Hamilton Real Estate Today!

Special to "Hamilton Real Estate Today" by contributing Blogstress, Professional Stager and fellow Realtor

" Rachel Vanderveen"

After all the work you’ve done in cleaning and removing clutter, it’s time to focus in a little closer on what it means to de-personalize your home. Now, I suppose you’re wondering why it is that all of us stagers keep harping on de-personalizing, and there really is a good answer. You’ll find that answer right in the name of the job we do: staging. What we’re asking you to do is to set a stage. I want you to think about some of the live theatre you may have seen. Heck, you can even picture some of the great movies you’ve seen. The stage where the actors orate from, does not tell the story that you enjoy so much; the actors do. Even in a movie such as Lord of the Rings, where the scenery played such a key role, it wasn’t the scenery that moved you; it was the actors and the story they told.  The scenery just made the story all the better.

That is really what staging is all about. We’re setting the stage for Hamilton Home Buyers who are considering purchasing your Hamilton MLS Listing. Unfortunately, we don’t know what is in their script. We don’t know the story that your potential buyers are telling, or what story they want to tell. Which is why we need to make the stage as inviting as possible, and yet as neutral as possible, in order to allow room for their imagination to fill the pages of their own script.

“Oh, Rachel, you’re so pie-in-the-sky.” Ok, fine. I know it sounds a little hokey, but give me the benefit of the doubt here: If you have people coming to your home who are looking to buy Hamilton Real Estate, and they have the script of Mary Poppins going, and you have the script of Dude Where’s My Car?, you’re not going to have people who want to write an offer.

So how do we create a set that will please every actor and suit every script? The best answer I can give you is to neutralize and especially de-personalize. Let’s start with all of your personal photos. They all have to come down. The easiest way to replace them—without having to buy new artwork---is to just take them down, and print a simple neutral landscape from the internet, and place it in the frame. That goes for all of little Jane’s ballet photos, awards, and ribbons as well. Everything that says something personal about you and/or your family needs to come down. Calendars, fridge magnets, field trip notices, and any and all paperwork that is lying around should be carefully stored away.

Having divergent taste in artwork is a good thing for interior decorating, but not so good for staging. If you have brightly coloured pieces, or nude (or half nude) paintings, these too should come down. Do not make me tell you about pin-up-type material. You already know what I’m going to say about that! Your artwork should complement the space and draw people’s attention towards your focal points. Your art should never make a statement that draws people’s attention away from the selling features of your home.

As you go through the process of purging your personality from your home remember: it’s not that you have bad taste, it’s that it is impossible to have the exact same taste as every Hamilton Real Estate buyer who walks through your door. So remove with confidence and know that this time, it’s not about you; it’s about them!

Until Next Time….

Blessings

Rachel Vanderveen is a Calgary Christian Real Estate Agent specializing in Calgary condos, South Calgary Real Estate, Calgary home staging , McKenzie Towne MLS Listings, and Auburn Bay Real Estate.  But more importantly, she is a mother to four adorable children, a lover of Auburn Bay Realty, and an avid writer of Auburn Bay Community News blogs. For more information on Calgary mls.ca, or searching mlslistings.ca, visit her website here.