But a recent report from an industry leader reveals that buyers are routinely misled by staged homes. The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents — www.naeba.org — has just released the report “How to not get tricked by staging — and potentially save $5,645 when you buy your home.”

The report outlines some of the common staging practices and how they might influence a buyer to purchase the wrong home, or a home that might be hiding serious defects. The report includes examples of staging and cautionary tales from real estate agents working directly with buyers. The report is available as a free download at the association Web site: http://www.naeba.org/staging.

“The whole intent of staging is to get the buyer emotionally involved with the home. Our member agents want home buyers to see things logically, to ‘see past’ the staging,” said Jon Boyd, president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.

“When we surveyed our brokers and agents, 82 percent of the respondents stated that buyers were likely to get distracted from important issues when viewing a staged home. The most prevalent staging trick reported in the survey was sellers using small furniture to make a room look bigger than it actually is,” Boyd said. “In addition, a majority of our members have seen staging cover up real problems, such as rugs hiding damaged floors and designer curtains covering rotted window sills.

“Since staging doesn’t increase the intrinsic value of a home, buyers need to be very careful. Remember, you are not buying the pretty furnishings, you are buying the house.”

Source:

http://www.newsok.com/article/keyword/3140794/