Pitfalls that Virtual Staging often Encounter And How to Avoid those
There is no doubt about the benefits of virtual staging to home selling. It helps potential homeowners envision how they live in a space. Therefore, it helps to increase sales prices and speed up sales as well. Statistics have shown that 90% of buyers looking for a home start on the web to check the listing and the locations before deciding to take a visit.
Here Are Some Pitfalls That Virtual Staging Often Encounter
#1 Disappoint visitors
It is because homeowners don’t put themselves in the viewer’s shoes so they don’t know what the viewers would like to see. It is not about making a nice image, but it’s about putting the viewer into the homes in real life.
Normally, the virtually staged house always looks outstanding in the posted image. Every corner seems to look good in physical condition. Upgrade extras like crown molding, granite counters, and premium appliances in the kitchen look great, and you are really impressed with them. Arranging a visit with the real estate agent and you might get shocked when you’re in. There is nothing like those things. There are serious cracks on the walls with stained and dirty carpets.
It can be very easy to make wall color change, furniture adding and do kitchen upgrading with the help of computers. More and more real estate agents do this because they see that an enormous rise in showing after a virtually staged image is posted. Then, the clients are very excited to take a visit, and once in, they are likely to be let down in front of an empty room not as appealing as the online one.
#2 Legal issue
It doesn’t stop at the disappointment of clients, but you might get into trouble with real estate legal issues which are for sure not the things you want to happen, right.
To avoid that, most virtual staging companies now are encouraging their clients to show both framed photos and the virtually staged one so that potential clients have an idea of the space they are going to visit.Following is some important precautions to take during the virtual staging to prevent your real estate business from misrepresentation lawsuits:
– First and foremost, show all the images, including both before and after the virtual staging. There should be a – label indicating for the home buyers the possibilities for a home thanks to the virtual staging.
– Don’t cover up issues if they are still there as the clients come to visit. Removing the water stain on the ceiling could be a tempting idea to make your home look more valuable, but bear in mind that this could lead to the claims of misrepresentation.
– The staged photos should present how things could be and how potential homeowners can change the house. For instance, it is fine to remove a wastebasket or make an unfinished basement become a family room or a new kitchen with updated features. In other words, you should avoid removing permanent structures like a water tower or high tower lines
How To Advoid Those?
Specifically, here are features that need homeowners and realtors need to pay attention to avoid false advertising and lawsuits, especially for home renovation from a room in bad condition:
– Photoshop very old furniture that is used for such a long time to make them look too new like they are just bought
– Remove highways, shopping centers, or other buildings surrounding the home. They are the permanent buildings and have a large influence on both the scenery and function of the home.
– Remove power lines and water towers. Also, they are fixed parts of a home, so leave them there.
– Make a room which has not been painted in many years seems has been just painted freshly. If not, the room’s look will be changed completely, too different from the real one.
Benefits of Good Virtual Staging
The cost for virtual staging is lower than the actual staging because there is no need for a stager to actually move furniture in and replace any items. Instead, you just need to take the pictures of your space then give them to a virtual staging professional that will do the rest according to your needs. Thus, this will save you a lot of time too.
This approach is especially helpful for empty rooms or unfinished ones, allowing the viewers to see the vision of possibility in the virtual images. That is how they can make it easier to make a decision on buying a home as they don’t need to imagine themselves.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, think about what you’d like to see first if you are a home buyer. Put yourself into the viewer’s case, walk into the staged home and see what do you think. That will help you understand the client more, and creating the most appropriate living space.
That’s fine if you have good virtual staging software. But if you are hiring a virtual home stager, give them detailed instructions so that they can follow up and don’t go out of your style.
