Feng Shui Home Staging and Decluttering
Given the current downturn in the housing market, decluttering and staging your home or
your clients' houses using the principles of Feng Shui just makes sense. Here are some
tips to help do just that.
What is Real Estate Staging?
Staging is the art and science of making a home more inviting and appealing to potential buyers. A well staged home will sell in the shortest time for the highest price.
What Does a Staging Professional do?
There are a variety of people involved in the process of selling a home. A realtor determines listing price, an appraiser values it relative to other homes in same neighborhood, a home inspector determines the overall physical condition of the house. A home stager is really a visual inspector. They are looking for flaws which usually are cosmetic and can assess the overall potential a house may have so that the seller can maximize the home's saleability and profit. The initial appointment witha home stager is a walk-through suggesting changes that will impact the sale of the home. Also the staging professional offers an unbiased opinion.
Who Actually Does the Work?
Staging can be just moving furniture around and decluttering. It may involve basic changes such as painting, replacing carpeting and updating lighting fixtures. The stagers may supply homeowner with list of suggestions they can do on their own. Since homes with furniture sell better than empty ones many stagers also offer furniture that they will place in a house until it sells.
Emotions in Staging.
It is important that the home looks good, but it is more important that the house feels good. This is a very important principle in Feng Shui, and therefore should be part of the plan when staging a home. That's because a prospective buyer usually purchases a house because they have fallen in love with it. So, while newspaper ads evoke emotions — charming and sweet, classic beauty, etc, it's the staging of a home that can woo the buyer. And, once the buyer falls in love with home, it is as good as sold. So, give careful thought to what aspects of Feng Shui you can use to entice a sale.
Location, current market trends, the condition of the home and presentation of the home are all factors in the pricing and selling of a house. While we always look at these factors when assessing the Feng Shui of a home, there are additional considerations to take into account. For instance, you want to create an atmosphere that will entice the buyers to feel comfortable, create instant buyer identification, help buyers visualize their belongings in the house, help them to project their families living in new environment and make the dream of a lifestyle the buyer can have in this home. Buyers want homes that look and feel bright and spacious. Cleaning, decluttering and creating storage will visually expand the space — and space sells homes. The home must look good, smell good and be cleaner than it has ever been before.
Decluttering.
Sheffield Top Tip: Decluttering is very important aspect of Feng Shui and
vitally important when it comes to selling a home. Take a look at what is inside the closets.
Closets can become a hiding place for anything and everything we don't know where else to put.
When selling a home, there is no such thing as a hiding place. Buyers have carte blanche
to peek and poke everywhere. The more serious they are about purchasing a home, the more
likely they will open every closet door and if the closets are overflowing and
cluttered then the buyer's perception is that there is NOT enough storage space in
the home. That can destroy any chance of a sale. Sellers should pack up all out of season clothing
and dispose of anything that they do not want to take to their new place.
Decluttering — What Can Seller Live Without?
Feng Shui is all about spatial relationships, air and movement. If any area is full of
clutter, the energy remains stagnant. Stagnation keeps a home from flowing freely. If a buyer's
eye stops on piles of stuff that is in a room, it will instantly put a negative image in their head.
They won't be able to visualize there being enough room for their belongings. Therefore, you should eliminate
any of the extras that the seller really does not need for day-to-day living. Children's toys
are a great example of something that can overtake a home and create sense of clutter. Too much
furniture, too many collections, too many toys and too many accessories can make home seem confining.
Encourage the seller to pack up, toss or donate to charity any items that the children have
outgrown or no longer play with. Clutter is more than the day-to-day stuff that we accumulate
such as newspapers, magazines and mail. The seller must go through every room in the house,
including attic, basement and garage. They must go through every closet, drawer and cabinet. This
is the time to purge!
A clutter-free house conveys a subliminal message to the buyer the feeling of calmness, serenity and harmony so important to the Feng Shui of the home. The buyer's first impression of the home is formed within 15 seconds. Let's make sure it's an amazing one!
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