As you prepare to sell your house, you may wonder if it’s worth the extra expense and effort to stage the home for potential buyers. For some, the additional funds that staging can require such as preparing your home for appraisal are enough to say no. However, there are many benefits to taking this extra step and expending the money towards it can pay off substantially.
This guide will outline the pros and cons of staging a house for sale. You may find some elements you didn’t consider beforehand that will now benefit you in this part of your life. Continue reading to learn more!
Checklist for Staging a House for Sale
There are two ways in which you can include home staging in your selling process. You can hire a company to do it, bringing in furniture and elements that fit in your home and accentuating the details. Many realtors can recommend reputable companies and individuals. On the other hand, you can do the staging yourself if that isn’t in the cards.
The checklist below will help you to cover all the different areas of the process to get your home to a proper staging level.
- Declutter
- Clean Each Room Thoroughly
- Make Necessary Repairs
- Perform Any Maintenance That Is Due
- Paint In a Neutral Color Scheme
- Take Out Personal Elements and Decor
- Rearrange Furniture To Maximize Space
- Accentuate Natural Lighting
- Enhance the Home’s Exterior For Curb Appeal
- Organize Closets and Storage
- Emphasize Unique Architecture and Details
- Set the Dining Table To Look Homier
- Refresh the Bedding and Towels To Look Fresh
- Decorate Tastefully
- Clear the Space of Odors
- Set Up Outdoor Living Spaces
Depending on your type of home, there may be additional items you must add to your list. For example, if you have a pool, you will need to ensure it is always vacuumed and that the chemicals are at the correct levels before each show.
Additionally, if you have animals, you must have a place to take them and devise a schedule to stay on top of their cleaning needs. This process includes the litter box and any hair they may shed for those with cats. For dogs and other animals, fur, toys, food, and their special equipment will need to be put away when not in use.
Another thing to keep in mind is the season in which you are selling your home. During winter, you will need to prepare yourself to shovel and salt driveways and sidewalks at a moment’s notice. For the times that come with rain, you will want to ensure that your landscaping still looks good and is not muddy.
During the summer, you need to pay careful attention to your grass and plants. The hot heat and intense sun can kill any vegetation you may have. Therefore, it’s vital that you stay on top of watering and maintenance to keep your curb appeal at the highest level.
Is Staging Your House a Good Idea?
When it comes to staging your house for sale, it is a good idea to take part in the process so that you can naturally highlight some of the most positive attributes of your home and its architecture.
Taking the initiative to stage your home gives buyers the ability to visualize themselves living there. For those who choose to move before selling and leave an empty and vacant home behind, it can be challenging for prospective buyers to see it as a home.
For those who don’t take steps to declutter, de-personalize, and organize, it can be problematic for those who tour the home to see past what your family has made it. Seeing family photos and mementos out can make cash home buyers in Wisconsin feel like they are intruding into someone’s life, which also adds a layer of difficulty in that they will often be unable to envision themselves in the space.
Another perk to having a staged home is that it presents well and justifies a higher asking price in the real estate market. When you have professional photos taken for your listing, they will turn out better and make a more significant impact on those looking for a new home.
Pros of Staging a House for Sale
There are many benefits that come with staging a house for sale, which those who utilize we buy houses Oshkosh will attest to. While some current homeowners are hesitant due to potential costs associated with the process and the extra work, there are many pros that contribute to the decision.
In addition to what we have listed in the sections above, here are some pros of staging a house for sale.
- Increased buyer interest: Buyers are more likely to check out a home that looks aesthetically pleasing, clean, and polished.
- Visual appearance: When you have your home staged, you can accentuate the positive features of your home that wouldn’t otherwise stand out.
- Better photos: The quality of listing photos between a non-staged house and a staged one is night and day. Since the photos drive the buyers, you don’t want to shortchange yourself in this category.
Taking the guesswork out of setting your home up for sale is a gift. Not knowing what future owners will like, it’s nice to have direction from those in the real estate industry about how best to lay out and decorate your home to appeal to the most considerable amount of prospective buyers.
Additionally, having the option to hire out the work through professional home stagers or do it yourself offers the ability for those with different budget restrictions to use the selling tactic. Bringing in a professional will come with a higher price tag but will also permit a hands-off experience. Alternatively, doing it yourself comes with significant cost savings, but it is a lot of manual labor.
Cons of Staging a House for Sale
As with most things in life, where there are pros, they are always cons. While many benefits are associated with staging a house, a few deficits exist. Below we outline some of the cons that come with staging a house for sale.
- Incurring of costs: Whether you hire a professional stager or do it on your own, there are bound to be varying home staging costs incurred.
- Setup and maintenance: The time required to set up and maintain the staging can be a massive change to your schedule. Additionally, you may need to move items to a storage facility temporarily, which takes more time.
- Cleaning: While having your home clean is nearly a requirement for all families who have their house listed for sale, having a staged how requires you to kick it up a level to continue being an impressive site for those who tour the home.
Other negative aspects of staging a home have more to do with the mental state of the seller and not just the financial cost of staging. The process requires you to de-personalize your home of all your decor and items that are specific to you and your family. Additionally, spots in your home that you love and are decorated to your specific taste, for many this space is the living room, may need to be changed.
While in the grand scheme of things, this makes sense and will help elevate your home in all the right ways; the downsides to it are that it can be emotionally challenging to participate in the process. In some ways, it will feel like you’re moving twice, once at the staging and again when you physically move your personal items.
Many homeowners find themselves struggling to remove items from their homes that they hold near and dear to their hearts. Things like family photos, children’s art, and heirlooms will often be sent to storage or put somewhere for safekeeping.
Additionally, hearing a professional interior design expert or staging company say that you must adapt your decor to be more neutral or repaint to a more subtle color can be hurtful, even though it is not the intention.
Ultimately, homeowners need to be prepared for what staging requires, especially when it comes to the emotional toll it can take. It’s crucial to remember that the process and the home staging professionals aren’t looking for a complete redesign and that upon your move in to your new house, all of those items will be the focus of your home once again.
Final Thoughts
Staging a house for sale can be a positive move for those who want to have their home stand out from the crowd and receive more attention than other homes on the market. When staging a house, you can hire a professional that works closely with your real estate agent to come in, or you can tackle the job on your own. Both directions come with their own level of cost.
Overall, staging a house for sale is the better move to make, especially if you are looking to sell a house fast in Green Bay. It allows your home to present with a positive first impression and makes for high-quality professional listing photos. Many sellers have experienced great luck when opting for this service or doing it on their own, seeing their homes sell in record time.
Home staging helps you to increase your home value as you fix up a house for profit, which will drive more prospective buyers to showings and your open house. While there are pros and cons, real estate professionals all over recommend the staging process to get top dollar on your sale.