Stager Sees Homes Through Buyers' Eyes

You’ve finally made the decision. It’s time to sell the family home. But wait! It’s been a few years since you did anything to your house and even you know that it's looking a bit worn. “Will anyone want to buy our home?” you ask your real estate agent.

A sure-fire way to help buyers see a home’s potential is to hire a stager, like Cindy Heiman. Cindy has been working with agents in Fairfield County for the past ten years, clearing out clutter, rearranging furniture and generally sprucing up new listings to make them more appealing to people out there looking for the next place to call home. “I started my business by pure chance when a friend called me up ten years ago. Her agent had told her that her house needed some help and she had no idea what that meant. I told her to take the day off  -- when she came back I’d moved the furniture around and the place was transformed,” she says. Cindy is one of those people who needs to keep super busy, so when she's not transforming people's homes, you might find her manning the phone at Dr. Paul Keating's busy dental practice in Wilton.

Cindy walks through a house with a buyer’s eyes, which means imagining herself living in that house. The first step in her staging process is to box up family photos and other personal effects. Next up is to make sure closets aren’t overstuffed, and that beds are made up with nice fresh linens. She might also bring in furniture and carpets if the rooms are too bare --  or take items away if rooms feel too crowded. “If necessary, I’ll go to Home Goods or Bed Bath & Beyond to shop for new linens, mirrors or accessories. If you want your house to look good to a buyer, you need to make sure that everything is reasonably up-to-date,” she says..

Real estate agents agree that a house that has been staged, either by a professional like Cindy Heiman or by the homeowner, sells more quickly and often for a higher price than a similar home that has not been staged.  Cindy Heiman can be reached at (203) 331 5897.

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