| Staging can help homes sell for more |
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By: By ERIN EDGEMON Business Editor
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Watching Home and Garden Television gave Linda Lindquist the idea of bringing in a new set of eyes to look over her home and prepare it for sale in Murfreesboro's competitive real estate market.
"You live with things everyday," she said, "and you don't realize that it could be a detriment to your home."
Lindquist did the typical things a homeowner would think of like cleaning and picking up some of the clutter, but she didn't think about removing furniture or rearranging furniture to better show off a room until bringing in an accredited staging professional.
When preparing a home for sale, less is more, advised Marilyn Case, a Bob Parks Realtor and accredited staging professional. "Especially with existing homes, you have to stand out."
Bob Parks Realtor Janet Stolze added, "Clutter eats equity."
Home sellers should think of all five senses when they are preparing their home to sell, and what is going to be appealing to a prospective buyer, she said.
"The way you live in your house and the way you sell your house are two different things," Stolze said.
Case and Stolze are the only two real estate agents that have received training and are certified to stage a home for sale. The pair can walk through a home and make a list of things the homeowner should remove or change that will help it sell for top-dollar and better compete with other houses on the market.
"It is turning your home into a house and turning that house into a product on the market," they both said. They recommend staging a home of any price point or size.
The key to home staging is removing the clutter.
"You are really de-decorating the home," Case said. "You want people to see the home and not the furnishings."
Stolze said, "You want clients to be able to visualize their stuff and not (the current owner's) stuff on the walls and shelves.
Homeowners are often given a list of furniture that needs to be removed or rearranged in the house; are told to repaint outdated rooms or shutters; replace old-fashioned fixtures with modern ones; and to remove other clutter and photographs that attract the eye.
Too much furniture can make a room look small, Case said. Furniture positioned around the doorways also restricts the view of the room.
Stolze said the first thing she does when she meets new home sellers is advise them to rent a storage unit for their extra furniture and other belongings.
A $65 storage unit is worth the thousands of extra dollars the house could sell if it was presented in its best light, she said.
Home stagers suggest adding soft or natural light to rooms; adding a subtle food or citrus scent to the home; and making sure the property is well maintained and outdoor gathering areas are utilized.
Stolze stages all of the newly constructed or vacant homes she lists by adding a few accents such as hand towels in the bathroom, hangers in the closet and items in the cabinets.
"It doesn't take a whole lot, and it really helps people visualize what people can do with the home," she said.
Lindquist thinks staging her home will help her and husband Harry sell their 14-year-old home in the Regenwood Subdivision off Haynes Drive faster and for more money.
"I think it will help us in the market to get the price that we would like to get," she said. "We are competing with brand-new construction. There are a lot of new homes in the area, I think it will help us to be competitive."
Erin Edgemon can be reached at 869-0812 and at eedgemon@murfreesboropost.com.
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