Home Staging Blog

You often hear people discussing the value of improving curb appeal when it comes to selling a home.  But what can you do if you live in a condo where there are restrictions on what can be done to the exterior?

Start off by making sure that your front door and windows are sparkling clean.  Clean and polish any hardware and be sure that your porch is well swept and the path is clear.

Take the time to check the view through your windows too.  As buyers are approaching your unit, are your lights on?  Are the drapes open?  Is there anything blocking the windows or door that make it appear that visitors are unwelcome?  If so, reposition those items and make sure to open everything up before you leave for the day or when you are preparing for showings.

A fresh pot of brightly colored flowers will make your doorway cheery and is a pleasant way to greet buyers.  Choosing flowers with a great fragrance adds to their experience and will set the mood as they prepare to tour your home. 

A clean, new doormat will give your entry a well manicured feel.  If there is outdoor lighting, be sure that all the bulbs are working.  Be certain that your address or unit number is clearly in view. 

Now that they have found your home, you can show off the interior. 

When putting a home on the real estate market, Home Staging is only one part of a complete marketing plan.  Pricing your home correctly is essential in getting it sold quickly.  Your agent will provide you with information regarding the closed sales for comparable properties in your neighborhood.  The combination of proper pricing and having your home show its best is what is going to get your home sold fast.

If you have a problem with not getting any showings, it could be time to take a hard look at your list price.  If you are comparing your price to the house down the street that is currently for sale, that is not the house you should be comparing to.  It is the ones that have sold recently.

So keep in mind, your neighbor could very well have an overpriced home for sale.  Your agent has access to recent sales, and will update you as new sales close.  Keep on top of the market so you can adjust your list price as the market changes.  Your home might be Staged and looking fabulous, but if no one is coming to see it, it is not going to get sold. 

Price it correctly, get the buyers in there, have it Staged and looking great and get it sold. 

Selling a home that is occupied can be challenging at times.  Keeping it show ready requires conscious effort and diligent follow up.  Over at Florida Real Estate News, they have a cute post with some good advice about showing your home.  They recommend having Stagers rather than Stooges getting it ready to show.

Check it out.  You may want to have a chat with your tenants about Home Showing 101. 

A real estate agent I know asked recently if I had any printed information about Home Staging that he could use to add to one of his mailers.  His March mailing included information on Home Staging, both for everyday life and for the purpose of helping to get a home sold.  He diligently sends monthly mailers as part of his marketing plan.

John is an agent that does business by referral only and believes strongly in monthly, hands on follow up.  I thought it was great that he provided them with tips for getting their homes in top shape after they moved too.

If you are a real estate agent who does uses direct mail as part of your marketing plan, check with your Home Stager.  Maybe they can provide you with some printed information to help your client get their home ready for sale, and even better, tips for how they might best set things up in their new one!

So you are getting ready to put your home on the market.  You are packing up your extra items and paring down so your home so it can be staged and sold.  And you know you are not going to be using your shower as a closet ;-).  So are you considering renting a storage unit?

If so, you may want to check out this article in the Home & Garden section of the NY Times.  It talks about how easily having a storage unit can get out of hand.  A woman who was planning to sell her home last year has spent $3,000 on storage units, now has 3 units and has not put her home on the market yet.

Instead of reducing the number of things she has, she has been adding more.  She now sees that getting the storage units was not the best decision for her. 

Before you pack those boxes and put them into that great big giant closet that you will rarely visit and will most likely not be seeing the contents of for quite some time, ask yourself if you really need to hang onto them.  Maybe it is just time to let them go.

One of my Home Staging clients, Irina Netchaev, a top notch real estate agent in Pasadena, has but together an excellent presentation that demonstrates how Home Staging can benefit her sellers.

You can check out her show here.  What a great job Irina!  You can also read her activerain blogpost on her Home Staging success.

I just love success stories!

I recently saw a home that someone had Staged for sale that had furniture, but not a single accessory.  Wow, was it cold and uninviting!  The exact opposite effect that Home Staging is designed for.

When choosing a Home Stager to work with, ask questions, find out how much experience they have and what kind of inventory they have to work with.  Most Home Stagers will have a wide variety of accessories to choose from that will accommodate various styles of homes.  

The addition of the pillows, floral arrangements, linens, candles and artwork are what give the home life, warmth and the ever so important ambience that stirs buyer’s emotions and sets their minds to dreaming of the lifestyle that awaits them once they buy your home.

Staging a home for sale is creating a whole picture.  It is showing what a great home you have to offer.  It is using furniture to show off the great floor plan or how you can make a difficult floor plan work.  And the accessories are what give it all life.  Make sure your Home Stager is one that gets the whole picture.

Staging your home often involves packing up extra items and storing out of season clothing.  As you are busy cleaning out your closet and those extra bedrooms, you may find yourself with far more unused items to deal with than you had planned on.  Be good to yourself and make a decision to let go of some of these things.  After all, showing that you have roomy closets is a good selling point - right?

So what do you with all those things if you are not willing to let them go?  Should you take one of your bathrooms and use it as a closet and just tell buyers not to go in there? 

Well that is exactly what a seller I once knew did.  She had her shower filled to the ceiling with clothes, shoes, papers and any other item she could fit in there. 

When buyers went into that part of the home she would yell out, “No!  Don’t go in there!  It’s a bathroom, but don’t go in there, it’s messy.”  How stressful for her and it definitely was not a good message she was giving to her potential buyers.

Selling your home can be stressful enough.  Make it easy on yourself and your buyers by keeping all areas of the home accessible.  If you really cannot let go of your extra things right now, at least pack them into boxes, label them neatly and do your best to store them in a location that will not embarrass you. 

Let your home’s rooms speak for themselves by showing them off to their best.  Just don’t disguise your shower as a closet, ok?