What? Call a Stager Now?

Who wouldn’t love to have a professional with a TV crew come in and prepare their home for sale in a very short amount of time?  I am secretly hoping that I will be so lucky when I put my house on the market.  Maybe HGTV can do a show called Staging the Stager’s House. The truth is some home sellers do not know and understand the value of home staging, nor do they realize how long the process takes.

As is everything on TV viewers only see the edited version and reality is only similar in concept to what is seen through the camera.  Most television staging jobs start with a walk through and consultation, as it should. Each home, homeowner and situation is different.  Following the consultation is the reality stretch.  Don’t get me wrong I have no problem with home staging shows offering advice and examples to potential clients. I have been known to leave my own television on HGTV (just for noise) for hours at a time.  But, there usually is not an entire crew and the progress may be much slower than expected.

That is why I suggest to anyone planning on selling his or her home in the next few years to talk with a real estate stager to schedule a consultation NOW.  More often than not it takes longer than anticipated to make the necessary changes to prepare a home for the market. Also, the process will be much less stressful than it would be if trying to get the home ready in a few weeks.  Homeowner’s can paint, sort, and pack at their leisure rather than scramble to plan a sale 1-2 weeks away.

All of this will also avoid the panicked phone call for a staging consultation ‘after’ the house has been on the market and not sold.  This does not look good folks!  There are many red flags when this happens and buyers will pick up on them offering a lower price.  Why not present your home at its best when it first goes on the market?

I understand that not everyone has this luxury but for those who do it would be a smart move to call for a consultation sooner rather than later.