How homestaging can help you sell or rent more expensive home

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. It's all limited to cosmetic changes that the average person likes to the buyer or to the tenant. Here's how it explains7 Pro Tips To Help Your Home Sell Faster, For More Money / Forbes The essence of the approach of the professional homestager from California Betsy Wilbur:

Homestaging inventedWhat is Home Staging? Interview with Barb Schwarz / Insta Staging in the 1970s, designer Barb Schwartz, when she decided to devote herself to real estate. She was browsing the property in Bellevue and was shocked that the premises were dirty, full of rubbish, and decorated in the wrong colors. Barb realized that one job

realtor not 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 believe2017 Profile of Home Staging / National Association of Realtorsthat buyers are offering more money for improved housing. According to Home Staging Resources2018 Home Staging Statistics / Home Staging ResourcesOf the 4,200 variants the homestager worked on, 85% were sold 6–25% more expensive than those that remained intact. Financial portal Investopedia notesIs Professional Home Staging Worth The Cost? / Investopediathat 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 Soviet and post-Soviet people to decorate a house in front of selling was considered nonsense, and demanding the best was considered bad manners. However, as notedA. Moiseeva, S. Tikhonenko. How to sell an apartment profitably. Invest the minimum, get the maximum. Homestaging Anna Moiseeva and Sergei Tikhonenko, authors of the first homestaging guide in Russian, even in the golden years of real estate, when housing was sold from uneven floors and bare wiring, people were ready to pay more for improved apartments than for similar options with insignificant disadvantages.

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

Why homestaging works

British interior designer Samantha Giddens explainsWhy Home Staging Could Give You the Edge in the Property Market / Freshome the success of homestaging by 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 every room has a specific purpose and space is clear. 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 bring the necessary order, it is not necessary to resort to the services of specialists. The main thing is to follow the basic rules of homestaging.

Repair or replace anything that is out of order

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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 tap is leaking, 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 flaw 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 investing huge amounts of money in repair not worth it.

Get rid of the trash

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That is, from old boxes and carpets, unnecessary documents and advertising brochures, 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, but what is dear to you as a memory, transport it to the garage, to the dacha or to a new apartment.

Remove personal belongings

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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 objects. interior 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

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Yes, bright wallpaper or curtains - this is also personalization, which the 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 old and damaged and move to storage what you like but no longer fit for style to the rest of the interior items. Arrange the rest of the furniture in such a way as to visually increase the space and show the buyer or tenant that there is enough space for his belongings.

But don't take everything out of the house. According to7 Pro Tips To Help Your Home Sell Faster, For More Money / Forbes Betsy Wilbur, unfurnished rooms seem smaller than they really are, and it's hard for a buyer to imagine if all of his furniture will fit here.

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

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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 should look like or tenant, 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 inside of the refrigerator, window blinds and skirting boards.

Arrange a photo session

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Back in 2018, 92% of apartment buyers usedResearch: the online path from search to buying apartments in Russia / Think with Google the Internet while 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 photographer is not reflected in the mirror.
3. Find the key element in the room (vase, fire in the fireplace, bright pillows) and frame the 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

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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 none of the rooms have unpleasant odors. You can buy fresh flowers or brew coffee. These scents tend to be liked by most people.