In this issue: Tips for preparing and staging your home to sell quickly!

In this issue, you'll learn a few hints from staging expert Karen Dembsky, owner of Peachtree Home Staging. Here, you'll get some excellent tips that will help you best prepare and stage your home for maximum appeal to your potential buyers.

"Staging"...what is it , and why do I need it?
Staging refers to the "dressing and furnishing of a home, or the entire process of setting your house for sale."

Here are six reasons to stage a home: (1) Gives buyers a visual blueprint of what life will be like in the home
(2) Allows potential buyers to "experience" your home
(3) Makes and empty home feel warm and inviting
(4) Creates proportion in a big room through furniture grouping
(5) Makes a tiny room feel larger with customized furnishings
(6) Showcases positive features while downplaying negative features (Corbett, 2007, pg. 170-171)

Biggest mistake in home preparation?
Karen tells us "It's the inability to be objective." Sellers must remember that their own tastes may not be the same as a buyer's tastes, and stage the home accordingly.

One example, Karen says, included a homeowner who had many large tapestries hanging on the walls throughout the home. While tapestries can be a beautiful addition to the decor of a home, Karen continues, too much of a good thing may distract buyers, and if not careful, they could turn the home into a bit of an art show where the tapestries get more attention than the home. Upon Karen's request, some of the tapestries were left in place to help emphasize the high ceilings within the home; however, many of them were removed. Interestingly, the result was a more broad appeal...giving confirmation to the phrase "less is more".

One simple tip that will instantly help!
"Since the sellers will move out of the home eventually, they might as well pack any and all personal pictures, and any other small collectibles" Karen says. This will tremendously help to de-clutter the home. Most people think of "clutter" as analogous to disorganization--as in a "cluttered desk". However, clutter can easily include items that are very meticulously placed and intentionally positioned throughout the home. The simple rule is this: de-personalize the home, and in doing so, you'll create more space!

Another easy-to-follow step for de-cluttering involves all the closets throughout the home. In linen closets, for example, color-coordinate all the sheets and towels and get rid of any mismatched items. In clothing closets, get everything looking as organized as the racks in a clothing store. This is extremely easily accomplished by purchasing 5 dozen or so of the exact same style and color hangers, and toss all those mismatched hangers from the dry-cleaners. Again, pack up some of this clothing: you want buyers to see all that precious space! Finally, in the kitchen closet or pantry, follow the organizational rules of your nearest grocery store: all items of similar nature should be grouped together, and all the labels facing front. Neatness sells--try it!
(Corbett, 2007, pg. 80-83)

Need more proof? You won't believe this!
While it is difficult to compare staged homes vs un-staged and how staging affects the sale of a home, much can be gleaned from observation. Karen tells us, "...we staged three occupied homes within the last couple of months using only what the owners had in their homes. The results? One home was under contract within 12 days of its original listing date; the second home was under contract within 6 days its listing date; and the third home was under contract before it even got listed!" Remember: the current number of average days on market is approximately ninety.

Click the image below to view a video tour of the property that sold within 12 days of its listing date and sold for $30,000 more than any other home in the subdivision! Be sure to observe how well the home was staged, thanks to Karen Dembsky and Peachtree Homes Staging!

Article Source: http://vidego.multicastmedia.com/player.php?p=2ude59s0