Why We Stage Occupied Homes Only
Many real estate professionals and homeowners alike assume home staging is primarily meant for vacant properties where buyers need a little extra help to envision the possibilities of the space. But what about when the seller still lives in the house—and it’s constantly cluttered, maybe a tad dirty, and full of personal belongings? Buyers will find it just as difficult, perhaps more so, to envision the possibilities of themselves residing in an overly lived-in home. Most occupied homes present a challenge for buyers to see past the current homeowner’s things. And that is why staging your home to place on the market is imperative!
The biggest, and perhaps most cost-effective difference between staging a vacant property and one that is occupied is that unlike with a vacant home, stagers will often use the furniture and décor already in the home. In most instances, there is no need for additional rental furnishings or accessories (which take staging fees higher) to be brought in. In fact, oftentimes, excess items are removed!
In our professional experience, we have seen that occupied homes benefit the most from the staging process. After all, the way you live in your home (and we are not here to judge, we are here to get your home sold fast and for the most money possible!) and the way you prepare it for sale are two very different things!
Where We Do What We Do
WOW Factor Real Estate Staging serves Central and Eastern Michigan, which includes:
- Lansing and Flint Areas;
- Greater Tri-Cities - Saginaw; Bay City; and Midland, Michigan;
- The Thumb Area including Port Huron; Sandusky; and Lapeer.
How We do it
We'll start with a staging consultation. Together, we will walk through all the rooms of your home - we'll also pay close attention to your home's very important curb appeal!
As we walk the home, we will recommend strategies that will highlight the home’s best features and provide insights and solutions to help the property show well. We will make suggestions that help sellers to declutter and depersonalize. We will discuss what items can stay in the home, what need to be removed, and what cosmetic changes should take place, if need be, in order to present the home at its best! The consultation can help set expectations for sellers to prepare—and maintain—the home while it’s on the market.
The process of walking through the home enables us to create a pre-staging "homework" list. We will leave you with this list and once you have completed it, we will return and execute the actual staging design work. We will handle the home’s presentation, including furniture, and décor/accessories placement and create an inviting space buyers will find impossible to resist.
Paying Close Attention To Detail
The hardest part of living in a home that’s on the market is constantly being prepared to show the space. The more a seller can do in advance to prepare and showcase the home, the faster the property will sell. We will offer checklists and storage hacks to help you quickly tidy the home before a showing. We make sure there is a plan in place to keep the home show-ready at a moment’s notice, and ensure no details are overlooked.