Once you have chosen an Accredited Staging Professional determine the type of service you need from them, whether that be just a consultation for those that want to do the work themselves and have the time and creativity to do the work, a consultation may be just for you. Typically, a consultation will give you ideas and suggestions for curb appeal and point out some needed repairs to the entrance of your home. This is very important to address since this is the buyers first impression on your home (and potentially their new home). If you need a bit of a “WOW” factor added and need some help getting the work done, a ASP Stager can do the work for you or give you guidelines to follow to do it yourself.

Often people have moved and have left behind a vacant home. The fact is -Vacant homes do not sell or show well. 85% of buyers start their home search online, their search brings up several (often times hundreds) of houses meeting their parameters. Buyers start clicking through pictures trying to find the best looking, best priced home that appeals to them. When they find a home that appeals to them visually, they will start looking at the inside pictures of the home. If all they see are 4 beige or 4 purple, green walls, they will get turned off and move onto the next home. Empty rooms have nothing to capture the buyers eye and show them the size and scale of the rooms. All they see is the ugly paint color or the stains on the rug or other unfinished projects in the room. This is a vital reason why you need to Stage your vacant property. It doesn’t need to be the entire house, but ideally, the main living areas of the home, and special attention should be made to the foyer/entrance of the home, since this is their first impression of the home. Homes that are staged by an ASP Stager sell faster and often for more money than non-staged homes. Many stagers have an inventory of furniture they can rent to you while your home is being sold.

When working with a ASP Stager they will recommend paint colors that are great for selling your home and make suggestions on updates and repairs that may be needed that will help your house show and sell quicker. Most buyers do not want a “fixer-upper” if you want your home to sell, make sure it is clean, updated, priced right and staged to sell.

As a home owner and home stager I realize how difficult it is to try and have the objective eye on your home and try to see it’s faults and weaknesses. Unfortunately, when you live in the home, it’s often very difficult to see your home with a buyer’s eye and have the neutral nose to smell any odors your home may have, mainly because you live in it and it’s normal to you. One clear fact is if buyers can smell it – you aren’t going to sell it. Hire a professional Accredited Staging Professional to review your home and find out which staging option is right for you. Keep in mind, the cost of staging can often be accounted for in the sales price. Also, the cost of staging is always less than your average 5-40% decrease in prices if the home does not sell.

Learn more at http://www.creativehomestagers.com

Clean your front door, porch, outside railings and steps. This is cheaper than repainting and makes a world of difference. Once the outside entrance is clean, decide if the paint really needs a touch up.

After reviewing the quote and discussing a few staging options she replied, that’s more than I wanted to spend could you just quote the sunroom? The sunroom?   I thought to myself, did you not hear the feedback about the kitchen?  What am I missing?  Needless to say, I provided her with a quote for just the sunroom, as she had requested, but had to explain one very important point.  Home Staging is NOT just staging one room of the house.  The process of selling a home is based on the whole property, both inside and out. When a buyer steps into your house you have only a few seconds to capture the buyer’s attention and interest.   It’s this reason why you need to be sure their first impression into the house is a good one.   Buyers need to walk in and say “WOW”, now you have them, keep them and their eye going through the home while they envision themselves living in the home.

If you have areas of the home that are confusing or if you are getting negative feedback, have an accredited staging professional help you address these issues. We are trained to how to make spaces look larger and show at their very best with the right furniture and accessories.   A little bit of staging in key points of a home can go a long way when you hire a professional.
Needless to say, we were not able to help this particular home owner, they decided to do the staging themselves and relist the home.  To date, the home is still on the market.

The moral of this story?   Hire a professional to sell your home, you need a professional that has the training to know what helps a house sell and what buyers are looking for in the current market.  Additionally, the cost of staging your home is FAR LESS than your average price reduction of 5-10% of the list price.   Can you afford NOT to stage?

Location and Price

When buyers are ready to look for a home they many times will start their search from their computer.  Buyers will go to their favorite real estate website and type in their parameters.  How much they can afford to spend on a home, how many bedrooms, baths and location.  From here they receive hundreds of potential properties.   This is why it is very important to talk with a reputable Realtor® so they can help you price your home competitively.  They will look at many variables like what comparable properties have sold recently in your area, how long were they on the market and what they think your list price should be.  This is where having an experienced Realtor® is important. 

