You Have to Teach Them How to Live in This House

In the past, we discussed the notion that selling your house can be very emotional.  But buying a house can be an equally stressful process.

The buyer’s objective is to find the “best” house for themselves and their lifestyle at the “best” price possible.  And “best” is a very relative and unique concept for every buyer.  Buyers are making a major gamble and investment that this house is going to be “best for us”.  And that gamble is measured in thousands and thousands of dollars, lots of personal status and self-image points and off the chart readings on the “Life Stress-o- Meter”.

The house buying process forces buyers to simultaneously make emotional decisions and rational decisions with lots riding on those decisions.  Buyers need to both “love” the house and “afford” what they love – not always possible and oftentimes very stressful.  Plus, it is natural to be stressed when you are concerned about whether your loved ones and friends will really like this house and/or whether your furniture will really work in this house.

Home staging teaches buyers how to live in this house.  Home staging paints a picture for the buyer about what life could be like in this house.  It opens them up to consider the new possibilities of this house rather than fall back into their comfort zone.  Home staging helps reduce the level of buyer stress as well as help them make both the emotional and rational decisions. 

When moving about a professionally staged home, buyers imagine cooking fabulous meals in the kitchen; chatting with friends and family by the fireplace; and, snuggling up with a good book in the master bedroom.  Home staging strikes the buyer’s emotional chords and drives emotional decisions. 

When done well, home staging also helps the buyer make rational decisions.  Home staging defines a home’s best features and delivers the easy flow of a home.  It makes the house feel neat, ordered and in proper perspective.  Home staging makes sense of the house and its functions which teaches buyers how to live in this house.

Home staging helps buyers imagine living their best selves living in this house.  And when they are so inspired, these buyers are more likely to find the possibilities in both their emotional decisions and rational decisions to buy this house.

Remember to dwell in possibilities - emotionally and rationally!

 

Cindy

Pretty Costs, Pretty Pays

Selling your house requires that it stand out from the crowd.  It can stand out because of its price; special location; or, unique features (which we call focal points in the home staging business).  Your house can also stand out from the crowd because it is prettier than the rest!  And Professional home staging makes houses pretty!!

But the reality is that Pretty Costs.  Just watch the ads and infomercials for makeup; age defying creams; hair products; clothes; weight loss programs; augmentations, and fitness machines and programs.  They guarantee some variation of pretty (usually with minimal effort) and they all cost money – sometimes lots of money.

Why do they work?  Because we also know that Pretty Pays.  Pretty babies draw “oohs” and “ahhes”.  Pretty girls turn heads.  Pretty men (usually referred to as handsome) also hold stares.  And pretty houses stand out from the crowd for all of the right reasons.

But when it comes to selling our house, some sellers (and sadly even a few realtors) believe that what they have is good enough.  They don’t need pretty.  In their view, “we don’t need to spend money on getting our house ready.  If it was good enough for me it will be good enough for the next guy.  Why waste my money on improvements and home staging if it is going to sell any way.”

For these short-sighted sellers, an investment in improvements and home staging is viewed as an unnecessary expense.  They are living in the past and expect their home to just sell.   Gone are the days when you can just stick a “For Sale” sign in the yard! 

For the savvy, strategic seller, this home staging cost is an investment in selling their house quicker and for the best possible price.  They know that Pretty Costs and Pretty Pays.

Professional home staging makes the house pretty because it accentuates the home’s best features and provides a nice, easy and consistent use of space and movement.  And don’t forget, a professionally staged house dramatically improves the pictures for the online listing.

Pretty Costs and so does professional home staging.  But Pretty Pays dividends and so does professional home staging which pays dividends in selling houses quicker and for the best possible price. 

A pretty house fires the imagination of the buyer and presents the possibilities of life in this memorable place.

 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy