Home Staging Blog

Do you enjoy living in your living room?  Is it comfortable, well lit and conducive to lively conversation?  Or is it one of those fake living rooms that everyone just passes by and no one uses?  Living rooms are an important room in your home, so if you have not been using yours, start using it now and see the change in the quality of your life once you do.

You should feel relaxed and comfortable in your living room.  It should be reflective of your personality and tastes.  The living room is a place to gather for conversation, so be sure the furniture is arranged in such a way as to encourage interaction.  Family and friends should enjoy being in the room.  If you have a fireplace, you can make it a focal point, but be sure that the furniture is still arranged facing each other rather than everything facing the just fireplace.

Photo courtesy of Adamo Photo

The living room is representative of wealth, and everyone is looking for ways to improve their feelings of prosperity.  By using this room and enhancing the energy here, you will see improvements in how you feel about your quality of life.  Using all areas of your home will create balance in all areas of your life.  Be sure that your living room is fun, comfortable and feel the energy moving!

In business, it makes sense that when someone performs a service, they get paid for it.  In real estate, agents get paid a commission for their services, contractors get paid for the work they perform at a job site and home stagers get paid for the work they perform and for the rental of the furniture and accessories they provide.  And while there are some agents with controversial business models that we all know about, lately, I’ve seen some home stagers making pretty strange offers that really make me question what they are thinking of for their business.

I have to wonder when someone offers to “stage for free” in exchange for living in a property, what the situation is for the person offering the “free” service.  Is it truly their business model to “stage for free” in exchange for free housing?  Or, are they out of storage facilities for their inventory?  Or, maybe they’re attempting to farm out their adult children and store inventory at the same time?

I had someone call me today and ask if I’m hiring people to live in my staged jobs.  I hate to think I have a suspicious nature, but I couldn’t help but think, “Does this person not have a place to live?  Does she think people need to pay someone to live in a home to have it show well?  Does she think home staging involves food in the frig, used toothbrushes and laundry?”  Hmmm…

Well as the conversation progressed, it turned out this particular young lady did need a place to live.  She admitted that if she didn’t find a gig living in a staged home, she was going to have to go back to her hometown back East.  Apparently, she had read something in the LA Times that lead her to believe that home staging means having people in a home.  Maybe she’s just been watching a bit too much TV.

The reality is, most real estate agents do not want people in a home when it is being shown.  Buyers want to have the freedom to explore a home and not feel as though they are invading someones privacy.  If buyers are interested in a home, they want to open closets & cupboards and take a look under the sink.  Dirty laundry and discovering someones personal toiletries is never pleasant, no matter how much you love a house.  If you’re the seller of an occupied home, managing these things is tough enough; you don’t need to hire someone to bring their toiletries to your unoccupied home.

So before you get lured by “free” home staging services, consider the value.  The purpose of staging your home is to have it show its best, not to have it occupied with people.  You want it looking good so it will sell, not so you can have someone hanging out with their toothbrush and laundry.

They should be!  Well, maybe not in a knock ‘em, sock ‘em sort of way, but they should be excited about your home and eager to make it their own.  That’s how it was for this seller in Mission Hills whose home just sold.

How did he get these buyers so excited?  Well, he did the prep work necessary to get his home looking its very best for market.  This home was a great home to start with, but he put the polish right where it needed to be.  He freshened up the landscaping and painted both the interior and the exterior, so buyers no sooner than pulled up to the curb and they were able to get excited by what they saw. 

Before, this  home was great, but a little overgrown in some places and in need of some fresh color in others.

                                   

 Now that’s what I call fresh and happy curb appeal! 

Inside, he replaced the dated kitchen and bathroom flooring, old light and bath fixtures and even went the extra mile with new appliances in the kitchen.  This home has one of those entry doors with a window, so as buyers stand on the front porch, they can a see corner of the living room and the view of the amazing back yard.  We simply vignette staged this corner of the living room to frame the view and set the mood for what was awaiting them once they walked in.  We also staged the kitchen & baths and added accent items in a few key places.  And as any of you who have worked with me know, music is a key part of my staging, so of course we set the mood with music.

These colors worked great for the previous owners, but probably wouldn’t work well for all buyers.

                                            

These soft paint tones are soothing, fresh & appeal to a wide range of buyers.

Kitchens are important rooms to buyers.  Simple updates make a huge difference.

                                            

Fresh paint, new grout, new appliances & flooring, a new light in the eating area and just a few colorful accents make this kitchen buyer friendly.

