Home Staging

Home staging seems to be the buzzword of the day for real estate. I heard 2 segments from local and national experts on talk radio this morning. One happens to be located only a couple of miles from me and attends my Church . TheHomeStylist.com is her website and she has a blog. She has co-authored a book - The Complete Idiots Guide to Staging Your Home. She also has a link to another home stager Terri Clark, who has written another book you can check at her website.

As you can see from the photos of our Cheektowaga home - its empty. Nice new paint, windows and flooring but nary a stitch of furniture. According to these staging experts an empty home is just as bad as a dirty, cluttered home. One of the first questions people ask when they have come to our open houses is "You've already moved out?", actually more of a statement hoping that we are desperate to sell. The Home Stagers state that a house sells in one-half the time if it is staged properly and for 6.9% higher price.

I contacted the woman with the business near me and she say that it is pretty pricey to rent furniture locally. She will consult with us for $100 and give some opinions about what to do. Considering how much we've already spent on the house, $100 is nothing, but if we need to spend $5000 to stage the home that is another storey.