In today’s competitive rental market, it’s important to make a great first impression in order to get a tenant to turn in an application for the property and to get a lease signed as soon as possible. Everyday that your unit is not leased is another day where that property is not making money for you. But if you’re a property owner, then you already know that!

Apartment staging has become a popular way of potentially gaining an advantage over the local competition and presenting the property in it’s best possible light. Keep reading to learn how to stage your rental property to rent it quickly and for the highest rent.

What Is Apartment Staging?

Apartment staging is when an available property has furniture and accessories brought in or arranged in a certain way to appeal to the largest group of shoppers and to showcase the biggest assets the property offers, while at the same time minimizing what some shoppers may feel are negative features. 

Staging a unit creates a look that many people cannot imagine or visualize for themselves. If a prospective tenant walks into what appears to be a small unit, they may not feel like there will be enough room for the furnishings they own. By staging the unit, you are giving those same naysayers layout ideas to help them realize that it can work. 

As the owner and landlord of the property, you can take on the task of staging the unit yourself. Using furniture pieces you already own or renting furniture through a local rental shop, a decorated and homey space is easier than you think.

Another option is to hire a staging company. These companies charge for their services, however they usually have warehouses full of furniture, wall decor, accent pieces and accessories. They will send a professional to the location to assess the space and how to decorate it in its best light. Then their movers will bring the selected furnishings from the warehouse and move it into the unit and set it up. The best part is after you have a signed lease for the property, they come back and remove everything they brought. That means no heavy lifting for you, no furniture to store until you need it again, and as an added bonus you received the guidance of a professional decorator.

If you choose to stage the unit yourself, here’s a few tips from the pros to help make your staging a success.

Your prospective tenants want to imagine themselves living there in the space, not your family or previous tenants living there. Make sure that any family photos, kids artwork and toys, or personal memorabilia have been taken down and stored away. It's also important to remove any items that represent politics or specific religious beliefs. Unless you feel strongly about it, a potential renter may shy away from signing a lease if they are put off by any items that contradict with their own personal beliefs. 

 

Again, this trick goes back to people wanting to be able to imagine their own family living in this space. Choosing colors that are neutral or monochromatic leave the renter a blank canvas to work with when they move in. If the apartment is decorated in neutral shades of gray or taupe, it’s easiest for the furnishings they already own to coordinate with their new living space. 

If you are marketing a 3 bedroom apartment, show the shoppers that they have options. Stage two of the bedrooms as bedrooms and create a workspace in the third room as a designated office, den or library. You could also use a bedroom as a workout room. The point is that showing people they have options, plants a new idea in their mind that even though they may not need 3 bedrooms, it sure might be convenient to have them.

No renter wants to walk into a property and have the last tenant’s dog smell or cooking, smack them in the face. Literally one of the most important selling features is that the space has a pleasant smell about it and that it feels clean. Make sure the floors have been vacuumed and mopped, the furniture dusted and polished, and the counters, sinks and toilets have been scrubbed to sparkling clean. 

The final trick of how to stage your rental property is to remove all of the knick-knacks, any personal collections, loose papers, etc. In One word, declutter. You do not want the people who are there for the showing to be more focused on looking at all the “stuff” around the house and miss out on seeing what a great property it is.

Follow these tricks to stage your rental property, and your leads will be envisioning themselves living there in no time. 

If you have a staged apartment in Branson and would like someone to manage the rental of it, call Branson’s premier rental company at (417) 337-8081. Thousand Hills Realty would love to earn your business!