Lately, I’ve had a couple of sellers tell me that their real estate agent recommended they just “try it out for a few months without staging and see what happens”. Now these were home sellers who were proactive enough to contact me on their own to find out about home staging and wanted my recommendations for their home. Most times, though, it is the seller who wants to “try it out” despite the recommendations of the agent.

Here is what I know:

1. You will get a bunch of showings when the home first hits the market. One of these first 5 or 6 people through should be your buyer IF your home is priced right and is effectively merchandised (staged).

2. From my own staging data I know that homes that are staged from the very beginning sell 9 times faster than homes that we stage after they have been on the market for a while.

3. Homes that we stage from the very beginning often exceed the average selling price in our area of 97-98% of asking.

4. Homes that we stage later often have taken a price reduction or two (or three) prior to the staging and may have to take one at the time of staging to attract interest to the listing so that agents and buyers will give it another look.

5. It is harder to generate interest and showings in a home that has been on the market for a while. That first rush generally only happens at the beginning.

6. New listings have the best chance of getting multiple offers.

7. Owning a house costs money every month. Not only are there price reductions and low offers. There is also the mortgage, insurance and taxes every month.

8. While we can stage your home after a few months on the market, there unfortunately aren’t any re-do’s of the initial splash unless you are going to pull your home off the market for several months in between.

9. Home staging is designed to save you money or make you money. When preparation and pricing meet – it looks fast and easy to everyone else but it is really because the proper steps have been taken to ensure the best result.

10. You have far more control over the outcome of this selling transaction than you think. Sure you can gamble by “trying it out and seeing what happens” or you can take the bull by the horns, tilt the odds in your favor and give yourself the BEST possible chance of the outcome you desire.

It is true that inventories are low right now and houses are still selling. But wouldn’t you rather create stellar results rather than crossing your fingers and hoping?

When you are ready to avoid or stop burning money and are looking for excellent results give us a call at 720-295-0720. No matter where you are in the process or how long you have been on the market, we can help. We can make EVERY house look more expensive and more appealing to your buyer. Remember, how you live is not how you sell and no matter how beautiful your house looks it isn’t ready for buyers without the right kind of preparation.