You Asked it! Questions Often Asked About Staging
- What is 'staging'?
- What does a home stager actually do?
- How is staging different from interior design?
- Is there any proof that staging really works?
- Why should I spend money on a home I am planning to sell?
- How much is this going to cost?
- Is staging a tax deductible expense?
- Do you offer a military discount?
- Can you just tell me what to do and let me do it myself?
- What is your service area?
- How long does this take?
- Do I have to be present while you are working?
- Will you use my furnishings and accessories?
- Will I have to buy anything?
- Will you change my furniture, art or accessories in any way?
- What if I don't like what you've done?
- My house is vacant. Should it be staged?
- I'm thinking of selling. At what point in my plans should I call you?
- My home has already been on the market for awhile and I'm not getting the response I had hoped for. Is it too late to have it staged?
- Where are you located and how can I reach you?
- Where can I read more about staging?
What is 'staging'?
Staging is the process of preparing a home for show, usually referring to preparing a house to show for sale. A home could also be 'staged' for a special event, for example, an open house or a wedding.
Staging goes way beyond cleaning and tidying. It is marketing. Techniques are used to involve all five of the viewer's senses, creating a positive first impression and a pleasant emotional response.
Staging for sale helps potential buyers start to imagine themselves living in the home, and entices them to fall in love with it.
Without the emotional response, offers tend to be the lower ones from buyers who see the house as 'a good deal'. With emotional involvement, offers will be higher because buyers who love the house will perceive it as having greater value.
What does a home stager actually do?
Home stagers offer a variety of services that help you with all aspects of getting your home ready for sale. Here is an example of what the process could include:
- assessment of the home's presentation, inside and out
- planning, budgeting, colour choices
- de-cluttering inside and out, and removal of excess furnishings
- fix-ups and any necessary redecoration, refitting, or remodelling
- thorough cleaning
- creation or enhancement of focal points within each room
- optimizing furniture arrangements to best showcase the home's value (could include changing the use of rooms)
- placement of artificial lighting
- providing new window treatments if necessary to enhance the value of beautiful views and windows and to make the best use of natural light (or perhaps we simply remove dated window coverings)
- arrangement of suitable accessories to set the mood and suggest the lifestyle buyers want
- creation of sensory appeal, sights, sounds, smells to appeal to buyers emotions
- creation of curb appeal through landscape plantings, lighting, trim and colour enhancements and attention to details of driveways, walkways, steps, decks and outdoor spaces.
Rearrangements home staging services can help you with all these steps. If I cannot perform the service personally, I provide you with a referral list of other reliable service providers and trades who can. If required, I can supervise their work for you for an hourly rate, saving you time and reducing your stress.
I can also arrange for boxes and other packing supplies to be delivered. I can get you discounts on paint and on rental furniture.
How is staging different from interior design?
The objectives of interior design and staging homes for sale are almost the opposite. The interior design process personalizes the home to reflect the tastes of its occupants and to accommodate their lifestyle. Staging depersonalizes and neutralizes the space and arranges it to suggest a lifestyle appealing to the greatest possible number of potential buyers.
Interior design for living in the home will encourage display of your personal collections and family photos. Staging for sale will strongly encourage their removal to prevent creating a distraction for buyers. It is important to remember that the way we arrange our home for living is seldom the way we must arrange it for selling.
Is there any proof that staging really works?
Yes, recent studies in the US have shown that staged homes sell for about 5% more and in half the time, on average. Visit my statistics page here. My clients have also experienced good results. Take a look at what they have to say on my Testimonials page.
Why should I spend money on a home I am planning to sell? It's all about location and price anyway.
Location is important, but it's a factor we can't change. Two other closely related factors affecting your sale that can be changed are price and presentation.
Price and presentation must be in sync in order for you to get your asking price. To achieve the right balance you can: a) lower your asking price, or b) improve your presentation. Unfortunately, too many sellers opt to lower their prices.
