Do what you must: Home Staging pays off BIG

Home Staging pays off BIG time for Lara

This is a true and recent story of one of my clients, Lara S.  She contacted me, seeking guidance to improve the look of her small condo in downtown Montreal.

Lara knew that she was facing tough competition:  her condo was quite small and several other similar units in her building were on the market as well.  But she also realized that home staging pays off, and she needed to present her condo at its best.

The first step was a detailed consultation.  We went over every room, looking at everything.  As I was making my recommendations, Lara took extensive notes and was asking a lot of questions. She wanted to get it absolutely right and was willing to work hard and invest some money to stand out from the competition.

The main issues we identified were:

• small size – the apartment is 650 sf
• the apartment seemed dark
• lack of finishing and decorative touches

Over the next week, Lara worked and shopped for the items we discussed in the consultation.

Mainly, the work required was:

• a bit of decluttering and removing extra furniture to make the condo roomier
• some minor repairs and paint
• repositioning her bed
• Buying and installing ceiling light fixtures (she previously had none)
• buying some new furniture and accessories (an L-shaped couch, a stand up light, new bedding and two artworks)

The Results revealed

Once the apartment was ready, Lara invited her realtor back in.  He was blown away by how different the place looked!  He even told her that he didn’t realize that home staging could have such an impact (I am not totally surprised at this, as some realtors are still not aware of the importance of home staging and how it helps THEM sell their listings faster).

This is the email I received from Lara a few weeks ago:

“Hi Sveta,