Are you an individual or Perth property developer putting a house – or several – up for sale? Make sure your property looks the very best it can with proper home staging.
Effective home staging can make the difference between a fast sale at great price, and months of frustration as viewers troop through your home or display and opt not to buy or make poor offers. You can do much to stage your home yourself but for the most outstanding results, Perth’s professional house stagers can do an amazing job.
Also known as home styling, property styling or house dressing, home staging is the process of making a home as attractive as possible for potential buyers. Whether it’s your own home or a display home for a new development, a property’s potential for sale depends on the image it projects. That’s because as buyers inspect your property, they’ll be imaging themselves living there. Clearly, any home that radiates a warm and stylish ambiance will be highly desirable, and that’s where home staging comes in.
Home staging is especially important if the home is empty or has few possessions inside. This could be the case if you’ve already moved out or you acquired the home without fixtures and fittings and plan to resell without moving. But the fact is, the price you get for your home depends on the perceptions of potential buyers. And a home that looks inviting and ready to move in commands a premium price over a place of floorboards and bare windows.
So how does home staging work?
Preparing a home for sale is a specialised task that demands expertise in a diverse range of skills including interior design, marketing and buyer psychology. Home stagers also need to have excellent contacts in the furniture and fittings business in order to get the best deals for their clients.
Home staging is a multifaceted process. Along with generally sprucing up and making over a property, home staging can also involve fitting out the premises with the right furniture.
A professional home staging firm will also ensure your home is well protected, which is especially important if you’re not occupying the premises or visiting regularly. Installing an alarm system will scare away intruders and vandals, and details can be positioned prominently to act as a deterrent to keep the property safe. Other than in the home itself, it’s also important to install alarms in outdoor areas and structures. These include gardens, terraces, poolside, and in buildings such as gazebos, sheds and conservatories.
It’s said that potential buyers make a decision about whether or not to buy a home within just a few seconds of entering the premises. Here are some ways to help them make the choice you want. If you’re planning on preparing your home for sale by yourself, here are some important dos and don’ts to help you ensure you get the best possible price for your property.
Top 5 Do’s When Home Staging
• Make sure your home is impeccably clean. It should go without saying that your home should be spruced up when potential buyers arrive. Regular vacuuming, scrubbing and polishing will take care of this with special attention paid to the windows, bathroom and the exterior of the property. Smeared windows can make a room look drab, while a stray plastic bag blown in by the wind can mar a lovely garden.
• The bedroom is a key space in the home, so be sure to stage it in an especially inviting way. It’s easy to do this with an enticing bed coverlet and artfully placing a few shams and throw cushions on top.
• Create a fragrant atmosphere. Your sense of smell influences your emotions strongly, so it’s vital to have a property that smells just right. Most homes are infused with the scents of their owners to the extent we stop noticing them. Your kitchen may reek of the spices you use in your favourite dishes, your living room may leave no doubt you’re a cat lover and your bathroom might even emit the odour of mould, for example. Neutralizing these smells is essential. You can also create your own enticing ambiance through infusing your premises with some attractive fragrances. Popular choices for home sellers are vanilla, cedar, and cinnamon, along with citrus fragrances such as orange and lemon.
• Lavish a lot of attention on your exteriors. Your buyer’s first impressions will form as soon they pull up at the curb outside. This means you need to ensure your entrances, gates, paths, gardens, and all outside spaces are impeccable. Paint all woodwork, pressure wash the drives, and plant some flowers and other plants to ensure a smart and welcoming exterior to your home.
• Make sure your front door prominently features a door bell push and that it rings with a cheery tone. A nice welcome mat works wonders, too.
Top 5 Don’ts
• Avoid clutter. You can do this by removing bulky furniture such as sofas, wardrobes and other items. Presenting rooms with a sense of space allows your visitors to imagine how they’d arrange their own furniture when they move in. It’s also important to convey a sense of freedom and ease of moving around. Be sure to clear away all items such as toys, clothing, pet gear and other items that tend to accumulate around our homes on a daily basis.
• Don’t hide away all personal items such as books and pictures. Touches of individuality help convey the mood of a home that’s well lived-in and will offer a warm and comfortable future for new owners. Just remember not to overdo it. One or two family photos should be enough.
• Don’t stash your extra stuff in cupboards and closets – pack it away in storage instead. Home storage is very important for buyers and they’re sure to check your spaces. Make sure they see plenty of room and not a jumble of items.
• Avoid going to the expense and trouble of investing heavily in furniture and fittings to make your home look great. Using the services of a home staging firm offering short term furniture hire in Perth will take care of this without requiring major expenditure.
• Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for professional help. Firms exist to provide this exact service and they’re very good at it.
Ask for Help to Make Your Home Look the Best
Considering the considerable work that goes into house staging and the level of expertise needed to showcase a house to the full, it makes sense to employ the services of a professional house staging company.
Hiring a professional firm also results in an objective assessment of your home’s special qualities. As a rule, home owners tend to be too emotionally invested in the property to clearly appreciate what a potential buyer is looking for. House staging firms have the experience and knowledge of the market to know precisely what buyers are looking for and present your home accordingly. They can work to emphasise the property’s best features, whether that’s impressive storage facilities, great views or a roomy kitchen.
Furnishing a home in a way to maximise its appeal is a skilled art, and one that can bolster the price you get for your property. This is especially so for display units or unfurnished homes. Empty rooms do not create a desire to buy, so decking them out with attractive furniture and fittings is a must if you want to garner a quick sale at a good price. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to achieve this.
Most property staging companies offers furniture hire services so you don’t need to buy unneeded furniture and fittings such as carpets and curtains. These firms are very skilled in the art of staging homes for purchase and can provide any décor you could want, including lush floor rugs, designer lamps, inviting bed linens and throw pillows, tables, chairs, sofas and other key furniture items. This way, you don’t need to invest thousands on purchasing furnishings outright or spend your free time looking for the best items.
Even if your home is already furnished, a professional furniture staging can offer alternative items that work to present your home’s best features to the full. In the hands of experienced and professional designers, your house’s interiors can realise their full potential. In essence, your house will look a million dollars. Various packages are available and furniture to hire firms offer a full service including removal of all packing materials.
Home staging is a smart investment that reaps rich rewards. Hiring a professional firm to handle the entire process frees you to focus on other matters, and eliminates the need to spend time and money on sourcing the right furniture yourself. Another big plus is that the image of your home will appear online to further tempt buyers.
740 Designs has been styling homes in and around Perth for over 15 years and has the experience and skilled staff to ensure you get the best possible value for your home.