Perhaps they overestimate the time, effort and money that will required to make improvements. But, if you think it will take too much time, effort and money to get your house in shape, the buyers will likely think so too.
A study by Royal LePage showed that buyers are willing to pay more to buy a house that doesn't need any work. Busy buyers want move-in ready homes and more than half of them will tend to pass by your house if it looks like it needs work and go on to look at the competition.
You may be surprised to know that a number of modestly priced improvements can have a very high return and make a very positive impact on the perceived value and desirability of your house. HomeGain's 2009 Home Improvement survey of nearly 1000 real estate agents showed that modest investments in home staging of approximately $300 produced an estimated increase in selling price of $1.780. That is 586% return on investment for staging services.
Rearrangements can help you improve your presentation so that you may avoid price reductions or perhaps even get more than your asking price. If you lack time, them we can even co-ordinate the whole process for you.
How much is this going to cost?
Your initial investment for a consultation starts at under $100 in most cases.
The appropriate investment for staging depends on the size of your house and the amount of change required. Between 1% and 3% of asking price would usually be an appropriate amount to spend on preparing your house for sale. Some of this budget could be spent on things such as fresh paint or new carpets. It won't all be for the staging services.
In a 2009 survey of nearly 100 real estate agent by HomeGain.com, agents estimated that small investments of around $300 in staging homes returned an average of 586%, so staging actually pays for itself several times over.
Is staging a tax deductible expense?
Yes, in some cases. In Canada, if you changed jobs and are moving closer to your work you may qualify for a deduction of moving expenses. These expenses would include costs of selling your house and part of those costs would be staging. If you are selling revenue property, I believe the cost of staging would be deductable as a cost of selling and would reduce your capital gains. Be sure to check your circumstances with a tax accountant or Revenue Canada.
Do you offer a military discount?
Yes, 15% off staging labour is offered throught the Kingston Military Family Resource Centre program. In addition, members may use a portion of their Personal Benefit envelope for a Home Staging Consultation under Relocation Directive APS2009, Section 8.2.11.
Can you just tell me what to do and let me do it myself?
Yes, I love to help people who are 'hands-on'. Start with an affordable consultation which will help you see your home as buyers will, give you priorities for changes that will have the most profitable impact on your sale, and give you useful information and resources to help with your project. Visit my Service Details page to learn more.
What is your service area?
I offer my services in Kingston and its immediately surrounding towns. I will go approximately 1 hour drive out of Kingston, but extra travel charges will apply. When in doubt give me a quick call at 613 539-3233.
I also have a network of colleagues from Ottawa to Cornwall to Belleville, so if you are out of my range from Kingston, I can refer you to another Canadian Staging Professional(TM) who will be pleased to work with you. As a matter of fact I can point you to Canadian Staging Professionals in many locations all across Canada. This could come in handy if you also need some "move-in" services at your destination.
How long does this take?
Once all the preparatory work is complete, that is the de-cluttering, fix-ups, and painting, the actual staging process goes relatively quickly. A small house might take about half a day, a larger one perhaps a day. If I have accessories or furnishings to be removed after your sale is finalized, it can be done in about a quarter of the time it took to set them up. This is included as part of your service package at no additional cost.
If you have already made commitments for open houses or picture taking or the beginning of showings, I will make every effort to come up with an action plan to accommodate those deadlines.
Do I have to be present while you are working?
No, you don't have to be present for the staging process, although I certainly invite you to stay and watch or get involved in the fun. If you do have to be elsewhere, that is not a problem. In fact one of my services is to supervise the other trades or service providers you might have coming in to do some work.
Of course, you or your authorized agent will have to be present for my initial consultation so that I can gather the necessary background information and answer your questions.
Will you use my furnishings and accessories?
If possible I would like to use your furnishings and accessories. This makes the staging process faster and more economical as well as less disruptive for you and your family. Unfortunately, there are times when even though your furnishings may be fabulous by themselves, they cannot be made to work for the look we must achieve to sell the home.
