It’s rare to find anyone who is excited about moving.  Oh yea!  They might love the idea of a new place.  But, the nuts and bolts of actually moving kind of stink.   And it’s even harder to find someone who is willing to spend some money in order to make improvements to their home just so someone else can benefit.  But, taking the time to put it all into perspective and realizing that staging is a key component of any successful real estate transaction will reap many benefits in the end.

We’ve been working with a wonderful couple in Barrington who are doing just that.  They are in the process of purging and readying their large 5 bedroom home for sale.  In order to get ready, however, they’ve had to spend a great deal of time sifting through and discarding unwanted items.  In addition, they’ve spent a fair amount of money updating certain areas of the home.  They’ve also been busy fixing issues that will need to be fixed prior to any home inspection.

We came into the process when the frustrated and overwhelmed owner called asking for help with her living room.  She just couldn’t seem to see it any other way and knew it wasn’t right.  After our initial consultation, however, she decided she wanted to do more than just improve the living room.  So, together, we made a list of recommendations for the entire home.  And then the homeowners decided which to-dos they wanted to tackle and which they’d leave.

Lucky for us, not only were they willing to do 99.5% of the recommendations.  But, they were also willing to invest the money they needed to fix key areas like:  replacing dated light fixtures, updating bath vanities and plumbing, changing hardware, painting, and replacing carpet & flooring in other key areas.

Spending money on a home you plan to sell never makes anyone happy.  A better way to think of it is INVESTING in one of the largest financial transactions of your life.  Without investing some time and resources, a home (no matter how perfect and comfortable for you), will never make the BEST first impression when it hits the market.  And in today’s age of instant public opinion, you never get a second change to make a good, first one.

While we touched every room in the home in some way, shape or form, the change in the following rooms was the most notable.  In some rooms, we spent larger amounts of money to neutralize, de-personalize and update.  In others, a little paint and rearranging were all that was needed.

Family Room Before

Family Room Before

Sitting Room Before

Sitting Room After

Office Before

Office After

Finished Basement Before

Finished Basement After

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

Powder Room 1 Before

Powder Room 1 After

Powder Room 2 Before

Powder Room 2 After

Staging is the best way to make an impression on internet shoppers and entice them to see your property in person.  Fortunately for us, our clients didn’t need to be convinced of its importance.  Unlike some, they were smart enough to take our advice and run with it.  The transformation in several of their spaces is nothing short of amazing.  And several times throughout the process we heard, “Why didn’t we do this sooner?”  The good news is they get to live in and enjoy the changes until it does sell!

Of course, everyone’s circumstances are different.  Sometimes you simply can’t afford to spend any money getting your house ready to sell.  But, then again, sometimes you simply can’t afford not to.  While your normal knee-jerk reaction might be to sell “as is”, don’t underestimate the power of staging.  In most scenarios, you’ll save money with a faster sale.  And you’ll make more money from higher offers.

Happy Staging from Decor Designs.  815-245-2433