Setting the Stage For Selling Your Home

The media portrayals of the depressed real estate market intimidate sellers into believing they will not be able to sell their home at a reasonable price. On Feb. 3, real estate staging professional Sandi Lanigan armed area residents and potential home sellers with the tools to prove the media wrong.

Lanigan, an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP®), presented an overview of staging last Thursday evening at the . For over seven years, she has specialized in assisting homeowners with preparing their houses for sale. By staging a home, a seller makes it appealing to the greatest number of potential buyers.

Initially an interior decorator, Lanigan stumbled upon her current profession while teaming up with a real estate agent to assist new buyers in decorating their homes.  The agent suggested that Lanigan use her talents to help sellers prepare homes for sale. She added that service to her repertoire, later taking a three-day course in Braintree, MA to receive accreditation.

Although staging dates back to the mid-'70s in California, it arrived to the East Coast more recently due to the propensity of buyers to search for their new homes online.  In  fact, said Lanigan, 95 percent of buyers now search for homes online.  Those buyers rely on photographs of the house to decide whether or not to visit the house in person. If the photos show a crowded, dark and/or cluttered house, many buyers will not even consider it. 

Furthermore, the same buyers who are taking advantage of lower home prices are also buying at the top of their price range, said Lanigan.  As a result, they lack the time and money to make cosmetic changes to a house so they do not even consider a house that does not make a good first impression.

That’s where stagers like Lanigan come in.

“People take it personally, “ Lanigan said, referring to the difficulty homeowners have in objectively preparing their home for sale. Stagers depersonalize the house to allow the buyer to envision it objectively.

Lanigan displayed various before and after photos to emphasize what she meant when she used a Home Staging professional adage:  “Nobody can mentally move in until you mentally move out.”

Only one member of the audience admitted she was planning to add her home to the available real estate offerings soon. Most of the other attendees said that they were considering selling their home within the next five years. Lanigan considers the latter her primary customers. 

By the time owners retain a real estate agent to list their home, it is often too late for a stager to make many of the necessary changes.  Retaining a staging professional in advance gives a homeowner time to plan upgrades and other changes years before a move, protecting their investment in a home. 

The goal is to sell the space in a house—not its furnishings.

Tolland resident Bonnie Griffiths recommended separating out the items you will not be taking with you and moving them to your garage. A charity will pick them up for free, allowing you to take a tax deduction.  

Clutter is the most common problem Lanigan encounters when she arrives to stage a home.  She focuses most of her attention on three rooms in the house:  the kitchen, master bedroom and TV room.  Counters are best cleared of all personal items and appliances that can be put in cabinets.  Bedrooms look best with just a bed, nightstand and dresser. Lanigan also said to remove all items that show names and other personal information:  No one needs to know who lives there.

Other successful staging techniques include removing curtains to make rooms look larger, re-painting walls in neutral colors and painting woodwork white.

Lanigan attempted to dissuade one participant from choosing blue paint in his home and explained the benefits of neutrals.  That participant, a retired accountant, does not plan to move now, but wants to be ready to follow either of his adult children if they leave the area.  He and his wife plan certain renovations to their house of 38 years, and he believes that Lanigan’s services are well worth the $100-$300 she charges.

Griffiths came to the presentation to learn Lanigan’s tips. However, she is confident she can sell her home without help, as she did with a previous residence.

Adding multiple lights in each room and repairing small items such as broken handles can also make a big difference to a potential buyer.  Even minor, easily remedied problems are red flags to buyers and their inspectors that there are neglected items in the house. 

Lanigan also recommends that professional photographers capture the completed staging to represent a home to potential buyers in the best light possible. 

For more information on staging, readers can visit: sandilanigan.com or stagedhomes.com.