How homestaging can help you sell or rent more expensive home

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Simple tips will help transform even the most murdered apartment.

What is homestaging

Homestaging is when people decorate, furnish, and sometimes slightly renovate a home so that it becomes more attractive and can be sold or rented out faster and more expensively.

The advantage of homestaging is that it does not imply a major overhaul. Everything is limited to cosmetic changes that will appeal to the average buyer or tenant. Here's how professional homestager from California Betsy Wilbur explains the approach:

Betsy Wilbur Homestager.

We simply show the potential of the home with simple and inexpensive improvements.

Homestaging was invented in the 1970s by designer Barb Schwartz when she decided to devote herself to real estate. She was looking through the property in Bellevue and was shocked that the premises were dirty, full of junk, and decorated in the wrong colors. Barb realized that one job as a realtor would not be enough here, and became the first stager, that is, a person who professionally prepares houses and apartments for sale or rent.

The new trend quickly took hold in the United States and Europe. 58% of American realtors believe that buyers are offering more money for improved housing. According to the Home Staging Resources site, of the 4,200 variants the homestager worked on, 85% were sold for 6-25% more than those that remained intact. Financial portal Investopedia notes that houses and apartments that have been hanging on real estate sites for more than 100 days, after staging, found new owners within 40.

Homestaging came to Russia later. For a Soviet and post-Soviet person, decorating a house before selling it was considered nonsense, and demanding the best was considered bad manners. However, as the authors of the first homestaging guide in Russian, Anna Moiseeva and Sergey Tikhonenko, note, even in the golden years of real estate, when housing was sold with uneven floors and bare wiring, people were ready to pay more for improved apartments than for similar options with insignificant drawbacks …

The situation finally changed after the 2008 crisis, when a buyer's market emerged.

Anna Moiseeva and Sergey Tikhonenko Realtors, authors of the book "How to sell an apartment profitably."

Selling even a good apartment is now much more difficult than buying. Supply significantly exceeds demand, buyers have become picky and picky. In such a market situation, competent preparation of real estate for sale has become especially relevant and useful.

Why homestaging works

British interior designer Samantha Giddens attributes the success of homestaging to the psychology of modern people. The emotional connection with the home is now at the forefront of buyers and tenants, rather than location or price. It is important for people to mentally visualize themselves in a new home and imagine their family and their belongings there.

Giddens identifies several reasons why homestaging influences consumer behavior:

• People are devoid of imagination. They want to be shown how a home can function, and homestaging assumes that each room has a specific purpose and space is clearly zoned.
• People are busy. Most don't have time for repairs. Therefore, housing, which will need to tinker with, repels them.
• People pay a lot and, accordingly, expect a lot for their money. If they notice unfinished tasks, they will either ask for a lower price or choose another option. And they may just be the place that was put in order thanks to homestaging.
• People buy a dream. They want to feel like they are moving into their new home, not your old one. It is important for them to present themselves in this place, and homestaging gives this opportunity.

How to independently prepare a home for sale or rent

To put things in order, it is not necessary to resort to the services of specialists. The main thing is to follow the basic rules of homestaging.

Irina Chu Homestager.

Even if you just cleaned up and placed the items correctly, it's already good. This means that your apartment will already stand out on the market, because many people are selling their homes for millions of rubles, but they are not trying to make them even a little more attractive.

Repair or replace anything that is out of order

If you have lived in a house or apartment for a long time, most likely you are used to minor flaws and do not even pay attention to them. Yes, the bathroom door creaks slightly, the faucet leaks, the light in the hallway sometimes blinks, but otherwise everything is fine!

It's like that. But a buyer or tenant comes to you for the first time and is rather skeptical. Therefore, be sure that he will check every detail and will be unhappy if he finds any problems. This will lead him to think that housing has not been taken care of before, which means that there will be many problems with it. In addition, any shortcoming can become a reason for bargaining, which is also not in your interests.

So check all the rooms carefully, fix the problems, grease the creaking doors, glue the wallpaper, paint over the scratches and children's scribbles on the walls. To be sure, you can call a friend or a specialist: he will look with a fresh eye and point out what you might not have noticed.

Remember that it is not worth investing huge sums in repairs.

Irina Chu

Homestaging does not imply serious financial costs. The budget, of course, can be either zero or unlimited. But, as a rule, they try to spend no more than 1% of the value of the real estate on homestaging.

