STAGING SERVICES

"Home staging is about illusions. It's how David Copperfield would sell a house. It's beyond decorating and cleaning. It's about perfecting the art of creating moods. Staging makes your house look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer, more loving and, best of all, it makes home buyers want to buy it.

Contrary to what you might think, it's about more than preparing the house for sale. Staging is what you do after you've cleaned, de-cluttered, painted, made minor repairs; it's all about dressing the house for sale.

It's about adding the small details: the lipstick, mascara and, for simplicity, a stunning, single strand of Tahitian pearls."  (Elizabeth Weintraub, Home Buying/Selling, About.com)

Staging is an option to be used as an added tool to market your home.  You are not obligated to do so but it is highly encouraged.  Properly staged properties sell faster and for a higher average sales price than unstaged properties.  Below are various services that most Professional Stagers provide:

Basic Staging – furniture and drapery rearrangement, additional accenting (lighting, wall art, décor, vases, flowers, rugs, linens, etc).  These items may be yours or rented (fees apply with rentals).

Closet Organizing – boxing items for moving, staging closets for viewing, storing clothing items in storage bins/boxes, minimizing clutter

Cabinet Organizing – organizing pantries, cabinetry (dishes, glasses, cookware, Tupperware, utensils, small kitchen appliances, etc.)

Bathroom Organizing – organizing vanities/medicine cabinets, boxing or staging

Basic Landscaping – adding mulch to flower beds, flowers/shrubs

Basic Cleaning Services – to include but not limited to:

• Baseboard cleaning
• Vacuuming and mopping/waxing
• Bathrooms – toilets, floors, sinks, tubs
• Dusting and Polishing – chandeliers, light fixtures, blinds, window sills, ceiling fans, etc
• Kitchens – thoroughly cleaning appliances to include ovens, refrigerators (they benefit from staging, too!), dishwashers, microwaves

These services are optional but HIGHLY recommended in this market.  Marketing a home for sale is distinctly different from decorating the home we live in.  Distinguishing your home from all the rest will significantly increase your chances of a faster marketing time and ultimately, a better offer! 

Any additional items (furniture and décor rentals, plants, linens, etc) required to stage will be at the seller’s expense and discretion.  Sellers must approve a budget prior to accepting these staging services.

Sellers should be prepared to provide the following for the above list of services:

• Packing Boxes and/or Storage Bins
• Access to any additional linens/furniture/draperies/dishes, etc in an effort to minimize your costs
• Signed written agreement for any services requested