Some home sellers just give their home a clean and make it as welcoming as they can when they put it on the market. Others bring the professionals in.
Staging a home is something that can make it much more attractive to buyers, especially if done by a realtor with a good eye for detail and a keen understanding of what buyers want. While that is great for sellers, it might not be so good for those looking to buy. Staging is basically a form of marketing.
Marketing and reality do not always coincide
Marketers’, realtors’ and stagers’ job is to sell things, and they do that by focusing on the positives. You rarely see them pointing out the downsides to the product. In the case of a home for sale, they might fail to mention all sorts of unfavorable points.
Home sellers and those working for them are not obligated to point out all the downsides to a property. They don’t, for example, need to point out that the next door neighbor can be a bit unfriendly, or that the peace and quiet gets disturbed by the local bar playing live music each Friday night. They do, however, need to tell you about certain things, such as structural faults they are aware of, or that the central air conditioner is broken.
Some realtors and stagers may decide against letting the truth get in the way of a good sales pitch and try to cover up or hide issues. They might paint over a damp patch or hang a piece of art over it. They might even fail to mention that the reason the neighbor is unfriendly is due to the ongoing boundary dispute.
Before you part with the large sums of money required to buy a property, be sure to have someone conduct a thorough survey and someone check all paperwork. You need people looking out for your interests, rather than placing blind trust in those looking to sell the house.