Can You Smell the Brownies in the Oven?

Anyone who has ever been shopping for a home has had at least one of these experiences. It’s early June and you walk into a home to be greeted by a crackling fire in the fireplace. Even before you have walked over the front door threshold, the smell of Vanilla extract is overpowering. You go to inspect the basement and six different Airwick scents chase you back up the stairs. How about the dining room table with eight place settings for a formal dinner -- and all the plates and wine glasses are dusty? Don’t for get the framed needlepoint in the family room that says ‘Home Sweet Home’.

Staging has become very popular lately. Seller agents implore their sellers to remove all the personal knickknacks and clutter, and if necessary rent new furniture, putting dad’s tattered Lazy Boy into storage along with that treadmill no one has used in years.

Even more so today, people are going to extremes ‘staging’ their homes, and you know why? It works! Sellers who stage their homes usually sell them for more money. That is why I say, buyer beware – and be aware.

The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) published an article sometime ago warning buyers of staging pitfalls. What I find interesting is the national Press picked up on it and there are still articles being written referencing NAEBA.

Follow this link to read > Don't be fooled by for-sale homes that are 'staged'