Glover helps clients see their home through buyers' eyes

Signal Mountain resident Monica Glover works to help clients get higher prices for their homes through her home-staging and interior redesign business, Arrange.
Signal Mountain resident Monica Glover works to help clients get higher prices for their homes through her home-staging and interior redesign business, Arrange.
photo A dining room is staged by Arrange owner Monica Glover to make buyers feel at home.

When selling the space they've lived in most of their lives, many homeowners fail to see its flaws and the potential benefits home-staging could provide. Signal Mountain resident Monica Glover started her home-staging and interior redesign service, Arrange, to teach homeowners how to make their style appeal to their target buying demographic and get the best price possible when selling their homes.

In helping friends and family in their homes, Glover realized she had a talent and a passion for staging, and decided a year ago to take a course to become certified in staging and interior redesign through the Home Staging Resource.

"When most people come to look at houses, nine out of 10 are not able to look beyond the homeowners' things," she said. "Once they feel at home in a space, that's when they're going to make an offer."

Glover starts the process with a walk-through of the client's home, starting at the curb and going through room by room, creating a home-staging action plan with a checklist of changes she says will make the home more appealing to buyers.

She usually makes her recommendations in three phases: First, she makes suggestions involving things the homeowners already have, such as rearranging furniture to highlight particular features of the home that buyers are looking for. In the next phase, she suggests small items to purchase to help modernize the space; for example, adding throw pillows to soften up a dark sofa. Glover then suggests improvements that will give the homeowner a return on their investment, such as new paint or light fixtures.

"My primary goal is to educate homeowners who are a little more reluctant and show them why they need to make these changes," Glover said. "They've lived that way and seen it all their lives, and I educate them to see it with buyers' eyes."

According to a 2015 report from the National Association of Realtors, Realtors who work with buyers said most buyers will offer more money for a staged home than a non-staged home, with most reporting offers increased by 1 to 10 percent. For someone selling a $300,000 house, that extra $3,000-$30,000 is a significant difference, said Glover.

To learn more, contact her at 763-1193 or visit arrangehomestaging.com.

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