Staged4more Home Staging + Redesigns | Home Staging in San Francisco Bay: San Francisco, San Mateo Counties

Dear Cindy:

I am thinking about putting my home for sale. I feel that I have a pretty good sense of design and my house looks pretty good. I also have read a lot about staging. I know to declutter, clean the house and de-personalize. What do I really need a stager for?

A in SF

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Dear A:

I always say that staging is a bit like getting a haircut. Sure, I can cut my hair myself, or have my mom do it. But I run a risk that my hair will not reflect structure of my face or I may left both sides of my hair uneven, and cutting the front part of my hair way too short when I try to cut myself some stylish bangs (which are true stories, BTW). It could happen, it’s a risk you need to take if you decide to DIY it. No doubt, there are natural born Martha Stewarts, but there are also lots who think they are Ricky Martins and they end up becoming William Hungs. Great sounding in the shower, but terrible in front of Simon.

Your buyers will be like Simon on American Idol. They will be harsh. This is the biggest investment someone will ever make in their lives, harshness is expected. They will try to take your home apart to negotiate you on pricing. An experienced stager will know how to work with tricky floor plan and how to make your home warm and appealing and not over doing it. We are also well trained to “refrain” ourselves from over-styling so that the space will still appeal to a large spectrum of the buyers. It is tough to stage your own home, because it’s hard to stay objective of your own design tastes and differentiate what is personal and what is not personal taste. So I want to command you on your courage. But DIY staging can be done and many have done well and many haven’t. When in doubt, enlist a 3rd neutral party for help.

If you are ever in doubt, ask your agent for his/hers honest opinion. Or you can also hire a stager for consultation only to come tweak your home for $100-$500 depending on your home sizes. It’s a small investment to pay for a large potential equity return and less DOMs (Days On Market) that can bring you peace of mind.

Thanks for Writing & Happy selling,

Cindy

Cindy Lin is the proud owner of Staged4more Home Staging & Redesigns, which offers flexible and affordable staging solutions for home sellers and real estate agents in all San Francisco bay area. For more info on staging, see Cindy’s before & after photos, or just wanna browse through the site, go to www.staged4more.com. Feel free to send Cindy any of your burning staging questions at hello@staged4more.com.