Nitty Gritty Benefits of Occupied Home Staging

It’s a delicate balance selling a home with occupants and working around all their possessions. There is a high probability cluttered rooms, ill-placed and dated furnishings, artwork, overstuffed cabinets and closets, plus day-to-day messes exist and they will distract homebuyers, plus look unappealing in photographs. Encouraging buyers to fall in love with an unstaged home becomes a challenge and the home could remain on the market for months on end with multiple price reductions.

Before - Cluttered Living Room with Antler Chandelier

Professionally staging a home is a strategic marketing tool and will provide value to the bottom line. “32% of home buyers are willing to offer more money for a staged home compared to a similar non-staged home.” — National Association of Realtor’s 2015 Profile of Home Staging

Sellers have misconceptions about staging a home for fear they must live in a sterile home void of personality, and that simply isn’t true. Occupants can live in the home and with a few modifications it can be comfortable, attractive, and affordable. 

The process of staging makes a difference, and yes, there will be changes to attract buyers and capture their attention, especially for photographs, such as:

• Arrangement of furnishings to enhance traffic flow, increase vantage points or show off architectural features.
• Reducing the amount of furnishings or décor in a room to create balance, harmony and showcase room sizes.
• Simplification and organization of collections, décor, paperwork, and closets to reduce clutter and chaos allows buyers to appreciate the home and see the potential.

Additional considerations, include:

• Deep cleaning the entire home, including windows and tidying up the exterior. Cleanliness plays a huge role in welcoming buyers. They don’t want to buy someone’s dirty house.
• Update outdated fixtures, lighting and wall colors attracts buyers wanting a move-in ready home.

After - Spacious and Improved Floor Plan of Living Room

Taking steps to showcase the home before it is listed can increase the selling price and decrease the duration of the listing, which ultimately is the win-win everyone wants. Staging and photostyling the home is a powerful tool before listing and can generate higher offers for sellers!

Getting down and dirty and knowing where to start is daunting. The training and experience of a professional home stager offers to stage an occupied home will help to ease the transition, provide resources and help to transform the home. The home stager is a trusted professional to help you get the most for your home.

Debbie DeMarais is a professional certified home stager with DeMarais | Home Staging + Design and has successfully staged and styled hundreds of occupied and vacant homes in Santa Fe, resulting in beautiful homes receiving fast offers and quick sales. Debbie is a member of Home Staging Resource (HSR), Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), and Allied Member of ASID.

Challenges If Not Staging a Home

There are challenges in selling a home that is vacant compared to one which has been staged. For instance, the first thing buyers experience is empty, cold and unattractive rooms, areas of neglect are front and center, even if the rooms have been painted, there is nothing for buyers to connect with visually, and no perspective for the scale and size of the space. The home remains on the market for many months with little or no interest from buyers and their agents and ultimately frustrating the seller. Buyers do find ways to ask for a reduction in price because they see the duration of the listing period and assume that the seller is eager to sell. Empty homes also lose momentum when listed before they are staged. Many sellers think they will save money if they stage it later, however the listing period continues even after staging and each month results in big loses for their return on investment.

The benefits of staging an empty home are enormous! Using a trained home stager, they will work with the home and each room to create strategic placement of furniture, decor and artwork, the home says "welcome" to prospective buyers, and home staging provides intention while giving each room purpose, plus the features of the home are highlighted.

Vacant home before and after images of master bedroom and living room with dining room.

In this example, upon entering the house, in the living room is immediately off the front door,  the couch was placed against the wall to project a larger room size and draw focus to the kiva fireplace, rather than the odd shaped and small room.

Of course the major benefits to home staging is more money in your pocket and faster sales, incredible photos for on-line marketing, which do make a difference, and in most cases staging a home will increase the selling price.

As a trained and certified home stager, I encourage my clients to make the most of their listing and invest in the process of staging their home at the start. This means taking the time to fix and mend those neglected areas, freshen up the wall colors, replace outdated light fixtures, do a deep clean, and hire a trained home stager. Trained home stagers know how to maximize and position the home to sell, they focus on placement, furnishing arrangements and are trained to style the home to attract buyers. Some home stagers are able to use existing furnishings or they have an inventory you can rent.

These little tips will bring in faster offers in a shorter timeframe and the home will stand out against the competition. Buyers are savvy, they do not want to buy a house if it is dirty, unattractive, has a lot of repairs to do (unless of course the house is sold-as is for a lower price), looks a mess and is empty. Buyers want the perception they are getting move-in ready home and one that feels like a five-star hotel when they walk in.

