Home Staging TNT

When potential home buyers first take a look inside your house, your living room needs to present itself well and attract their full attention. This is one of the first rooms they will see when entering your property. You must take full advantage of this space and update its look to resemble a modern and warm environment. If a potential home buyer sees an outdated and dingy living room, it will have a negative emotional impact on them. On average, if this happens they are not excited and will try to leave the property as soon as possible. Dont let that happen and consider the home staging ideas below to better your chances at selling your house.

Step 1
Paint the living room. Paint can add a dramatic difference to any room. Bright white or neutral color walls are the way to go. Painting is also the easiest and least expensive way to update any space. When painting, make sure not to overlook the trim work. You want to brighten it with high-gloss white paint and caulk any open seams between the molding, ceiling, baseboard and wall.

Step 2
Add some flowers. The scent and look of a vase full of beautiful colorful flowers will definitely add a hit of zest to any room. Research shows that yellow floral arrangements envoke buyer’ emotions. The Home Staging Channel does not recommend using fake flowers either. Fresh live flowers are what excite buyers.

Step 3
Replace your flooring. Most flooring projects can indeed be a costly investment. On average, quality hardwood flooring ranges from $2-$9 per square foot. For a 220 square foot area, expect to spend about $1,250 if you do-it-yourself. If you prefer to hire a professional, calculate this into your budget. Next comes sanding hardwoods which can be physically tough. If you make a mistake, you can permanently damage the floor. If youre concerned, you may want to hire a pro. You can then do your own staining and sealing to save some money. If you have carpet in the living room, you can either have it professionally cleaned, which can range anywhere from $75-$200 or you can replace it if its torn, stained or has a bad odor. Pricing for new rugs and carpet also vary. Do your homework and find out the best ways to update this part of the living room.

Step 4
Hang some art. Adding wall art also adds zing to a living room. When you see pictures of the wonderful outdoors it brings a feeling of energy and joy. DO NOT display photos of beloved friends and family while your home is on the market. This is mistake that many homeowners make while there home is on the market.

Step 5
Fire Place Mantel. Replace your old mantel with a new wood or stone mantel for as cheap as $100. The fireplace will be the main focal point of the living room! Make sure it presents well. TIP: do not put too many knick-knacks on the new mantel. You want the potential homebuyer to focus on the new mantel and not your decor.

Step 6
A ceiling change. If you have popcorn ceilings in the living room, or any other room of the house, get rid of them! Popcorn ceilings will be a tough sale. Instead, paint the ceiling with a high-gloss white color.

Step 7
Fabrics and pillows. Another way to increase the energy in your living room or any other room in your house is to add pillows and fabric accents. Add curtains in neutral colors or deep jewel tones. Silk pillows with ornate beading and sequins are very beautiful too.

When your house is on the market for sale, its up to you and your creativity to sell it quick. You dont want your house to be on the market for more than a few weeks. It should ideally sell within the first week its on the market. Consider the home staging tips above and you may make a sale within the first few days of your house being on the market!

How do you get your first home staging job? How do I find clients? How do I get referrals?

At most of my APSD home staging training courses, I teach at least 30% of the course on home staging systems and creativity,30% of the course on the business of home staging and 40% of the course on effective home staging marketing skills. So, in essence, we teach what it takes to successfully and completely build and grow your home staging business.

One of the things that I cover extensively in marketing is building a relationship with your clients. As a matter of fact, I really only think you need 5 good clients to get 50 home staging jobs each year. As one of our Certified Property Scene Designers about it and they will tell you the formula.

Life and Business is all about relationships. Think about it, if you are married, or ever have been, did you develop a relationship before you made a commitment? What about your friendships, same thing, right. The same holds true in business, especially today.

Your client, or future client wants to know who you really are and whether or not they can trust you, will enjoy doing business with you and if you will always under promise and over deliver. So, they may test you out a little. Thats okay, all you have to do is show them how fabulous you really are and they will love you forever.as long as you maintain the relationship.

If you are asking yourself, the questions at the top of this page, I think you might want to think about a better question, because you know the old saying ask a better question, get a better answer. So, what is the better question? How about, how can I build lifetime relationships with my existing and future home staging clients? THAT is a good question.

There are lots of ways, and some depend upon whether you are talking about new clients or existing ones, for the sake of space, we will discuss both, together.

New Clients;

1) Go where they go. Is there a local real estate investors club in your area? Go there and meet everyone you can. Dont come right out and try to get them to help you, find out how you can help them and then build your relationship from there. I am not saying you have to give away the farm, but maybe give a little advice on color or curb appeal, even marketing if you feel as though you can. Then, keep in touch. You know our APSD marketing cycle, 1/7/30.

