32% of buyers are willing to pay 1-5% more for a home...

According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors Home Staging Profile 2015 taking the step to stage a home really does make a difference to potential buyers. The good news is that 32% of buyers are willing to pay 1-5% more for a home that is staged than those not staged!

Staging a vacant home provides visual for the placement of furnishings and how one can utilize a space. Occupied homes require the same attention and detail and at times can be more important to potential buyers. Of the poll 81% of buyers say that staging a home makes it easier to visualize a home. 

There are so many levels of preparation to consider and if you have an occupied home look at how inviting the front entry is to the appeal of furnishings, bedding, and even where the pet bowls and litter boxes are placed. We live in our homes for ourselves, however when we sell a home it's time to let go of our comfort zone and invite others with discerning tastes and styles to see the home through their eyes.

If you're considering selling your home and whether staging is right for you, remember 96% of buyer's agents say that staging has an affect on some buyer's view of the home. If you're buying a home what do you look for? Clean and ready to move in or disorderly, cluttered, areas of concern and unknown maintenance issues? Those are the same concerns buyers have.

Staging a home may bring you a little extra income from the sale and a tax deduction depending upon your situation for the costs of preparing and staging your home.

To read more data about Infographic: Effectiveness of Home Staging survey.

Have a question about your home? Contact me for an in-home appointment or virtual conference.

Selling your home and staging

According to NAR Research “home staging can help sell a home for more money, can help prospective buyers better visualize themselves in the home and could modestly increase the home’s value for both the buyer and seller." Now that’s a win-win!  

Finding the right stager is like trying on a pair of shoes. Each provides a different style, service and fit. Do you know what key elements to look for in a stager? Some thoughts if you're selling a home that is vacant, would be...

• How current are the design styles? 
• What about design aesthetics, does balance and harmony exist?
• How old is the inventory, does it appeal to a broad audience?
• Does the “staged” home feel sterile and cold or warm and inviting?
• Are they trained in home staging or is this a hobby?

 
These are just a few questions to consider. You're making a big investment in selling your home and you want the right team to be there to help you from your real estate agent to a home stager.

There are other key aspects to improving your home especially if you live in it during the listing period. Pay attention to...

• Keep the front door and entry clean and clutter-free.
• Personal belongings such as shoes, toys, coats, homework, newspapers should be in their proper places such as a closet, book shelf and toy box or storage.
• Litter boxes and other pet related items should be clean, free of odor and kept to one area and out of the main flow of traffic.
• Furnishings should look nice, if your sofa is tattered and stained get a slip cover, same goes for the chairs. If that's not possible, then borrow or rent nicer pieces while your home is on the market. It will make a difference.
• Plants and flowers are they healthy looking or are beyond their lifespan. Throw them out if their past their prime. Have fresh flowers on the dining table.
• Open the windows and let some fresh air in, shake out the rugs.
• Personal photos of the family, take these down as well as any possible controversial artwork that may distract a buyer from looking at the house. They may pay more attention to this than to the real reason they are in your home. It could be very distracting and you've lost an offer.

There are many more areas of the home which will need special attention. Ask yourself if your home says "Welcome Home" or "Stay Away" be honest, does your answer give you hints into the work you need do?  Hiring a trained home stager will know what to look for and how to 'stage' your home to make it approachable and livable for you and your family during the listing period.  It will be worth the investment where your home could sell quickly and even for top dollar.

Staging Homes Makes a Difference!

Having a home sell during a slow time of the year is reason to celebrate. This staged home provided buyer's with the perspective of how they could arrange, decorate and live in this home. Happy to say that the owner and selling agent of Aspen Compound received an offer during the holidays and history was made!

Staging a home is the #1 tool to helping a seller get a home sold quicker and at times for higher price than those not staged. Whether someone lives in the home or is vacant setting the stage for a buyer to fall in love with the home takes a trained professional home stager to know exactly how to present the home in the best possible fashion.

This homeowner understood the benefits of staging and preparing the home to sell and is now celebrating the good news!

Fresh Start and Love Your Home in 2015!

With the holidays behind us, it's time to start thinking about putting the tree away (my decorations are safely tucked away for another year) and claiming the house back.

The new year is always a good time to rearrange furnishings, artwork and accessories, plus freshen up the furniture, bring in new pops of color. One way to do this is by painting a special room.

I love the "Chrysalis" pallet from the Sherwin Williams 2015 Color forecast. It's serene, harmonious, easy to live with, and especially nice for a peaceful entry into 2015. Feeling stuck and don't know which direction to take? I can help bring new and fresh perspectives into your home, see your house differently this year and love the results!

Holiday Trimmings and Selling a Home

A conundrum is upon us...how does one style and stage a home for sale and keep traditions alive while celebrating the holidays? With Thanksgiving on our doorstep and Christmas just around the corner decorating a home is on everyone's mind, well that is after we've shopped all those great Black Friday savings!

Home buyers are well aware that sellers will decorate their home, during a selling period, for the holidays, but just how much should the seller decorate is the big question!

Everyone has a different approach on how much holiday spirit they use to decorate their homes. In some cases it may be too much of a good thing while your occupied listing is on the market. Paring down may be the answer as well as considering these questions:

• Can a potential buyer see the beauty of the floor plan?
• Are the characteristics of the home showing through?
• Will potential buyers be able to envision living in this home through all the trimmings?
• Does the home look like a retail shop with trimming galore?

If you've answered yes to any of these, then we need to talk! It's great to show the spirit of the season, but this year may be the one to trim back on some of the trimmings while your house is on the market. Showcasing the home as a comfortable, warm and inviting place is important, as well as being able to see the beauty of the floor plan, and with a few trimmings this holiday season it may just be the trick to get it SOLD!

