Home Staging overcomes cosmetic flaws and shows potential.

As professional home stagers, we are often asked the question on whether or not that bold room color choices should be painted over with something more neutral. The answer is nearly always a resounding “YES!”. There are times when the seller either doesn’t have the time or the funds to paint, and times when they simply refuse to do it. Whether it is because they simply don’t believe that it will make a difference, or they don’t want to do the work, there are times when they tell us, the home stager, “no.” When that happens, but they are still willing to stage, it becomes our job to find a way to minimize the impact. Let’s take a look at 1739 Nettington Ct, in Jacksonville, FL.

1739 Nettington Ct, Jacksonville, FL 32246

This charming home, located in Sutton Lakes, is in a sought after part of town. Since we are living in a seller’s market, it seems unlikely that a well priced 4 bedroom, 2 bath home would sit on the market for over 100 days. Still, that’s what was happening here. After sitting, with no offers, the seller contacted Rave Home Staging and we created a plan to get the home sold. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the intro, the seller was very clear that despite the best option being to paint the boldly colored walls, he wasn’t going to do it. He didn’t want to spend the time, energy, or money, painting. This home had been a rental property. He wasn’t emotionally invested, and just wanted it sold.

The photos in the slide show below are the actual photos used in MLS.

Let’s be realistic. With most home buyers looking online prior to viewing a home in person, how enticing is this property? On a scale of 1-10, how likely would buyers feel like this home is move-in-ready? How likely are they to pay list price, or close to list price?

Let’s take a look at what this home looked like after staging.

Our staging team did nothing but bring in new furniture, art, and accessories. With all of that, however, we managed to style the property so that potential buyers could look past the bold colors and imagine a life in the home. Perhaps they will still paint when they move in, but now they are able to see the space as a living room, dining room, and bedroom, instead of just a series of bold choices that they would need to correct, costing them time, energy, and money.

The results were nothing less than spectacular. Within 10 days the seller accepted an offer. The property is now moving through the escrow process and will close in January. After what amounts to 4 months of time on market, it’s long past time for this home to welcome new owners. It’s also long past time for the seller to rid the stress of a mortgage payment and maintenance costs for a house sitting empty.