Professional stager shares tips to make home market-ready

This week’s column, the first in a threepart series, was written by Allison Moore of Warnock Real Estate in Fort Smith. Moore is a licensed real estate agent and has been selling and staging homes in Arkansas since 2014. As a Realtor-stager, she combines a passion for the real estate industry, a background in marketing and an eye for design to help her clients reach their real estate goals. She currently serves as vice president for the Fort Smith Board of Realtors.

You are sitting in the office of the CEO of a company you would love to work for. You’ve prepared for this moment — hair in place, crisp suit on, well-scripted cover letter and flawless resume in hand. You are ready to put your best foot forward, and you do. You nail the interview and are hired on the spot.

Congratulations! All of your preparation has paid off.

In a way, selling your home is similar to prepping for a job interview: Making sure your home is interview-ready (well, in this case market-ready) is one of the most important aspects on which to focus. Each potential buyer will interview your home.

Is it a good fit for their needs? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your property? Essentially, is your home a qualified candidate to meet and exceed the buyer’s expectations?

Whether a property is well or poorly presented can make a tremendous impact on the bottom line — the selling price.

Have you ever looked at online photos of a property for sale, and all you can see is an overgrown yard or clutter? Or even photos of a room that contains so much furniture that just looking at it makes you feel claustrophobic? And what about the photos of rooms that are so bad that you can’t even determine what the room is or how it should be used?

These cringe-worthy photos are a seller’s worst nightmare: A buyer will quickly move on to another property with the simple click of a button. The combination of a well-presented home and professional photography is the key to getting potential buyers in your door. A home stager who is familiar with your local real estate market can also be a great asset in getting your home market-ready.

As a Realtor-stager, my main objective is to help clients get their property sold as quickly as possible, and for top dollar.

I’ve discovered that it is sometimes difficult for sellers to understand the “Whys” of home staging. Here are a few of the points that I discuss with my clients to help them understand why home staging is an integral part of marketing their property.

• Fresh perspective

Living in a home and marketing a home are two very different things. We become accustomed to our spaces and how we live. It’s just a simple fact, and we all do it, me included. We don’t live in “showready” homes.

However, in today’s fast-moving real estate climate, you have to spell it out for buyers. They don’t have the time or the patience to look beyond pet beds and trophy collections.

When you list your home, you have to emotionally detach yourself from the property. Yes, technically it is your property, but detaching emotionally can be a huge step towards the ultimate goal — a “sold” property. You want buyers to mentally “move in” when viewing your home.

A home stager has the professional expertise to make a property a “neutral zone,” thereby appealing to the most buyers. A home stager creates a “narrative” of the home that allows the potential buyer to fill in the details.

Pro tip: Remove family photos, diplomas and anything else that shares your personal information.

Some pros in this industry don’t agree with this strategy because they believe such items give the property a homey, lived-in feeling. However, I am of the opinion that a personalized home is not a “neutral zone.” Also, when potential buyers tour your home, you want them to see your lovely home, not your family’s vacation pictures.

• Form over function, or function over form?

There are many talented interior designers out there, and they are fabulous at what they do. Believe me, I spend hours poring over magazines and pinning away on Pinterest to get great design inspiration for my own home.

However, there is a difference between a well-decorated home and a well-staged home. An interior decorator designs for the way you live, while a home stager designs to help market and sell a home.

A home stager can quickly determine what needs to be added or edited from a space. They know what areas of your home need to be highlighted for their form and what spaces should be highlighted for their function.

For example, perhaps that bedroom, which you have used as a guest room since you purchased the home, would be better suited as a home gym or office. And maybe those stunning drapes — yes, the ones you had custom made — need to be removed to showcase that gorgeous picture window and view. A home-stager’s job is not to simply make your home look pretty, but also to make your home marketable.

Pro tip: Let the light in! Make sure all windows are clean and that they function property. If you have hazy windows, have them professionally cleaned (or have them replaced, if needed).

Buyers only see dollar signs and more work for themselves when they see old, dirty windows. You also don’t want to give the impression that the home is not well maintained.

• The right price

No seller wants to get the call from their Realtor that the selling price needs to be decreased — nor would you want the property to sit on the market with little or no activity.

You have to consider the most important factors. Is your home suitably priced for

the current market? Is it being advertised and marketed effectively?

Think of home staging as an equity finder. The small investment in having a property professionally staged can ultimately mean more money in your pocket.

You will also have the peace of mind that you have done all you can to have your home market-ready.

It costs a lot less to have your property

professionally staged than it does to reduce your list price later.

A survey by the National Association of Realtors found that the longer homes stay on the market, the further their prices drop.

Once staged, however, homes spend an average of 73 percent less time on the market than nonstaged properties.

House to House is distributed by the Arkansas Realtors Association. For more information about homeownership in Arkansas, visit www.ArkansasRealtors.com.

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