After some deliberation, you’ve decided to sell your Westfield home. When marketing to today’s buyers, you need to make sure they can picture your home as their home. To do so, you’re going to need to stage it properly. That’s where a professional staging company comes in handy. They know how to arrange each room of your house to maximize the positives and minimize the negatives. But, not all home stagers are created equal. To find the right one, ask your Westfield home stager these five questions.
What to Ask Your Westfield Home Stager
How Long Do Your Westfield Area Homes Typically Stay on the Market?
Ideally, you want a Westfield home stager whose homes typically sell in 30 days or less. If your home is still on the market after 30 days, you may need to reduce your price to drive up interest. Proper home staging helps avoid that situation.
What’s the Price Range of the Westfield Homes You Usually Stage?
When working in a luxury market, you want a home stager that knows their audience. Find out what area of the Westfield area market they regularly work in. What’s the average list price of the homes they stage? Catering to a luxury home buyer can be very different than modeling a home for a buyer in a lower price range.
What Projects Can I Do Myself?
To save both time and money, you might be able to tackle some staging projects yourself. Any stager worth their salt will let you know what you can do to prep your home for sale. Of course, you can always let them handle everything if you would rather. It’s up to you how involved you want to be in the home staging process.
Are You Insured?
Your Westfield home stager will be moving furniture around and hanging artwork. While rare, sometimes things get damaged. Knowing that the staging company is insured alleviates your stress in case something does happen to go wrong.
How Much Will it Cost and How Long Will it Take?
Finally, the money question. Cost varies depending on whether or not they bring furnishings in with them or use your own. Also, the length of time you plan on renting any furnishings they bring factors into the equation. Some stagers charge a monthly fee while others ask for a flat fee that covers the entire duration of your listing. On average, it takes approximately one to two days to completely stage a home, depending on its size.
Talk to your Westfield luxury REALTOR@. They might be able to recommend staging companies that you can trust for your home. Staged homes seller faster and for more money than unstaged homes. Hiring a professional stager is well worth the investment.
Scott Gleason, CRS at Coldwell Banker Realty – East, NJ Luxury Homes