“If you’re thinking about selling your home, you want to put the best product out there. ... Staging your home is like detailing your car. You wouldn’t sell your car without putting the best out there.” The process begins with a phone call from a Realtor or a seller. Next, Redetzke does a oneto two-hour consultation where she instructs on “what to do or what not to do” with the home and gives a bid for her work. Staging, which can take anywhere from one to four days, involves shopping, color consultations, painting, lighting and carpet work. She can do “as little or as much as someone likes” and works within the designated budget and time frame. She can make a current residence look larger, depersonalize and update, add lamps and other decor, paint to warm or neutralize a room, and ultimately “pull everything together,” she said. If the home is vacant, it often needs more work because it has been “picked apart,” said Redetzke, explaining that she will bring in furniture and completely redesign a room. Her favorite part of the job is “seeing the transformation,” she said. From a real estate perspective, staged homes sell faster and get higher offers, she said. In this poor economy, that makes a big difference. “If you’re thinking about selling your home, you want to put the best product out there. You have to stand out in this buyer’s market,” Redetzke said. “Staging your home is like detailing your car. You wouldn’t sell your car without putting the best out there. “The way you live, and the way you sell are different,” she said. “You have to see a house through a buyer’s eyes.” spring 2011
you|49