The Facts About Staging Your Austin Home.

Do you want to sell your home or rental property? If so, then?it is important to understand the power of staging. Let me re-phrase that: Do you want to sell your home quickly? Then you need to be a little proactive concerning the preparation of your home before you list it! If you are living in the home while it is on the market, staging can become a bit emotional.? With staging, this place that you have called home is transformed into an impersonal dwelling space and if the home is vacant, staging is extremely important also.

Ok, so let?s talk turkey!? Here are a few factoids:

• U.S. Housing and Urban Development reports that a staged house sells, on average, 17% higher than an?unstaged house.
• ?Statistics suggest staged homes sell at an average of??6.32% over what they are listed for.? Non staged? homes?only average 1.6% over the listed price.
• ?The New York Village Voice reported that the average?number of days on the market for a staged house was?13.9 versus 30.9 days for an unstaged house.

5 Quick & Painless Tips to Stage Your Home

1. Go ahead & start packing!? Let?s remove the emotional and sentimental from the home.? Yes, this is the most painful tip, but it is the cheapest! Remove any items that personalize the home to YOU.? This includes photos, sentimental pieces, etc.? This is also the opportunity to de-clutter.? When you walk into a room, you should not be overwhelmed with a bunch of stuff to look at, yet the items in the room should define the space and compliment the feel/d?cor of the home.? This can be a lot of work for some, but it pays great dividends.

2. Go flat in your home!? If you can afford the time and/or money repaint the interior of the home.? Low sheen finishes such as flat or eggshell are a must.? Homes painted with semi-gloss look like rental houses and they feel cold.? Use warm & neutral colors.? Now, paint an accent wall with a nice contrasting color in either the living or dining room.? This will break up the monotony and add dimension to the feel of the home.

A recent study by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry found that a $700 paint job results in a 200% recovery of the cost upon resale of the home.
(National Post, Mar. 11/04)

3. Get out of your cave!? If you can afford it, have the windows of your home professionally cleaned (usually about $.10/sq.ft.), or do your best to get them looking good and letting all of the light in that you can. Remove draperies and blinds that are dingy, dull, and blocking all of the light!? The key is lots of natural light flooding into the home.? This creates a warmer feel and makes it seem more spacious.

4. Lend your imagination!
Only 10% of home buyers can actually visualize the potential of a home.
Yes, this is a sad statistic, so let?s use it to our advantage.? If you have wide open spaces in your floor plan, define them.? Use rugs, couches, chairs, art on walls, desks, to provide ideas as to how to use the space.? If you are using your living room as an office, I suggest redefining it as a living room and make an office in a bedroom, even if it doesn?t work for you.? Make sure that a potential buyer will be able to make sense of flow of the home.? Weirdness usually results in no offers.? Yes, so get the pool table out of the dining room!

5. Walk in the light!? If your home does not have good lighting built-in, then I suggest you counteract that.? Use floor lamps or table top lamps and put them on timers.? Do not use CFL bulbs!? Yes, you want to use those inefficient incandescent bulbs.? They create a nice, warm atmosphere.? Remove the bulbs from your ceiling fan.? They cast nasty shadows and make the room look like a pantry.? Use the lighting to highlight certain wall d?cor pieces or the fireplace.? Most of the ambience of the home is created through lighting, so get creative, but remember to work with the d?cor and take away!

As an investor, I rehab a home with the final staged product in mind.? I try to make every choice in color, trim, appliances, lighting, etc. for how I want it to look staged.? When I buy houses in Austin, even I am subject to the emotions of seeing a nicely staged home, how much more the unseasoned buyer!

If you have the time, energy, and just a little money, you can do these things yourself.? Time is not on your side?? Hire a staging consultant and they will get you down the road quickly so you can sell that home fast!