I had the opportunity to host several Open Houses here and I can tell you that every single buyer that walked in that door paused, took a breath and you could read it all over them that they were in love.  Each buyer took their time exploring every nook and cranny.  Some wanted to buy the silk floral arrangements and accent items with the house.  Many relaxed on the chairs in the backyard.  And some buyers didn’t want to leave until until they were sure all other buyers had left the property.

The best compliment is when people walk in and say “Now this is a home, you know what I mean?”  Yes, I do. 

While the seller initially priced the home high for the neighborhood and only had a couple agents stop by, once he finessed the price to match the market value and buyers were coming in droves, he ended up with 8 offers in a weekend and multiple backup offers and selling it for slightly over his final asking price.  Think it’s unique to Mission Hills?  Nope.  We staged a San Gabriel home for my friend Irina who sold that home with multiple offers in the first two weeks of listing.

That’s the power of properly preparing your home for sale, staging it effectively and pricing it correctly.  If you don’t have buyers battling each other over your home, take a look at each part your marketing.  Is your home looking its best?  Is it priced right to get buyers interested enough to drive over to look at it?  Is it being marketed so that agents and buyers are excited about it?  Is it easy to be shown? 

Make the sale of your home a knock ‘em, sock ‘em success!

We staged this amazingly cool condo in Van Nuys today.  This staged home has a fabulous floorplan that makes it feel much larger than its 800+ square feet.  The owners updated it with new flooring, paint, trim and other goodies.  You really must check this home out!  And the price, well I can just say that it is amazingly well priced!  You will have to call for more details.

If you are interested in this property, please be sure to let me know. The new Open House has not been scheduled yet, but it definitely will be shortly!

I have found on my some home staging consultations that there are home sellers that struggle with knowing where to start and where to end with their home staging efforts.  Even after explaining to those clients that think extensive work is better, that you don’t always get your money back on big renovations made just for the sake of selling your home, some still have doubts.

So I started digging around the internet to see if other stagers agreed with me as far as my recommendations on which updates make sense and which updates are taking things too far.  I was happy to find a list very close to mine at one of the most popular websites for Home Staging TV shows.

HGTV’s Designed to Sell has put together a list of 9 Dos and 1 Don’t of Home Staging Tips.  Be sure to check it out as they have links to  How-To pages with tons of info to help you out, including which updates make sense.

For those of you who just want the bottom line, I’ll repeat it here, but do be sure to check out their full line of detailed info, you will find it very helpful!

1. Make the front entrance inviting
2. Clear away the clutter
3. Clean the house thoroughly
4. Freshen the appearance of rooms
5. Arrange furniture for spaciousness
6. Do all you can to reduce odors
7. Perform all minor repairs, if necessary
8. Replace outdated light fixtures
9. Clean the carpets
10. Don’t forget the garage and basement

TV’s home improvement shows are fun to watch and they show you some great tips, especially when it comes to home staging.  Remember though when they tell you how much they spent that those costs are for materials only.  In non-TV reality, labor is a big portion of the cost of home updates, so consider the return on investment when choosing what to update when putting your home on the market.

I keep hearing nothing but doom and gloom about the real estate market when I turn on the news station as I patiently wait for the traffic report while driving.  But from what I am seeing, homes are still selling.  Maybe not at the crazy pace as they did a couple years ago, but they are still selling.  I know from experience that home staging, pricing, and marketing makes all the difference - especially in this market.

This Redondo Beach home sold within a few weeks of staging it.  We also staged another property nearby and this home sold practically as soon we pulled out of the driveway.  From what the agents told me, the first property we staged had been on the market for quite some time, but once it was staged, it sold quickly. 

For these two properties, there were two different issues that were resolved with the home staging.  In one property, it was a five bedroom home with a tiny living room/dining area combined.  The challenge was to create a defined living area with enough seating to accommodate a family that would need this many bedrooms as well as a dining area that could comfortably seat at least six people.  It was very hard to visualize how that could be done until we had the staging in place.

The other property was very spacious, also a five bedroom home.  But this home had a huge great room that could be seen as a challenge to define the use of space.  Once the staging was done and the furniture was in place, the use of the room was easy to see.

Before you put your vacant property on the market, talk to a home stager.  In this market, don’t waste time and marketing energy trying to sell a home without investing in having it staged first.  Home staging is a smart part of a real estate marketing plan.

As a home seller in today’s real estate market, you are going to be making many important decisions.  You will be choosing the best agent to represent you and to work for you in the sale of your home.  You will be choosing the right home stager to work with in preparing your home for sale and ultimately, you will be choosing the best buyer for your property. 