2) You can do the same thing with sellers or real estate agents as you have done with investors. Is there a local meeting of agents or an event agents are sponsoring for home sellers (some of my small business clients are real estate agents and they hold these events weekly at a coffee shopvery successfully)? Make sure you attend. Bring everyone a small gift that has your business card tied to it such as a silk flower, pennant for a local team, a pak of via, or even a rubber duck. Just anything that makes sense to them that they like and will keep. Then, follow up.

3) In general , once you make the connection, follow the APSD 1/7/30 marketing cycle (ask any APSD certified home staging member if you need help with this), and always make sure that you add a personal touch. This week, I sent 2 personal emails, obviously that only took me a minute or two, but one was to an APSD Trainer, telling her I was keeping her in my prayers as her family was struggling with a personal issue and another was to another APSD certified trainer, just saying thank you, that I really appreciated her and hope that she stayed with us forever. I did not do this with expectation of anything in return. But, boy did I ever reap a rewardfrom both. The point here is that I kept in touch and made it personal by touching on something that was specific to them. During another posting, I will discuss creating your client information file system.

These are just a few examples of how to build a home staging relationship, there are many and I would love to hear your ideas as well.

For more ideas on building your home staging business and making some of the best home staging relationships of your life with your fellow home stagers , join us at STAGE; www.APSDmembers.com/STAGE

To your Home Staging Success,

Karen Schaefer
Founder, APSD, The Association of Property Scene Designers
The World Leader in Home Staging Training and Certification
www.APSDmembers.com

Property owners nowadays increasingly understand the importance of property staging service for sale in London. Unlike earlier days when people did not pay much attention to the beatification of the house, these days it is common to take the help of a professional interior decorator for styling a home before offering it on sale so that the owner can confidently quote a good asking price, while expecting to strike a good deal without waiting too much. It is imperative to enhance the property with the help of a good home staging service in London and make it presentable for a prospective buyer. Especially when there are so many residential properties which look quite similar to each other and enjoy the same benefits, being a part of the same area and neighbourhood.

Apart from covering all the existing flaws, home staging also goes a step beyond in enhancing the current state of the property. As the term dress to sell suggests, it basically enlivens the house with furnishings and accessories to make it more attractive. Here are 10 tips that can help you in staging your property for quicker and better sale. These tips will help you understand the importance of both exterior and interior home staging.

1.Neutralise the house to increase its appeal. A house with a neutral colour scheme and a moderate theme as well, will appeal to a larger number of people.

2.Symmetry is important as it helps to create a well-proportioned and organised look. So consider rearranging the furniture to give the rooms a spacious and more symmetrical look.

3.All the rooms should be freshly painted to give the house a bright and neat look. This will help in refreshing the old look of the property.

4.Thoroughly clean the carpets with a heavy duty vacuum cleaner, also available on rent in market, and ensure that they dont have any stains. This will help your home in both looking spotless and smelling fresh.

5.Clear all the junk inside and outside your house and completely de-clutter your home. You will be surprised to see how de-cluttering mystically makes your home look airy and appealing.

6.Try and remove traces of personal touch from the property. Displaying your photographs and posters anywhere in the house can prove as a hindrance to the prospective buyers visualization of buying this property.

7.Gardens play an important role in giving the home that well taken care of look. No one likes to see over grown grass and tools & junk in the garden. So make sure the gardens are tended.

8.Clean the driveway and fill in any cracks out there. Make sure that no loose concrete slabs are left on the pathway or passage areas.

9.Exteriors of the house as important as the interiors. Any missing paintwork on the exterior of the building can make it look very shabby. So fill in any such patches and wash all the windows and doors and apply fresh paint on them too, if need be.

10.Lighting also plays an important part. If you do not want to spend on new lights, then at least fix the outside and inside lighting to make your property look brighter.

Home staging is a mixed bag because there is so much you can do that knowing where to start, especially if you are doing it yourself, is almost as important as the staging itself. In a down real estate market (or any market) you could find yourself spending thousands of dollars to make your home stand out from the rest of the competition. But will you recoup your costs? How do you know where to start? Read on to see the top seven home staging basics that will save you money and still get buyers to swoon over your home every time.

1. Check your bulbs twice. – Home lighting is quite possibly the most effective way to sell your home. When a buyer looks through your home for the first time it’s an exploration and as such they are trying to see every detail during their first trip (and impression) of your home. If a buyer spots a burned out bulb or is unable to see all the space in a closet because the lights don’t work then they deduct the perceived loss of square footage and needed maintenance from your asking price. Stop this top objection in its tracks by replacing all of your burned out bulbs before putting your home on the market.

