Memphis Home Staging

Memphis Home Staging extraordinaire Melissa Douglass took a few hours off recently to grant me an interview about home staging. Always on the look out for an interesting story, I became intrigued after being introduced to Mrs. Douglass at a local function. Together with her partner, Carmel Hopper, Home Stager Gals was formed nearly four years ago. Both have received accreditation after extensive training from the International Association of Home Staging Professionals. The IAHSP was founded by the famed West Coast Realtor and creator of home staging, Barb Schwarz.What amazed me the most, other than her complete mastery of the subject, was to learn that ninety three percent of all homes that are staged sell within thirty days! That is an incredible statistic and if your are a real estate agent or a home seller, you are going to want to read of the many benefits that come with having Home Stager Gals expedite your sale. Home staging addresses the look and feel of your home, helping you make the best possible first impression on buyers. Whether you need furniture for a vacant home or need your home staged with existing furniture, they have you covered.

I need to sell my home now! That is a familiar song in many real estate offices. So let me ask you, how long do you want your home to sit vacant while you are living in another part of the country? You probably don't want to be reminded of the horror stories about vacant homes when the owner is out of state. One month one of vacancy is a long time. First the grass and landscaping starts to look a little rough. Then it becomes obvious that the home is vacant, maybe some local teens decide to take an innocent peek and see? Other than a break in, the worst thing a vacant home can suffer is a broken window. Nothing says "keep looking" like a broken window. It certainly is not going to garner top offers is it?

Have you ever had the experience of walking in the front door of a house and having your nose assaulted by smoke or pet odors? You may think that some air freshener sprayed around while your on the way out the door is going to work just fine. And it probably will for a few minutes, but what is it going to smell like three days later, closed up with all the utilities off? The problem is that when people smell a strong fragrance, they automatically assume that you are trying to hide something. That is not the impression you want to give to prospective buyers. Their imagination is probably far worse than fact.I asked Mrs. Douglass how Home Stager Gals dealt with the odor issue. "The answer," she said, "Is to eliminate the odor." Now that sounds logical I know, but I wasn't making the connection until she told me about their ability to treat the entire home with the same technology that NASA uses to clean the air on the shuttle missions. It is beyond my capability to describe the science behind this but seeing is believing, or in the case here, smelling! I got the opportunity to use one of these machines in my home and I did not want to give it back. Seriously, I ended up purchasing one for my home. I was that impressed.

I know a few real estate investors and they will tell you that the Memphis real estate market is one of the hottest areas in the nation. They will also tell you that the last thing they want is to have a home sit vacant, simply because furnished homes sell faster than empty houses. Extensive surveys have shown us that buyers typically make a purchase decision within the first ten seconds of viewing a home. That is great but it really doesn't help you once the mover has packed up all your furniture does it? Home Stager Gals takes care of this problem with a large inventory of furniture and accessories that can be used to stage a vacant house. They deliver and set it up for maximum impact and then after the sale, they come and move it out. It doesn't get much easier that that. Fortunately, for those of us who aren't moving we too can get a new look or a makeover on our home that would rival anything you see on cable television.

As a homeowner looking to move to another location there is a lot on your mind about what is going to happen once you get there. With all the pressures of moving, we typically are not in the right frame of mind to step back and take an honest look and ask if our home is ready to show. This is the major benefit that comes with enlisting Home Stager Gals, peace of mind!

Got an opinion?

What is your opinion on this topic. Did I miss something you think needs to be addressed? Did it make you start asking questions? I'd love to hear about it and so would everyone else.

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