I stare into the abyss of all my stuff.  My master closet is a sinkhole of my past 32 years of living in my home. I am purging my things for the third time.  I keep asking myself why did I keep this?  I am going up and down stairs between my master closet and mudroom. Organize, donate, throw away. Organize, donate throw away. It seems so overwhelming sometimes I just stop dead in my tracks and freeze. Stuck on what to do next. I remember what I tell my clients.  “Put one foot in front of the other and move forward until you reach the goal of a move in ready property.”

I raised my 3 children here as well as having had 3 horses, 2 dogs, a kitty and numerous barn cats.  I no longer need a 4 bedroom house, a barn and chicken coop and 5 acres.  A new season has begun in my life.  It’s time to prepare my house for sale and move.  My training as a CSP stager has allowed me to know what needs to be done to maximize my profit when my home is put on the real estate market.

Deciding to sell your house is stressful. I know from my training that if I prepare my property now, the selling process will be quicker and my return greater. If I do the necessary prep work before I list, the selling is easier and less stressful. The days on market will be reduced. My chances for a price reduction is avoided or at worst minimized. Staging is a marketing tool. It showcases the house and its features.  When done properly it allows potential buyers to realize how the house functions. A well staged home creates a lifestyle based on the demographics of the local real estate market.  A house that is staged correctly tugs at a buyers emotions and gets them to say “ I want to live here.”

The majority of buyers want a move in ready property.  This group is willing to spend more money to get a house that does not need work..  With today’s busy lifestyle, people do not want to spend the time or money painting and making updates to their new home.  They want to move in without having to do anything for  months or years. The pool of buyers that are willing to buy a “fixer upper” is readily shrinking. Gone are the days of having just a sparkling clean and neat house sell quickly.  The millennials especially do not want to feel like they are moving into what reminds them of their parent’s or grandparent’s house.  They want a property that looks similar to what they see on HGTV or a Pottery Barn catalog,

Does my house have to be perfect?  No. It does ,however, have to be good enough to allow buyers to live there without having to do any work until they have saved enough to invest in their dream renovations.  The advice I give to any seller or listing agent, before placing the house on the market, consult with a certified home stager.  A CSP stager is trained to view a property, both inside and out, through the eyes of a buyer.  A CSP stager, will advise a seller, the most cost efficient way to prepare their home for the real estate market.  When the preparation is complete, and the showcase staging finished, the property will rise above any competitive listing.