All homes deserve to look their best and this can be achieved through home staging. If you want to sell your home quickly, first step hire a trained home stager, it's a wise investment that gets great results!

Debbie DeMarais is a trained and certified home stager at DeMarais home staging + design, and trained in the field of interior design. She provides full service solutions for occupied and vacant staging, color consultations, and interior design services. She can be reached at 505-699-4989 to schedule a personalized consultation to sell your home faster.

Staging to sell, or leave as is?

Sell a home as is or stage to sell? An awesome transformation to this home in Wilderness Gate, Santa Fe, NM will garner more money now that it's staged rather than if it was left as is.

We removed the center island blocking the amazing views of Santa Fe, painted, cleaned out years of personal belongings, updated the kitchen, and more. This home seller will be able to sell the home for more money with home staging and the updates we recommended. With a complete transformation it is positioned to sell quickly. 

Ready to stage your home, contact me to schedule a consultation.

Debbie DeMarais

DeMarais | home staging + design

Certified Home Stager and Designer

Pops of Color in Staged Home

Creating balance with color, brings life and energy into what was a dark and monochromatic design. The home owner loved blue and in every hue. However, it was too much for a home buyer to try to envision creating it as theirs. Getting ready to sell the home the owners called upon me to stage it to appeal to home buyers. As in each home I stage it's important to look past the seller's design style and personality and create the stage that appeals to home buyers. Working with only their furniture and lot's of it, I pared down the number of pieces in each room, rearranged furnishings and added accessories and art to highlight the rooms. Providing the pop of color and design invites home buyers to spend time in exploring the possibilities of this home. The rooms feel like home so sit down, relax and dream of making this home yours. Www.homestagingsantafe.com 

Home Buyer's Seek Staged Homes

Selling a house today is quite different than it used to be years ago. Today’s home buyers are extremely savvy about what they want in their next home. Marketing a home takes more consideration, time and work. Focusing on the appearance, how a home is presented will contribute to the success of a sale.

81% of home buyers reported staging makes it easier to visualize the property as a future home, reports the National Association of Realtors 2015 Profile of Home Staging. A staged home ‘invites’ the buyer see the potential rather than develop negative objections.

Top five reasons to stage a home:

1.     Buyer’s looking on-line make their decision to view the home in person within 8 seconds.

2.     Staging a home creates a vision of how a buyer aspires to live in your home, not showcasing the actual day-to-day existence.

3.     Buyers focus on positive reinforcement throughout the home rather than negative to consider if it meets their needs.

4.     Buyers will re-prioritize their list, when a house feels like home they can live in.

5.     Leaving a home in “as-is” condition will only help sell the competition. Buyers look for homes with updated fixtures and appliances, and décor.

Staged homes on the average earn more money than a home that hasn’t been staged. A professional Home Stager is trained to know what buyer’s look for and how to get a home sold quickly. Taking the extra steps to prepare a home for sale is the difference between a quick sale or a long-term listing with price reductions. 

For more information visit - www.homestagersantafe.com 

Debbie DeMarais 

DeMarais | home staging + design

Ms. DeMarais is a Certified Professional Home Stager through Home Staging Resource and is trained in Interior Design and Architectural Design. She is a member of RESA and ASID, Allied Member. She provides full-service home staging solutions and interior design in Santa Fe, NM.

Image: This home was staged using the owners furnishings and decor. They received an offer within four-days of listing the home!

Invoking Happiness with Color

Color plays an important role in design whether we are trying to stimulate a joyful and happy place or creating a room for quiet reflection. When I think of what makes me happy and an associated color - orange makes me smile. In fact, as a teenager I insisted my bedroom be painted orange, it was uplifting compared to the dreary Seattle weather. As an home stager and designer, I fully understand the use of color and surround myself with pops of orange in my office, which makes for a stimulating and creative space.

Love this Orange Rockwell Arm Chair

Orange created by combining red (energy) and yellow (happiness) represents sunshine, warm weather and places like the tropics. Studies show that orange can stimulate the brain, increase the oxygen supply and is invigorating. Imagine the scent and taste of a slice of orange, how it felt peeling back the rind, releasing sprays of orange fragrance in the air and feeling bursts of juice explode as you bit into each segment, note how refreshing this was and happy you felt. One simple slice of an orange produces endorphin's stimulating your “happy” place. 

It is a powerful color representing happiness, strength and endurance. In Feng Shui and Interior Design applications important elements are often highlighted using the color orange, while commercially it is often used to help stimulate business success.

