Who's Buying Your Home?

I was recently talking with a friend about working with a new client who had contacted me to stage their home. She asked a question that surprised me. "Why would anyone need someone to tell them how to get their home ready to sell"?

Now granted some of us know the basics of selling a home. Clean it, organize your closets and take care of any deferred maintenance such as paint and repairs. Those of us who have sold a few homes believe we know the drill. We expect to do those minor updates before we put the house on the market. It's comparable to cleaning your home before a party. Put your best face forward.

What's the big difference now when selling your home and why do you need help to stage your home for maximum return?

In the past most buyers came from your local area.  FIrst time buyers typically bought into affordable neighborhoods close to amenities and in town areas. Move up buyers typically purchased in established neighborhoods with good schools, good transportation access for commuting. Marketing to your local buyers was a snap as buyers' expectations about home styles and amenities was a known quantity.

Online home buying has changed the local marketplace completely. While there will still be local buyers, when your home is for sale you are now effectively marketing to the world. With Facebook, Twitter, Trulia, Zillow and many other sources, information about you or your home is condensed into a nugget of first impressions. First impressions conveyed mainly by the photos you use to market your home.

Those photos are a reflection of how good a job you did preparing your home for sale. Still want to assess that yourself? Marketing is everything and your home is no exception. A professional home staging company can guide you to a realistic and professional presentation of your home that will appeal to your target buyer. Wherever they're moving from.