Will I have to buy anything?
Of course if you need items such as new taps or light fixtures which will stay with the home, you will have to purchase them. I will suggest cost effective alternatives for your type of home.
As for furnishings, accessories and artwork, I first "shop your home" to find suitable pieces for your staging. If I come up a little short there are several alternatives. You can borrow suitable pieces from friends, neighbours, or relatives. If you cannot borrow what you need, I have a selection of accessories which I will provide on a rental basis. If larger furniture pieces are required (sofa, bedroom or dining sets) I can arrange for rental furniture. You might prefer to purchase items which can be used in your new home, especially easy to move items like towels and bedding. I can help you shop for selections that will be suitable both for the staging and a future home.
Will you change my furniture, art or accessories in any way?
I will never make any permanent changes to furniture, art, or accessories without your permission. Sometimes I might suggest re-framing, re-upholstering or repainting, to update the look of your belongings, but it's alwas your choice. No, I won't be painting over your fine wood furnishings without your permission as you sometimes see on TV shows such as "Trading Spaces" or "Take This House and Sell It."
What if I don't like what you've done?
If your home has been staged for sale and you are receiving negative feedback from viewers or agents on things we have done in the staging, I will re-do that aspect until the situation is totally rectified at no additional labour cost.
My house is vacant. Should it be staged?
Vacant homes definitely should be staged. It is a misconception that vacant is the best way to show a property. An empty room does not look very interesting in real estate photos. Nowadays most buyers view photos on the internet before deciding which homes to see, so the impression made in pictures is very important.
Nor does an empty room necessarily look more spacious. There is nothing for the eye to compare to in estimating size. Viewers may underestimate the size of the room. Furnishings would provide a size reference. With furnishings we can get a better idea what can be done with a room, both as to its size and its potential liveability.
Furnishings also create focal points, directing the viewers eye. We want the potential buyer to have something beautiful to look at rather than have them search for flaws.
When staging vacant homes you have an option to save a little time and money by not fully furnishing the rooms. Instead we can use the technique of creating vignettes, that is focal points that suggest a purpose and an ambience, without having the hassle and expense of finding a full set of furnishings. This works especially well for less important rooms such as second bedrooms and dens. If full staging for the main living spaces is not possible, I recommend creating vignettes with a little artwork, a few accessories and a few well chosen pieces of furniture.
I'm thinking of selling. At what point in my plans should I call you?
It's never to early to call. Even if your sale is a couple of years down the road a consultation will be helpful. I can provide a long term plan for improvements which can be enjoyed now and still retain their value at sale time.
If the sale is a few months away even better. I can help you plan and co-ordinate the help you?ll need to give your home a cost effective freshen-up.
If you are getting down to the wire with an open house date looming I can come in to help with a last push. I will work with what can't be changed to do the best presentation possible in your time frame.
My home has already been on the market for awhile and I'm not getting the response I'd hoped for. Is it to late to have it staged?
Its never too late for staging until the property is sold. Although the best results from staging are obtained when the home is staged before showing, studies have shown that homes that have languished on the market have their sales speeded up considerably after staging. In one study, the average time on the market without selling for unstaged homes was 163.7 days. When these homes were staged they sold in an average of 13.7 days later. Also these homes sold for an average of 102% of list price. You can see the details of this study at www.stagedhomes.com
If your home has been on the market for such a length of time that all interest seems to have waned, a real estate professional may even advise you to take it off the market for a month or so and then try again later. That would be an ideal time to complete any of the messier work that would hamper showings. When it comes back on the market, it will show up as a new listing. It will truly be a new and exciting product and the new marketing materials can make the most of that fact.
Where are you located and how can I reach you?
I work from my home office in Kingston, Ontario. You can reach me on my cell phone at 613 539-3233 or email me at Martha@rearrangements.ca
Where can I read more about staging?
We suggest you visit our blog. And don't forget to sign up for the free e-zine.