Get rid of the trash

That is, from old boxes and carpets, unnecessary documents and advertising booklets, books that you bought on the road, and paintings that were inherited. All these things visually eat up the space, make it closer and distract the buyer.

Remember that getting rid of the trash does not mean sending it to the balcony or to the closet: the buyer will also look there and be even more surprised. Sell or throw away unnecessary things, and what is dear to you as a memory, move to a garage, to a summer cottage or to a new apartment.

Remove personal belongings

One of the main goals of homestaging is to get the buyer or tenant to believe that your home already belongs to them. Therefore, it is necessary to remove everything that reminds of you, your hobbies and lifestyle: photographs, souvenir magnets, homemade jewelry, children's drawings, clothes, extravagant interior items, and even food.

Items related to your political and religious preferences are also worth getting rid of. For the same reason. They interfere with abstracting from the owner and can alienate those with different views and beliefs.

Get rid of flashy colors in your interior

Yes, bright wallpapers or curtains are also personalization that a new tenant does not need at all. She will push him to unnecessary associations and, most likely, make him choose another option - a calmer one.

Strictly white or beige walls should also be avoided. Firstly, they will not look very comfortable, and secondly, they will highlight all the flaws.

And don't chase trends. Even if this season it is fashionable to decorate an apartment in fuchsia color, it is not a fact that the future tenant will like it.

Understand the furniture

Get rid of everything that is old and damaged and move into storage what you like but no longer match the style of the rest of the interior. Arrange the rest of the furniture to visually increase the space and show the buyer or tenant that there is enough space for their belongings.

But don't take everything out of the house. According to Betsy Wilbur, unfurnished rooms seem smaller than they really are, and it is difficult for the buyer to imagine if all of his furniture will fit here.

Betsy Wilbur

People also notice more imperfections when the house is empty and may mistakenly assume that it requires a lot of work when only minimal redecoration is needed.

Make sure there is plenty of light in the house

Good lighting is one of the keys to success when presenting your property. Dark, dimly lit rooms psychologically put pressure on a person, create discomfort. I want to get out of them as soon as possible and never come back. Bright rooms, on the other hand, look newer and more attractive.

So check that all the bulbs in the apartment are in good working order, and that their power is at least 75 watts. Create even lighting and further highlight dark areas.

Add accessories

Your task is to create a non-personalized, but also not impersonal space. Show your future tenant that your home has a soul, freshen it up. Use neutral but pleasant accessories for this: a vase of flowers in the living room, a fruit basket in the kitchen, elegant candles in the bedroom.

If you have clearly defined for yourself what your potential buyer or tenant should look like, start from the average preferences of this category. For example, students will appreciate stylish couch pillows and a trendy photo frame, while older people can be enchanted by potted flowers or a pretty tablecloth.

Do a general cleaning

We think everything is clear with this item. Thoroughness, thoroughness and thoroughness again! Remember: where you do not see a speck of dust, the buyer will notice the cobweb. Therefore, it is important to clean everything that you usually did not have enough time for. For example, the interior of the refrigerator, window blinds and baseboards.

Arrange a photo session

Back in 2018, 92% of apartment buyers used the Internet when looking for housing. This means that potential buyers or tenants will make the first impression of your home without even entering it. Therefore, in order to interest them and induce a personal visit, you need to take spectacular and high-quality photographs.

Here are some things to keep in mind during a photo shoot:

1. Take pictures only in good lighting! If there is not enough sunlight, you can use lamps. But make sure that they do not create light spots.
2. Remove children, animals, food from the frame and make sure the photographer is not reflected in the mirror.
3. Find the key element in the room (vase, fire in the fireplace, bright pillows) and frame around it.
4. Use a tripod whenever possible. Blurry, indistinct photos and frames with a littered horizon - add to your basket!
5. Take multiple shots of the same room from different angles and at different heights.

Prepare for the arrival of buyers or tenants

The finishing touch is to meet future tenants. Make sure your home looks the same as in the photo. Clean up the stairwell, put a rug by the door, and update the doorknob if necessary.

Ventilate the room before guests arrive and check that there are no unpleasant odors in any of the rooms. You can buy fresh flowers or brew coffee. These scents tend to be liked by most people.