All the world's a stage : Rooftop Views

Rooftop Views

All the world's a stage

It's all the latest rage in home selling. Have the home "staged." But what, exactly, does that mean?

There are actually two different ways to stage a home. One is if the home is vacant and the other is if it is not. There can be some overlap, of course.

If the home is vacant, a staging professional will actually bring in furniture and decorative items to show off the selling points of the home. Perhaps they want to emphasize the fireplace so they'll place chairs and tables around it. If it's the kitchen, a few copper pots and some nice stemware and voilà! Usually not all rooms are staged in a vacant house. Just the main attractions - living room, kitchen, perhaps master bedroom.

If the home is still being lived in, the goal is the same but the execution may be different. First a stager will "declutter' and "depersonalize" the home. Take down all the family photos and get rid of all the stuff on the counters and in the closets. Then they may move furniture around. Of course, they will recommend that rooms be painted and carpets be cleaned.

What's the purpose? To show off the home to it's maximum advantage. With as much competition as there is today, it is very important that a potential buyer sees everything the home has to offer. if it's cluttered, dirty or filled with personal objects the buyer may just move on to the next house.

What does it cost? Typically about 1% or so of the sales price is a good rule of thumb. So a $300,000 home would cost about $3,000 to stage. Sometimes the broker will pick up part or all of the tab and sometimes it's up to the home seller. Of course, a stager can come in and tell the seller what to do for a lot less money and it will be up to the seller to actually complete the work.