2. Clean the gutters. – How your home looks on the outside is 50% of the buyer’s first impression. If the buyer walks up to the front door and sees gutters weighed down by leaves and other debris it triggers thoughts of deferred maintenance and future home structure problems. A home buyer does not want to inherit a home seller’s problems so cleaning the gutters and ensuring they are not sagging will clear the path to a successful home tour.

3. Pack your family photos and awards before putting your home on the market. – Your home is your home. It’s a very personal space but once you have decided to put your home on the market you have to take into consideration that home buyers are trying to see this as being their next home. Family photos and awards, all great things to have, should be packed before you put your home on the market to avoid creating visual breakers when a buyer tours your home.

4. Clear the counter space. – There are two types of real estate a buyer considers when looking at your home. The first is the home and property the home resides on and the second is usefulness of the interior space of your home. Kitchens are the heart of the home and as such the buyers want to know that there will always be room to grow in that space. Clear away non-essential counter appliances and kitchen accessories to give off the impression of more space for the buyer’s dollar.

5. Get the carpets cleaned professionally. – Carpets are beautiful and make for great floor surfaces but if you haven’t had them cleaned since you moved in then you should have it done before putting your home on the market. Dogs, kids and the elements of nature all make their mark on carpeting over the years and the last thing buyers want to do when buying a home is take on a large project like carpet replacement after they move in.

6. Paint high traffic spaces. – High traffic spaces are the best places to find dings and marks on the walls which look like deferred maintenance but are in reality the consequence of daily wear and tear. Patch and paint the walls in high traffic spaces.

7. Define your rooms! -Buyers have imaginations but not when they are looking at homes. When selling your home the dining room can no longer be the home office and the living room cannot be the catch-all play area and living space. Clearly interpret what your home has to offer to buyers so they don’t deduct points (and dollars) when writing an offer for your home.

Home staging is as much about putting your home’s best foot forward as it is whisking away the most obvious home buyer objectives before the buyers have a chance to come up with them. By following these seven home staging basics you will be able to command the right price for your home in any market and increase the chances of selling your home quickly.

With the popularity of house staging television shows, various are wondering if staging functions in the “true globe.” Home staging is a bit more than simply superior entertainment about a Monday afternoon, it happens to be a proven technique which produces homes in Hollywood and over the nation.

HOME STAGING DESCRIPTION: Home staging is the art of preparing home for sale by highlighting the home’s qualities by furniture arrangement, accent placement, and color options. An Accredited Staging Expert is a home professional which works an objective review of a property to determine any difficulties which can hinder buyer interest in the house. Staging is not decorating. Home staging involves utilizing indoor design principles and marketing tips to best represent the house./p>

WHY STAGING WORKS: Home staging functions considering a properly staged home is a home shown at its best condition. Each space contains important design elements: outlined focal points, proper furniture placement to produce a larger room and smooth traffic designs, tasteful color selections about walls and by house design, and properly put house accents. All these principles working together create an atmosphere that creates buyers’ thoughts, causing them to love the house.

In a staged house, customers can see that:

Staged homes look perfectly cared for: staging addresses upgrading the home’s design whilst working in the house owner’s budget.
Staged homes are uncluttered: staging involves removing excess items so customers can easily see the home’s qualities.
Staged homes have a pleasant atmosphere: staging exhibits the best furniture layout for the house, highlighting the focal points and creating easy pathways around the furniture.
Staged homes appeal to a wider variety buyers: staging neutralizes a homes design, giving it a model house-like appeal, therefore attracting more customers.

These elements assistance to generate buyer interest causing wonderful side-effects

HOME STAGING SIDE EFFECTS (BENEFITS):

Higher Asking Price: Statistically, homes which have been arranged control higher asking costs than non-staged homes, considering my house is within top showing condition.
Faster Sale Time: Statistically, arranged homes sell in third time than non-staged houses
Greater Rate of Return: Statistically, the investment in staging is returned to the homeowner when their house produces. The average rate of return is about 120%. For example, inside house owner invested $500 in staging their house, they will probably acquire $560 back from the sale of their house by less (if any) cost reductions or from an increase in asking cost.

HOME STAGING STATISTICS:

Staged homes sell faster than non-staged homes…

Nationwide, arranged house is on the marketplace for a normal of 31.9 days
Nationwide, non-staged house is on the marketplace around 160 days
93% of ASP homes sell in one month
This may imply the real difference between days and months!
For complete stats see the Staged Homes Website

Staging is a win-win situation. The sellers win considering their homes are sold in a smaller amount of time compared to a non-staged homes, and also the brokers win considering their listing sell faster than agents that don’t suggest staging. Results don’t lie. Story following background has been informed of how staging created the real difference in the sale of a house.
Selling A Home