As a smart seller, you will want to pre-qualify each of these parties to be sure they are fully qualified to complete their end of the transaction.  You are going to choose an agent who knows your area, will provide you with information to make a wise decision on pricing, who will effectively market your home and who has the experience and knowledge to get your home all the way through to a closed sale.  You will be looking for a buyer who has been pre-qualified for their loan and is fully capable of purchasing your home and closing the deal.

But have you thought about pre-qualifying your home stager?  Staging your home is a very important part of the home selling process, so when choosing a stager to work with, be sure to ask questions that go beyond pricing.  Just like not all real estate agents and home buyers are created equal, so too not all home stagers are created equal.  Price is important, but there are other factors to consider as well, so be sure you are getting value for your investment.

Here are a few questions to ask to help you decide if a particular home stager is right for your project:

• How long have they been in business?  A home stager does not need to have been in business forever, but you do want to choose a stager with enough experience to know what works in today’s real estate market.
• How many projects have they staged? 
• What percentage of the homes staged have sold?
• Do they have references?  They should; call and talk to a few people.  Are any of these repeat clients?  Were they happy with the quality of the work, the speed at which the project was completed & picked up and did the staging complement each individual home?  If there were any problem areas in the home, were they effectively addressed and resolved?
• Are they insured?
• Do they have a variety of inventory or do they prefer a certain style?
• How often do they update their inventory?
• Are they a full time stager or is this a part time business or hobby?
• Have they done any projects similar to your project?
• Do they have an understanding of the Escrow process in relation to contingency timelines?
• What is their policy for picking up the projects once you enter Escrow? 
• Has there even been a problem making a pickup before the close of Escrow?
• Finally, ask to see a few photos of previous projects and be sure they are the actual work of the stager rather than stock photography.  Most home stagers are happy to share some before/after photos with you although they may not be carrying them around with them at all times.
• Some home stagers offer extras like real estate shows for marketing tools and Open House assistance.  Be sure to ask if your stager offers any extra marketing help.

Your home stager is an integral part of your marketing team.  Pre-qualify them and be sure you are choosing one who is going to work hard to get your home sold.  Make sure your home stager’s focus is on getting your home sold fast, that they will work with your agent to meet your time frames, that they have shown respect to the integrity of the style of each individual home they have worked with and that they keep your budget in mind. 

Remember, successful home staging is all about the house, your house.  It is not about using your favorite style sofa, it isn’t about the cheapest price in town, it isn’t even about using the same stager that’s been around forever.  It is about finding the right stager that has what it takes to work with you to get your home looking its best so it can get sold fast!

“Curb Appeal” is a big buzz word in real estate and for good reason.  If you can’t get buyers out of the car, who cares what the inside of your home looks like?  Make sure your home stands out from the rest (in a good way) starting right at the street, and get those buyers excited to see what comes next.

Start, of course, with a neatly manicured yard.  If you need to replace any dead plants, do it now.  Choose plants and flowers that honor the architecture and style of your home and that reflect the same design elements.  Use color and shape to create layers from the street to the home, making sure the home is not obscured from view, rather that the landscaping enhances the view of the home.

If your home has some architectural features like built-in window boxes, make the most of them and plant some beautiful flowers in your window box.  It is surprising how many people just leave them empty when taking the time to plant some fresh new color in them can make such a huge difference in how well their home looks from the street.  Your local nursery can help you choose the plants that will do the best in your area.

There should be a clear path to the front door from the street.  A relaxed, meandering path that is obstacle free and easy to navigate.  Use fragrance to your advantage in your front garden and involve all the senses.  You can use these to your advantage in condo living as well.

Your address should be clearly visible on both your home and at the street.  A simple thing, but it can be frustrating for buyers and their agents when they can’t find an address.

If your driveway needs to be power-washed, have it done now.  If you have been storing anything in your driveway other than your vehicles, remove them.  You want buyers to get a good look at your house when they pull up, not your toys.  And avoid parking right in front of your house, if possible.  You want buyers to get a good look at your house from the street when they pull up.

Make sure your windows are clean and your paint is in great condition.  If any repairs are needed, do them now.  Take a look up at the roof and be sure there is no debris gathered there.

Leave the porch light on, even in the daylight.  Be sure your front door is in perfect operating condition and that it is clean and the hardware is shining.  Sweep your porch daily and make sure the door opens all the way. 

By guiding buyers to your front door with a cheery, inviting and clearly marked pathway, you will make it easy for them to want to get out of the car and into your home.  If buyers can fall in love with your home as soon as they see it from the street, it will be that much easier for them to fall in love with it when they walk inside the door.