Pictures and description of your home

Once a potential buyer has pulled up potential homes that meet their criteria they will start clicking on pictures of houses that appeal to them.   Having your home professionally Staged by an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) Stager will help.  Hire a reputable ASP Stager that has a proven track record of Staging and selling homes.  An ASP Stager will advise you on suggestions for curb appeal, paint color recommendations, and suggestions on what you can do to make your home more visually appealing.  If you have a vacant house to sell many Staging companies have furniture and accessories they can bring in and Stage the home showing the homes assets and giving the home the emotional connection buyers need.  Once the home is professionally staged, the Realtor® can take photos and upload them onto MLS.  It’s very important to have great photos of your home.  Pictures should not be blurry or taken from weird angles.  The better the picture, the better your home will look.  You want a potential buyer to see the home at its very best.  This is why you should Stage your home prior to taking pictures and listing it.  You want the pictures in MLS to show your house in its best condition.

Curb Appeal

Once a buyer has seen the home(s) that interest them, they will often drive by the home.  Many times a buyer will drive by multiple times, both during the day and at night time.  At night time leave your outside and inside lights on.  Let buyers see your home.   It is imperative to make sure your home has curb appeal.  Curb appeal will make buyers want to come inside and see more!  Make sure your grass is cut.   Put fresh pine needles or mulch in the flower beds and around the trees.  Remove all trash cans, toys, hoses and clutter from the yard.  Make sure that your roof, trim and shutters are in excellent condition and there is no peeling paint, rotten wood or broken gutters or windows.   If buyers see any of this often times they will drive by and not go inside because they think the home has not been well maintained.

The interior should be model home clean

Now that the buyers have driven by the home, love what they see and want to come inside and see more you need to be sure the interior of the home captures them emotionally and sells them on the life style they are looking for.   When a buyer walks into the home he or she will make up their mind in less than 30 seconds if this home appeals to them and if they want to continue seeing the home.  One saying I’ve heard is “If a buyer can smell it – you won’t sell it”.   Remove all pets, pet toys, litter boxes and pet beds from the home.   Contrary to what most people believe, the majority of people are NOT dog or cat lovers and many people are highly allergic.  Do you want to lose a potential buyer because of your pet?  No!  The home should not smell like food, pets or smoke.  A professional Home Stager will help you with this, either by giving you ideas and suggestions on things you can do to remove, reduce or eliminate the smells.   Don’t try to use air fresheners or candles to cover the smell.  Many buyers are turned off by these strong cover-ups and will leave.   Oftentimes, homeowners are not even aware of these smells because they live in the home and it’s what’s normal or natural for them.    

Remove extra furniture and storage items in rooms.   Your bedrooms should look like a bedroom, not like a storage room.  You’re selling valuable real estate, not your extra stuff.  If the home is vacant, bring in key pieces of furniture and accessories to show the home.  Buyers cannot envision the size and scale of a room from pictures if the rooms are empty.    You don’t have to have furniture in every room, but it’s important to stage the main living areas of a home.  Buyers buy on emotion.  If the rooms are empty, there is nothing for the buyer to connect with emotionally and many people lack the ability to envision their furniture in the room and see themselves living there.  So if you house is vacant, stage the main living areas and give buyers an idea of how they can live in the home. 

 Once your home has been professionally cleaned and staged it’s very important to keep it in model home condition.  If you cannot keep it clean because of your busy schedule, hire a house cleaner to clean it while it is being listed.  Buyers will be calling at any given time, sometimes with only a few hours notice.  Your home should reflect the hard work and care you have invested in it and sell the potential buyer.  If a home has dirty dishes in the sink or toys scattered about it’s hard for buyers not to be distracted by your clutter.    

Remember you only get one chance to make a first impression!  Make sure it counts!

Our second project was the Thompson’s Child Develpment Center.  This is a new center that was built in 2009.  The center serves 150 infants, toddlers and preschoolers.  A majority of the children served here have high-risk factors challenging their social, emotional and academic development.  Thompson’s asked for our assistance this year in providing a space that would be peaceful and comfortable for the teachers.  The teacher’s needed a space that they could eat lunch, relax and watch television.  Our group provided them with a variety of new furniture and accessories including; a sofa, side tables and lamps and decorative accessories including custom made drapes for their windows.  These teachers work very hard everyday improving and creating a loving, nurturing environment for these children, it was very fulfilling giving them a space to call their own.

Our chapter also participated in the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association Realtors Care day donating time and food for the event.  Finally, at our year end meeting our Chapter had a vendor fair and a food drive which collected over 100 pounds of food and paper products for the Angel’s and Sparrow’s soup kitchen located in Huntersville, NC.  Angel’s and Sparrows provides food to individuals and families in the Northern Charlotte Region.

The food drive capped the chapter members’ community service projects for 2010.  We look forward to another very successful year of giving back to the community with all of our talents and resources.

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