Most Common Myths of Home Staging and Truth Behind Them.

Home Staging has been helping homeowners and real estate professionals enhance the sale price of properties for more than 20 years by now. A new trend appeared in California, USA in mid-80s and gradually became popular all over the world. Although the increasing number of home sellers and Realtors are actively using home staging as one of the most effective marketing tool in selling a property for top dollar and within the shortest period of time, there are still a lot of people who didn't hear about it or don't believe in it due to erroneous information or lack of it. For those, who have been mistakenly led to the opposite of the home staging direction, let us name most common home staging myths and reveal the truth behind them.

Myth #1: Not every home needs a professional home staging.

Practice shows that almost every home needs to be staged by professional prior going on the market, whether it's a million dollar house or a small condo. It's been proven that after living in one home for more than 3 years, it's almost impossible to take a detached view and look at it as the buyer would. No matter how big the house is or how expensive the finishes are, after living in the same property for a number of years, you set emotional connections with it and view it through the prism of the time spent there. Professional home stager will help you to move that mental shield away and show you what needs to be improved / changed / enhanced in order to make the home appealing to the wider audience. Even the most expensive and beautiful homes sit on the market for months because buyers don't "feel as at home" there. Staging helps bring that warmth and universal appeal to every property.

Myth #2: Staging costs a lot.

"A lot" is a very extensible term. To narrow it down let's say staging can cost you somewhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the size and condition of the property. The fact is that NOT staging a property can cost you "a lot". Remember: staging is always cheaper than your first price reduction. Plus, taking into consideration the return on investment that staging gives (more than 500%); it considers being a wise investment, not a spending.

Myth #3: I can stage my own house or my real estate agent can do it for me.

There is a great saying: everything should be done by professionals; especially in those areas that have to do with your most valuable commodity, in this case - your home. Professional home stagers have been trained to prepare homes for sale, they do this on a daily basis and have years of experience in making the most out of every home. Home staging is not about removing all personal items, de-cluttering, turning the lights on and putting flowers in vases. Home staging is the whole art of preparing a home for sale that requires a non-mediocre talent to create a space that buyers will fall in love with.

Would you ever let someone repair your furnace just because he/she read a book on how to do it? Doubtfully. So why should you rely on someone rather than professional in preparing your home for sale? Especially if you stand to make thousands of dollars on a profitable sale. So let your Realtor do his job - market your home - and delegate the preparation of you home for sale to a professional.

Myth #4: Home Staging is the same as home decorating.

There is a huge difference between preparing your home for sale and decorating it. In fact those are the opposites. Decorating a home is aimed to create a unique environment that reflects owner's taste, individual style and lifestyle preferences, while home staging is aimed to create a universal appeal that caters to a wider audience. The main purpose of home decorating is to create personal comfort and functionality. Home staging eliminates everything that speaks about the personality of a homeowner so anyone can imagine living in there and call it a home.

Myth #5: Vacant spaces appear larger than furnished ones.

In fact it's quite the opposite. The paradox is that vacant rooms appear much smaller than furnished ones. Also some homes have odd layouts with questionable areas that, if empty, leave buyers guessing on the purpose of the space. Home staging leaves nothing up to the buyers' imagination, giving homes style, flow and that much needed feeling of a home.

Staging a home could be the most intelligent decision one can make. So why taking a chance and not investing in your most valuable commodity.