional ways.”

And unless your house sports at least four bedrooms, make sure you convert that office or TV room into a bedroom before you open your doors to the public. “There is always more value in bedrooms,” Palm says.

Keep it furnished, even if it’s vacant.

As the average time on the market increases for Twin Cities homes, buyers are increasingly touring unfurnished, uninhabited properties. It’s not the sort of thing that inspires handsome offers, Wille says.

“One of the most obvious messages trying to sell a vacant home sends to the buyer is that the seller needs to sell it, they’re not there, they’re invested somewhere else, and they’ll therefore be willing to take somewhat or substantially less than they’re asking,” he explains.