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Deerfield company helps owners prepare their homes for sale
The real estate market continues to get more competitive and is turning into something of a buyer’s market, so savvy sellers are now making sure they use every advantage available, including “staging.”
Staging is a simple concept: Put your home in the best available light.
Imagine your home is a contestant and the buyers are the judging panel picking the new American Idol. As the homeowner, you want to win so you go the extra mile and have the home professionally staged by interior designers who smooth out the wrinkles, like Deerfield-based Collaborate Design Studio.
They are taking care of clients Guy and Barbara of Northbrook, who live in a small unincorporated area near Interstate 94 and Waukegan Road. The neighborhood is a mix of older homes on large lots, new McMansions and upgraded and added-onto homes called “tweeners.”
“That’s what we are, tweeners,” said Barb. Tweeners are not as expensive as the McMansions, which cost between $1.3 million to $1.8 million, but are too nice to tear down.
“Basically, staging is preparing a home to be sold, and you want it to be comfortable and pleasing,” said Susan Behringer of Collaborate Design Studios. “A buyer is going to come in and within seconds have an impression. You want that first impression to be important. They have to say, ‘Yes, I can live here.’
“If they can picture themselves in the home, they might buy it,” she said.
They can’t picture themselves if the owners have all of their family pictures hanging from the walls and scattered across shelving throughout the house. That is the first rule of staging: Depersonalize.
“You don’t want (the buyer) to focus on personal items. The focus needs to be on how the new family can move in and use the space,” she said.
On a recent day, Behringer and associate Kim Pesavento started in the first-floor master bedroom that had a large wall of shelves. The first thing the women did was get rid of the soft plushy animals on the shelves and add vases and greenery (fake ivy vines) and re-arranged the books. The Harry Potter books were given their own separate shelf space.
“The first thing you saw coming into the bedroom was the desk, a work area,” said Behringer. So the desk was put on the wall closest to the door and instead a nice little seating area with a bench borrowed from another part of the house was created. Some house plants and small pillows gave it charm.
“Now you have a nice little reading area and not a work area,” said Behringer.
For Guy and Barb, decluttering was not much of an issue because they had already done that, but it is one of the more important steps. Sometimes suggestions can include painting, removing wallpaper and buying new furniture or towels for the bathroom.
At Stagedhomes.com, proponents say staging not only helps homes sell faster, but also for more money. Both Guy and Barb, who are downsizing, feel good about Collaborate Design Studio, which can be hired by the seller or through the Realtor or real estate agent.
“It’s a great idea and worth the money,” he said.
“I think the staging is important because they have a different eye than I do,” she said. “I want them to help me move the house real quick.”
Ten Tips To Get Your Home Ready For Selling
1.Embrace the saying, “You only have one chance to make a first impression!” Look around your house with this in mind.
2.Start with the foyer, as that is where the buyers will enter the home. Evaluate what you see when you first step into your house. Keep it simple, clean, and organized.
3.Remove clutter from all areas of the house. This includes closets!
4.Banish excess furniture, accessories and personal belongings from each room.
5.Make sure the kitchen is spotless. Remove extraneous items from the counters.
6. Take down outdated wallpaper; paint walls so that each room transitions to the next. Use warm, neutral colors, not bold and splashy.
7.Clean or replace carpets.
8.Ensure all odors are gone.
9.Avoid a dark house. Turn on lights and draw back drapes. If a lighting fixture “dates” your house, replace it.
10. Bathrooms must be spotless and have fresh towels, clean grout and sparkling mirrors and fixtures.
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Setting the Stage
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