If there's any uncertainty or hesitation, contact me. I can help your listing look its best, with a phone consultation or in person, even while you are home during the holiday season.

Perhaps you have a vacant home that is screaming for attention? Home staging may just be the answer it needs to feel like home and sell quickly. I can help here too.

Photo credit - www.westernlivingmagazine.com

The Wrong Wall Color and Other Common Decorating Mistakes

Have you made a decorating mistake that made you scratch your head wondering what possessed you to do it? This great article from Elle Decor addresses those 10 Home Decorating Mistakes Everybody Makes, you're not alone!

It's great to do a little window shopping and splurge when it comes to decorating our home, but if we don't really consider how _______ (fill in the blank) is going to work in our real life environment it can get us into trouble. While these mistakes are easy to do there are ways to remedy the errors of our decisions. Should you find you need help fixing the wrong or would like to avoid making a costly mistake while decorating your home, contact me I can help.
 
1) The Looks-Great, Feels-Uncomfortable Piece Of Furniture
The decor world equivalent of the Stiletto heel: Beautiful, but oh-so-impractical. It ultimately taught you that no matter how good-looking something is, if you can't sit/walk/relax on it, it's not for you.

2) The Overly-Trendy Piece
It looked amazing in the store window. And in the magazine. But in your house? It clashed with your favorite pieces and looked strange. Since then you only focus on trends that feel like you.

3) The Wall Color You Didn't Test...And It Promptly Looked Completely Off
There's nothing like painting an entire room moss green....before realizing that with your lighting and wall texture, it looks nothing like it did in the can. [It's always wise to] paint a swatch before any further commitments.

4) The "Dream Lifestyle" Purchase
The oversized table when you never actually entertain. Or the wall-sized TV when really all you want to do in your living room is read. After this, you buy for the lifestyle you have, not the one you think you might have one day.
5) The Quick Fix
Maybe at the time you were more fixated on spending on vacation rather than a new chair. But when your cheap chair broke a year later, you learned they weren't kidding when they say "Buy the best, only cry once."

6) The Too-Complicated Organization System
"Bills go in the green folder, unopened mail in the blue drawer, casual stationery on the top shelf...or is it top shelf stationery on the top shelf?" If it was too hard to remember, it was probably the time for you to downgrade. We applaud you for doing what's right for you.

7) The Un-Researched Flora
Similar to the too-trendy piece, this plant looked great somewhere else...but floundered in your home. Now you take stock of the lighting and space conditions you have to offer before heading to the nursery.

8) The Disastrous DIY
"But it looked so great on Pinterest..." And now you know if you're not crafty, it's time to go to the experts.

9) The Cliché Art
It got you used to the idea of having something special on your wall, but made you realize how important it is to make that piece meaningful.

10) The Ambitiously White Item
You didn't weigh all the things you love (chocolate, red wine) against this one purchase. But now you know not to even try...or if you're the type who doesn't mind being extra-careful (or spending the extra time cleaning.)

Trained in Interior Design and Home Staging, I apply design principles and staging techniques to achieve the perfect balance and look, either room-by-room or for the entire home. With the holidays approaching maybe it's time to get a little help in sprucing up your home or fixing the wrong before family and friends drop in. Let me know how I can help you.

Via ElleDecor.com

Neglected First Impressions

I recently visited a home for sale, where the seller assumed that they didn't need to maintain its appearances since the "for sale" sign was up. This is a common thought that serves no purpose other than to have the house sit on the market for months, have no interest from potential buyers and disengage the agent from really promoting and advertising the home, and selling it! Bottom line - can a seller afford to keep the house on the market when attention-to-detail is a minor expense?

If the front of the home, which should be pristine, is neglected what does it say about the inside of the home? The home, especially if vacant should shine! Buyer's as well as agents, are not interested in cleaning up after a seller, unless it's a fixer-upper and is being sold as such, but then that is a different story for another day. There's such a competitive market out there can a buyer really afford to disregard appearances?

First impressions to consider:

• Clean up dead plants, scattered leaves, dirt and trash, blown in with the wind that has gathered along the walkway and front door.
• Overgrown branches, scraggly bushes and weeds must be cut back, trimmed and removed.
• Wear and tear or paint peeling on the front door, should be stripped, painted or stained and if the door is heavily damaged replace it.
• Front doorbell and lights - do they work? If not, replace or repair and clean the light fixture to rid of cobwebs and dirt.
• Windows - should be clean and sparkly, and check the window screens are they tattered, damaged or not hanging properly? If so, get them fixed.
• Snow - yes, it's that time to think about it. Hire a neighbor kid to shovel the driveway, front walkway, porch and steps and scatter Snow Melt to prevent accidents.This will protect you as well as create an invitation to see the home. No one wants to tread through snow and ice to see a home. Make it as welcoming as possible.
• Don't have trees in your yard, but your neighbor does? Leaves know no boundaries - have them cleaned up especially if it's on your property.
• Unable to maintain the home yourself because of location? Then hire someone to do it for you.

Paying attention to these areas will encourage "drive-by" lookers to want to go inside, once inside make certain the house is just as pristine as the out. Again, no one wants to look at a home that has remnants of the previous occupant, or one that they will need to clean. Buyer's want move-in ready homes. What does yours imply?

Do you know the impression your home is portraying? If you need help to identify what needs to be done, contact me, as a professional home stager, I'm trained to know what to look for and a third-party viewpoint is helpful. I can provide an assessment for both inside and out to help you sell your home quickly, whether it is occupied or vacant.

In this competitive seller's market can you afford not to have a pristine first impression?