Explore 8 Outrageously Bad Home Staging Decisions That Sellers Make – Part 1 of 4

For many sellers and buyers, the purchase of a home is an intensely personal experience. At its core, a home is the individual expression of a homeowner’s entire life enclosed within four walls. And while, initially, buyers should be more focused on the “bones of a home” – meaning those items that will stay after the seller vacates – staging a home can often be the difference between a “Buyer Bonanza” and a “Buyer Abyss”.

It may be difficult for those involved but, with a little “tough love”, sellers can definitely benefit by heeding advice regarding pre-market home-staging. Explore two of the “biggest staging sins” that sellers can make and some common-sense advice to help avoid these pitfalls before it costs them a sale.

It is almost impossible for any collection to look neutral and orderly, which are 2 of the high-priority goals found in any home staging publication. Unless the homeowner has attractive, custom built-in cases to display the collectibles, even the most sought-after collection can come off as a pile of dust-collecting, space-consuming clutter.

When it comes to outrageously bad staging decisions, the choice to give a gun-collection or a mounted hunting trophy a head-lining role in a home’s staging is high on the “what-were-they-thinking” list. For some buyers, these collections can trigger personal and sanitation concerns that may take away from the strengths and features the home actually has to offer.

• Sellers need to understand that a home will benefit from a more neutral, less personal setting. Being able to remove buyer’s objections is paramount.
• Sellers should pack away any collectible or prized possessions prior to a home hitting the market.

In an echo-chamber, sounds are amplified because they simply bounce around in a confined space. Sellers can also find themselves stuck in an echo-chamber if they don’t take advantage of outside professional advice. And unfortunately, it seems that bad staging ideas get amplified, more so than the good ones. Echo-chamber staging happens when the total sum of a staging team is one person. That bold wallpaper in the bathroom may seem like a good idea, but with a little perspective, and another opinion, may prove otherwise.

• Sellers who market their homes with zero external or professional input are often those who are unable to self-assess what might “make or break” a buyer making an offer. They need to understand that the home may be significantly cluttered or that the furniture is too plentiful to show how spacious the home really is. A short-term storage rental unit might be the answer to that bad staging decision.
• Even sellers with a bare-bones budget, can hire a professional stager who will offer you an hour’s worth of staging advice.
• Seller’s beloved 4-legged furry friends may be the source of unpleasant trace-odors that may offend potential buyers. Keeping litter pans and regularly scheduled groomings in check is prudent.

We hope you found this 1ST segment of our series of 8 OUTRAGEOUSLY BAD STAGING DECISIONS to be informative and interesting… Watch for our next BLOG POST on July 16th as we continue this series…

To locate our recommended HOME-STAGING SERVICES in Spring Hill and Brooksville of Hernando County, Florida, be sure to visit us at www.homesinthesunteam.com/does-home-staging-work