Home Staging Blog by Jennie Norris

Home Staging - the tool that helps Buyers imagine themselves living in a house that has been presented for them - is not just a marketing tool for traditional sellers. Home Staging is also a key tool for marketing Investor properties.

A professional Home Stager can offer valuable assistance to an investor that is picking up properties sight unseen at auction. The Stager can help with everything from remodeling the property - coordinating local service providers, handymen, contractors, as well as help select options for improving the property for Buyers. Instead of selling a "blob of oatmeal" - real estate jargon for a house that has beige wall, beige carpeting, and bland appliances - a Home Stager will know what colors and materials to use based on the market and type of house, helping the Investor place their funds in the most important areas and priority items for the house.

Home Staging once the house has been repaired or remodeled will help it show better to Buyers on the internet, in photos, and in person. This is important as the Investor property is now competing with normal resale homes as well as the foreclosures that are still on the market. Investors that are able to place a small investment in the Staging of their property up front, will recoup that money in the sales price and time on market.

On average, Staging of a vacant house can be as little as $750.00 to about $2,000 depending on the size, style and price of the property. Some Staging companies can offer Investor Staging packages for their clients - addressing key areas of the house with furniture and decor that will help highlight key rooms. Even with with ongoing rental of about 50% of the upfront Staging investment, the overall fee for Staging the house is less than a price reduction. When an average price reduction is 5-10% of the list price of the house, the Staging will then help the Seller - the Investor - keep that much more in their pockets.

Some Home Stagers can help with additional marketing of the property once it is Staged - and offer to place it on various websites and share the property informaion with their sphere of influence, helping give key exposure to the property.

Investors that are savvy enough to purchase properties and take advantage of a sluggish real estate market need to keep in mind that Home Staging is a savvy marketing tool for that property when it is reintroduced to the market. When the Investor changes hats and becomes the Seller, it is important to put the best face forward for the house they are now selling - and make it appeal to all Buyers, and Home Staging is the key to open that door to Selling Success.

For information on Investor Home Staging, please call We Stage Sacramento at 888-WE-STAGE, www.WeStageSacramento.com. We Stage Sacramento has Staged over 2,500 homes for sale since 2002, and is the largest and most versatile home staging company in the greater Sacramento area. Contact Jennie Norris, ASP Master, IAHSP, for more information.