House Flip Staging Secrets Revealed!

Staging is becoming all the rage in house flipping.

We have now used it twice in the past month to sell two houses...one in one day and another in just two days.

Yes, I' m serious.

Seriously excited about staging that is...

What is "staging" you say?

Staging a house flip is when you, an interior decorator, or professional staging company comes into the home and sets up furniture and decorations.  Basically, home staging companies turn empty space into a fully furnished home.

The House Flip Secret...That's No Longer A Secret

I recently began experimenting with staging and so far I have come to one conclusion.  In most instances, staging a house helps sell the house quicker, which in turn saves me money.  Remember, there are many holding costs associated with a house, so the quicker you sell the better.

Over the past couple of months I have been utilizing staging companies to prepare for open houses with great success.  I have noticed that people "hang out" as if they were at a party.  They sit around the kitchen, lounge on the couch etc. and just chat with one another.

Here's a short video we did on the Scituate house flip, where we used staging and its explained a bit further:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16n3OVT8eFk[/youtube]

If you can't view this video for some reason click here.

If the home was not staged with chairs and couches, where would they sit and chat?  I highly doubt they would sit cross legged on the floor...

I've also been staging the outdoor areas of homes.  Incorporating a patio table and some chairs (maybe even a grill!) really gets folks thinking.  You can see it in their faces that they are imagining their own outdoor furniture or grill setup on the deck.

In essence, staging helps potential buyers "see themselves" living in the home, which is obviously a wonderful thing for us, the house flipper.  I also think that people notice when other people are hanging out and enjoying the space.  When people see other people hanging out, I believe they subconsciously understand that this house is in high demand.

So how can you get the most out of your staging efforts?  Well here are 5 house flip staging strategies to get you started.

House Flipping Tips | 5 Must Use Staging Strategies

1)  Furniture groupings

Have you ever walked into a home, or been to a party and just not felt comfortable?  Maybe your particular seat left you out of the conversation.  Or maybe chairs were set so far apart from one another that it was difficult to hear what people were saying.

Grouping furniture together in a strategic fashion can help you avoid these pitfalls.  I would recommend not pushing all the furniture up against the wall.  Instead "float" the furniture throughout the room, and position it into cozy little groups.  Position the furniture in a way that creates a natural flow of people through the room.

2)  Make the room feel larger

Did you know that properly painting a wall can make the room appear larger than it really is?  It's true.  By taking advantage of how our eyes function, we can paint rooms in a way that will make the space feel more spacious than it really is.  This could really come in handy if you are flipping a home that is very small to begin with.

The strategy is simple.  To make a room appear larger than it really is, paint the room the same color as the room adjacent to it.  As an example, if you have a tiny kitchen you can "extend" the kitchen into the adjacent dining room by simply keeping the wall colors consistent.

The seamless transition between the two rooms will make the area feel like one large space.

3)  Get creative with art

Decor and artsy type things can be a huge addition to a home.  To take your staging to the next level, pay close attention to how you position your art.

It's easy to fall into the trap of positioning each picture identically throughout a room or the entire house.  For example, some homes have art that is hung at the same height throughout a space.  This does very little to catch the attention of a passer-by.  Often times folks do not even notice the art, because it is all hung exactly alike.

To spice things up, alter the height of hung art.  Do not evenly space out art-instead group it together creatively.  Be dramatic and take a chance.  Different is good when it comes to home staging art.

4)  Think in threes

This strategy plays off the "get creative with art" strategy above.  Take a look at available accessories and think about how you could combine them into eye pleasing combinations.  Most often these combinations will work best in groups of three.

Instead of aligning three items in a row, try aligning them in a triangle.  Place one object at each corner of the triangle and work it out from there.  Mix up the widths and heights of the accessories.  Place the tallest/largest item towards the back of your triangle and keep the smaller items towards the front.

Experiment with different textures and materials as well.  Identify the one unifying element that pulls all the accessories together, and then mix up the rest.

5)  Match the season

Fresh flowers can go a long way when it comes to staging a home during the spring or summer and I recommend taking advantage of this fact.  Match your flowers and arrangements with the season.  If you'd rather not purchase flowers then simply pick your own and add them to the space.

As mentioned above, spring and summer is time for bright flowers.  Pumpkins and apples are perfect for fall.  Holly branches and berries are killer for the winter.

Staging for House Flipping | In Conclusion

You really cannot go wrong with staging a home.  Yes it requires some additional work and added expense.  However the extra work and added upfront cost may end up saving you much more in the long term.

For me, I will do everything in my power to sell a home quickly.  Staging a home is just one effective way of getting a house off my hands as soon as possible.

See you at the top!

Mike