Home staging is nothing new. And staging your home for sale is remarkably beneficial. It’s also necessary if you want to sell your home quickly because today’s market is much more challenging than it used to be. You may already be aware of traditional home staging. But have you ever heard of virtual home staging?

What is Traditional Home Staging?

Wikipedia defines it as “the act of preparing a private residence for sale in the real estate marketplace. The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers, thereby selling a property more swiftly and for more money. Staging techniques focus on improving a property’s appeal by transforming it into a welcoming, attractive product that anyone might want. People usually use arts, painting, accessories, lights, greenery, and carpet to stage the home, to give potential buyers a more attractive first impression of the property.”

2 Types of Traditional Home Staging

There are two types of traditional home staging:

1. Owner-occupied staging – seller is living in the home while it is on the market; stager uses the homeowner’s belongings to prepare the home for sale
2. Vacant staging – the most expensive for sellers; stager rents furniture and accessories to dress up an empty space

How Does Home Staging Benefit the Seller?

Many confuse staging with decorating. And many fight against the process and recommendations of their home stager because the process calls for detachment. It requires detaching yourself emotionally from your home. But if you know the benefits of staging your home for sale, the transformation of your home with home staging is fun.

• Potential buyers can picture your home as their home more easily
• Home staging sells your home faster, 75 percent faster than homes that are not
• You can get a better price for the sale of your home

The job of a home stager is to present your home in its best possible light. They work with what you have, rearranging and reallocating. Sometimes they instruct you to move or pack or store furniture. And sometimes they even bring in furniture and decorations to enhance the selling points of your home.

So don’t cause your home stager grief. Work with them. Your home stager has the biggest benefit at heart, to sell your home quickly and for the best price.

What is Virtual Home Staging?

Now that you know what home staging is and the benefits it provides to you as a home seller, what is virtual home staging, and how does that work?

Virtual home staging creates digital, realistic images of furniture in graphic editors and adds them to empty rooms in your home for sale. This helps potential buyers to better visualize your home and the spaces inside it once they’re furnished. This is extremely helpful to potential buyers when used in brochures or flyers. Potential buyers are able to view rooms empty and compare those empty rooms when they are furnished digitally.

Benefits of Virtual Home Staging

In addition to the benefits of traditional home staging, there are two major advantages that virtual home staging has over traditional home staging: time and cost.

• Empty listings that are stuck on the market sell quickly after virtual home staging
• Virtual home staging is more than ninety percent less expensive than traditional home staging
• Your listing is more professionally represented and generates more interest when it is staged virtually

BoxBrownie.com offers competitive rates for professional virtual home staging. Their outputs are photorealistic, so you aren’t able to tell whether a property is physically staged or not.

Every home can benefit from some form of staging. And you can be as involved as you want depending on your needs and budget.

And although professional is inconvenient and a bit unnerving, selling your home in the shortest amount of time and for the most money is worth it.

Is your home empty? Has it been sitting on the market for a while? Want it to sell quickly? Call Charles D’Alessandro, your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent with Fillmore Real Estate at (718) 253-9600 ext.206 or email [email protected]. He will advise you on virtual home staging and give you an action plan to follow to move your home from “For Sale” to SOLD!

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 Charles D’Alessandro

Your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent

718-253-9600 ext. 206

[email protected]

Whether Brooklyn’s housing market is hot or not, some homes seem to attract potential buyers and multiple bids without much effort. How does that happen? Is there a secret strategy that will sell your home quickly? No, there’s no secret, but there are 12 tried-and-true listing to-do’s that will help you sell your home – fast!

Want to sell your home quickly? Do this, this and this!

1. Find a Top-notch Real Estate Agent

This to-do is listed first because it’s that important. Smart sellers hire the right real estate agent to sell their Brooklyn home. Charles D’Alessandro knows the local market inside and out and understands exactly how to position your home for potential buyers. Don’t settle for any less than the best!

2. Hit the Perfect Price Point

You may think your home is worth top dollar, but charging top dollar isn’t always the best strategy to implement when you want to sell your home quickly. A whopping price could land your home on the market for a long spell. If you study the local comps carefully and follow Charles’ advice, you’ll hit the perfect price point.

3. Focus on Maximizing Curb Appeal

If those who drive by your home like what they see, they’ll most likely show up at the open house. That’s why it pays to freshen up landscaping, trim bushes, paint the front door and add attractive outdoor lighting. Smart homeowners know that to sell your home quickly, you must focus on your home’s curb appeal.

4. Update Kitchens and Bathrooms

An outdated kitchen or bathroom will turn prospective buyers off quicker than you can say, “Trick or treat?” Consider painting cabinets, updating faucet hardware, or replacing at least one of the kitchen appliances. This is an excellent strategy when you want to sell your home quickly, providing you update the rooms cautiously.

5. Scrub the House Clean

Homes that are deep cleaned inside and out sell quickly. A thorough cleaning from top to bottom doesn’t cost much, but it takes a ton of time and elbow grease. Home buyers investigate every nook and cranny of a potential home. Smart sellers know this and will invest the extra time necessary to clean their closets, their basement, fans and baseboards, too.

6. Address and Fix Potential Problems Before Inspection

It doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of money on renovations before you list your home, but it is smart to address any possible problems that might show up during inspection. Check the roof for leaks, look for sticky windows and make sure the wiring isn’t outdated. If a major problem is discovered during inspection, you may not get to sell your home quickly.

7. Send Pets on Vacation

Dogs or cats, no matter how well-behaved or cute they are, aren’t selling points. Even potential buyers who happen to be animal lovers, too, won’t appreciate your pets. If you have pets and you want to sell your home quickly, send your family pet packing. Find a friend or relative to keep your pets and all their toys, crates, and bowls. Then open up the windows to let a lot of fresh air in.

8. Hire the Pros

It’s true that certain up-front expenses can really pay off. Smart sellers hire floor refinishers, painters, and landscapers to spruce things up. Then they hire a professional real estate photographer to share images of their homes in their best light.

9. Make Your Home Standout

Much like deep cleaning, a few spruce-ups can turn your house from boring into “Wow!” Add a coat of fresh paint in a warm neutral color to walls. Purchase some new and updated furniture and brighten up the room with new throws or pillows. Don’t forget to declutter counters, cabinets and closets. The “Wow Factor” will sell your home quickly.

10. Talk About It, Talk About It, Talk About It

Your Brooklyn real estate agent, Charles D’Alessandro, will take care of the major marketing for your home, but word of mouth is an extremely effective tool to sell your home quickly. Let the world know about your listing. Share the news on Facebook, at the dentist’s office, on the playground, … everywhere you can.

11. Be Show-ready, Always

The more people who tour your home, the greater your chances of finding a buyer quickly. Make your bed and fluff up the pillows as soon as you wake. Never leave a dirty dish in the sink. Set some fresh flowers on the dining room table. If your home is always neat and tidy, it is always ready to be shown at a moment’s notice.

12. Time it Right

It’s a fact. Spring is the best time to list if you want to sell your home quickly. Listing a home during the months of March through May usually attracts more potential buyers, and curb appeal is at its best. But don’t discount selling in the fall. There are great reasons to list your home in the fall. Take a look at why listing in the fall is a smart move from the buyer’s perspective: 10 Reasons Why House Hunting in the Fall is a Wise Move.

Want to sell your home quickly? Contact Charles D’Alessandro, your Brooklyn real estate agent with Fillmore Real Estate at (718) 253-9700 ext. 206 or email [email protected]. Charles knows the Brooklyn market and what it takes to help you sell your home quickly.