Should your house be staged before you sell?
To Stage or Not to Stage – that is the question! by Sveta Melchuk Updated from the Home Staging archives. Originally published on Jun 18th 2007. Staging a Home for sale will cost you money. Is it worth spending time and effort on it? After all, once the decision to sell has been made, you [...][Click on the title link to view the entire article]
Would you like to rent your property for more money?
Posted by: Sveta Melchuk. Founder of Home Staging Montreal
Professional staging/decorating for rental of a condo or an apartment is becoming more and more in demand. If you are looking for executive rental income for your unit, the property has to be presented accordingly.
Some of the apartments are quite new and others require some cosmetic renovations before decorating for rental. Some clients need help with managing the total project from beginning to end and taking care of things such as:
- Make the list of what needs to be updated
- Purchase all the materials, tiles, light fixtures, etc.
- Provide renovation team to do the work
- Provide cleaning team
- Purchase all furniture
- Purchase all accessories
- Purchase linens, towels, even dishes if required
- Decorate the apartment for rental
Decorating for rental involves some clever and creative thinking. We want it to look nice but we don’t want to spend a lot. We have to keep in mind the necessities for someone renting the apartment but also be practical. The unit has to look inviting but remain neutral in look and color.
We need to take into consideration our market and potential clientele we want to reach and stage/decorate accordingly. But chances are that our tenants will be less careful with our furnishings, so we need to plan for that as well. For example, I recommend darker color furniture and carpets as they will stay cleaner for a longer time. We want to include the minimum amount of furniture but it has to be comfortable for living. In general, the objective of decorating for rental is the same as that of home staging; creating a great first impression and allowing our potential tenant to see himself/herself living in that space.
As an example, please view a recent “decorating for rental” project by Home Staging Montreal team, where we first started by fixing up and repainting the condo and had it cleaned. Then we went shopping for vertical blinds, new furniture and accessories and we put it all together for a simple but effective urban look.
Here are some before and after pictures, to give you an idea:
If you would like to discuss with us how we can help you decorate for rental, give us a call or email us.
Our contact info is displayed just below this message. Looking forward to your comments!
Posted By: Sveta Melchuk. Founder of Home Staging Montreal, a Montreal firm specializing in Home Staging and Interior Redesign. Simple and effective solutions, to help you sell your property faster and for more money. Call Sveta at: 514-482-9776 http://www.home-staging-montreal.com/
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- So, you think you don’t need Home Staging?
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A Staged house that sold in 3 hours
I wanted to share this recent story with you – a Staged house sells in 3 hours! Of course it’s exceptional but it does happen inspite of a slower real estate market.
I was recently asked to help a lady prepare her home for sale. The house is small (2 bedrooms only and a very small office), but very well located and well maintained. The paint was recent and the color neutral enough on the main floor but needed to be refreshed in a couple of rooms on the upper floor.
The problem? Old and outdated furniture, outdated and darkish curtains, some clutter and several personal items, such as the owner’s artwork displayed everywhere in the house (pretty but not to everyone’s taste).
We worked on a very limited budget (approximately $700). I made a list of accessories to purchase and we split the tasks – I went off to IKEA and the owner shopped in smaller local stores to locate items such as decorative pillows, a vase, branches, a mirror and some fabric. She repainted her old dining room table a dark brown (instead of a previous blue color) and recovered the chairs with dark brown microsuede fabric. She also repainted a small office and a bathroom over a weekend. The seller also worked very hard to declutter and put some of her furniture in storage.
Last, but not least, we rented two small white chairs and we reorganized her furniture to optimize the spaces, changed the curtains on the living room and set up the accessories.
 Before |
 After |
As soon as the photographs appeared on the Internet, the phone started to ring. Three appointments were set up for the evening. The second visitors made and offer to purchase on the spot and it was accepted. The house sold the same day for %96 of the asking price. End of story!
Posted By: Sveta Melchuk. Founder of Home Staging Montreal, a Montreal firm specializing in Home Staging and Interior Redesign. Simple and effective solutions, to help you sell your property faster and for more money. Call Sveta at: 514-482-9776
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