“Buyers shouldn’t assume that a well-presented home is a well-maintained one,” says Jon Boyd, GRI, a broker-manager with Home Buyers Agent in Ann Arbor, Mich., and president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.
NAEBA in 2006 surveyed its members and found that 82 percent of respondents said their buyers are likely to be distracted by staging.
The first time buyers walk through a house, they should concentrate on fundamental issues such as floor plan and a home’s location rather than on how furniture is arranged, Boyd says.
Here are some of Boyd’s tips for buyer’s reps:
- Don’t be dazzled by the light. Halogen lights can make a room seem larger, Boyd says. The same is true for torchiere-style lamps that reflect light up to ceilings.
- Don’t let shimmer hide realities. Mirrors and glass tabletops both make rooms appear larger. Measure each room to see how big it really is.
- Beware of tight spaces. Be sure that the furniture in a room is appropriate for the room’s use, Boyd says. A bedroom without night stands might prove cramped when you add in a full-size bedroom set.
- Also, look out for love seats. They’re an easy way to make a room seem larger. Encourage buyers to measure their furniture so that they’ll know how much room they need.
Staging puts a house’s best face forward, which is all well and good, but buyers need to look below the surface and think about what really will be important to them in a new home.
-- Realtor
