text: Pros and Cons of Staging a Home for a Quick Sale
  If you have been trying to sell your home during this difficult market and find that it has taken far longer than you had anticipated, you may be considering hiring a professional home stager. If so, you will want to know the pros and cons before pursuing.
  The first task in staging your home is de-cluttering. This in itself is probably one of the most overlooked items. When a person enters your home for the first time, they want to be able to envision themselves living there. When the extra clutter is removed, not only does the home appear larger but it also has a clean lived-in look. A bonus is that you will now have gotten rid of years of clutter and accumulation.
  Never leave a room empty. This will not allow the potential buyer the opportunity to see if their items will fit and most rooms, when empty, have the appearance of being smaller. Staging furniture can either make or break the size of a room. If you clutter a room with too much furniture, the room will appear smaller than it really is and will be off-putting to potential buyers. If you do not put enough furniture in, the room may appear too large and will also be off-putting. However, staging the furniture just right will give your home that warm, cozy feeling that most buyers are looking for.
  An important over-looked task in staging your home is to remove all signs of personal items such as family photos or paintings. The reason for this is that a potential buyer is going to see your family as they tour the house, not theirs. By removing some of your personal family trinkets, a buyer is better able to envision themselves living in the house.
  Today many people are turning to professionals in order to sell their homes in a timely fashion. A professional stager may offer just the extra touch. When staging the home the professional will do many things that maybe you yourself have not thought of. On the other hand, if you hire a professional stager and they are not as professional as you thought, the home can be overdone and appear staged, making the potential buyer wonder what you may be covering up.
  Nobody wants a house that sits on the market for years and does not sell. To make your house more attractive to buyers, you will likely have to stage the home. Some buyers need the encouragement of being shown the possibilities rather than just seeing an empty home.