Quoting Oscar Levant, he said, “happiness isn’t something you experience, it is something you remember.” Isn’t it time to remember something that made you happy? Recall how you felt during the summer with the warmth of the sun on your face, did you feel happy? Let’s recreate this feeling in our home. I could suggest painting a wall or four in a warm orange palette, however doing so could invoke too much of a good thing. Instead paint a niche, accent wall, add a great accessory that pops of warm orange, or introduce a piece of furniture in a dark corner. You won't regret it.

Socially orange becomes a conversation starter, and has uplifting energy while creating a sense of warmth. Afraid of commitment then start small with a simple bowl of oranges or tangerines, as a centerpiece. It’s a perfect way to introduce happiness and prosperity, especially as we celebrate Lunar New Year on February 8^th. Interested in learning more contact me? I can be reached at www.homestagingsantafe.com.

Updating an Outdated Home with Home Staging

Holding on to outdated styles is never a good thing when selling a home! An outdated home reminiscent of bygone era’s can drastically reduce the value. Without making the necessary updates to fixtures, finishes, appliances or furniture the home may stay on the market longer than those with updated and desirable features.

In this home its pink wall-to-wall carpeting, outdated and monotone furnishings, antiquated fixtures and appliances, and lack of style had no appeal nor garnered interest from potential buyers. 

In an attempt to sell the home for three years, this homeowner, unaware that his home and its contents were keeping buyers away, enlisted the help of a home staging professional. Trained to identify the key selling features buyers look for in a home and staging it for maximum appeal for a targeted demographic is one of many bonuses in hiring a home stager. Looking at the home from a ‘buyers perspective’ the seller was ready to make the necessary upgrades to sell his home competitively in today’s real estate market.

Suggestions included replacing the carpeting with hard wood flooring, fresh coat of paint, new furnishings, appliances and fixtures, plus the designing a stacked fireplace in the living room as the focal point in the room. The results were astonishing. The seller admitted the home was unrecognizable with the updates and remarked the transformation went from a “sow’s ear into a silk purse”. Eager to put his home on the market he has more confidence that it will sell quickly.

When preparing your home to sell, consider enlisting the assistance of a professional home stager. They can show you where your home may hold you back from getting top dollar and selling your home quickly.

Staging tip for collections

We love our collections of __________ (fill in the blank), but when there is so much and you're trying to sell your home, what to do? This simple home staging tip can actually help you show off the room while enjoying your pieces. Focus on a theme or color and then build from there, but only keep the strongest, nicest and best pieces to showcase. Have multiple collections? Sorting through them and getting a little of this and a little of that can go a long way, display them in odd numbers 3, 5, 7 but don't go overboard.

If you're trying to sell your house, let the architectural features of your home shine. You're not trying to sell your collection, nor do you want your home to be remembered by the collection of cute pigs in the living room!

If you're still confused, then boxing all the treasures, donating, or consigning would be the way to go. Letting go of the excess is good for the soul and clears the mind, plus you'll find that the room feels bigger and cleaner and presents itself in the best possible manner. Selling a home can be tough, but will a little guidance and direction from a professional home stager, your home will speak volumes and your on-line photos will look fabulous!

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!

Why De-Clutter and why is it so important?

Whether you are selling your home or staying put, de-cluttering your space opens your home to unlimited possibilities.

First off - if you are selling your home, one of the most important things to do is de-clutter and visually create more space. Potential buyer's are unable to see past your things, no matter how cute or adorable you may think your collections are, they have to go! It's a fact that buyer's will pay more attention to what you own and have on display rather than appreciate the beauty and unique characteristics of your home. They won't even begin to imagine themselves living there nor put an offer on your house because all they remember is your collection of ______ (fill in the blank). Clutter increases the feeling of restriction and confusion, plus it limits openness, creativity, ideas and the potential for a sale. Are you ready to enhance the features of your home or limit it?  

If you're staying put, de-cluttering your house will not only open up the floor plan but you'll find you have more space to enjoy it, both mentally and physically. According to Feng Shui principles clutter can create stagnation, struggle, and confusion. Clearing your space not only frees up your time and energy, but can promote new and unlimited possibilities.

The home in this image is for sale. Notice how cluttered this room is? Do you notice any architectural features of the room? With omissions of artwork, accessories and extra pieces of furniture the room will appear larger and more welcoming.

How to get started freeing up your space? Watch for my five easy steps to get started or contact a certified home stager for guidance and assistance.