Are you getting a lot of "lookers" but no "takers"? A lot of showings but no offers (or mostly low ball offers)? Your home probably needs the help of a Professional Home Stager.
Preparing a home for sale is a lot like getting ready for a first date. When preparing for a date you may ask yourself "Do I look good?", "Do I smell good?" "Will he/she like me?" "Could this lead to a long term relationship?"
It is the same with putting a home on the market. Ask yourself:
Have I done everything I can possibly do to get a potential buyer to like the home enough to lead to a long term relationship (aka a sale)? Does my home look good? Does it smell good?
Santa Monica kitchen after staging by Moving Mountains Design Home Staging
As with dating, sometimes it takes an objective observer to tell you if your home is ready for it's first date with buyers. Thats where a professional home stager comes in. Home stagers are trained to inspect your home with "buyer's eyes". They can spot all the small and large items that need to be addressed so that your potential buyers are not turned off by the condition or appearance of your home. For less than $500, in most cases, a professional home stager will prepare a comprehensive staging report that will act as a road map for preparing your home for sale.
Some of the questions that might be addressed in a comprehensive staging consultation are:
Is the home sparkling clean? Really? What about those mineral deposits on the shower door or that pesky mildew stain on the grout?
Does the home smell good? Really? Do you have a cat? Did you make curry for dinner last week? If a home stager can smell it, so can a potential buyer.
Is there a working lightbulb in every lamp and fixture? What about the missing light bulb in the patio light?
Do the hinges squeak? Do all the door knobs work?
Has that leaky faucet been repaired?
Has all the dog poop been picked up in the yard?
Do the walls or trim need to be painted? Does the wall paper need to be stripped and the rooms freshened up?
Are your walls painted a color that will be attractive to most potential buyers, or just buyers that share your particular taste?
Is your furniture arranged in a manner that makes your rooms seem larger than they are?
Is there too much furniture? Too much clutter? Too many personal items?
Pasadena Craftsman before staging
A home stager can also help you find a handyman, professional painter, carpet installer, cleaning service and mover. Don't forget, experienced home stage have helped many home owners prepare their homes for sale. They have a lot of tricks up their sleeves that will make your move easier.
Most home stagers offer a full menu of staging services to suit almost every home seller's needs. Once you have your comprehensive staging report in hand, you can then do the suggested work yourself, do some of the work yourself and hire the stager to do the balance or hire the stager to do all of the work.
Pasadena Craftsman after staging by Moving Mountains Design Home Staging
Professional home stagers are trained to help you take the guess work out of preparing your home. We help you make your home more appealing to the greatest number of potential "lookers" so they become "takers". For a faster sale at the best price, call a Professional Home Stager today.
Moving Mountains Design was recently featured in the Sunday Los Angeles Times Real Estate section in an article about the benefits of staging a home. Don't settle for second best and don't trust the sale of your home to just anyone. Choose the Los Angeles home staging company with the experience and knowledge to help you get your home sold faster and for the best price. Call us today at (626)441-8975 or visit our Los Angeles home staging website.
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2010 RESA Professional Stager of the Year
Michelle has staged hundreds of Los Angeles homes, many of which have sold with multiple offers, above listing price.
She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale throughout Los Angeles.
Moving Mountains Design provides vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties for real estate investors and asset managers.
For more information about our Los Angeles home staging services, contact Michelle at (626)385-8852 or by email.
Click here to see our Los Angeles home staging portfolio
Click here to go to our Los Angeles home staging blog
Click here for more information about home staging in Los Angeles and how we can help sell your home faster and for the best price
Michelle -
PRICE and CONDITION are the TWO MAIN FACTORS in selling a home in today's market, with today's high levels of inventory, and declining prices all over.
STAGING can be the critical difference in assuring a home is sold, quickly, and for the highest possible price.
As we all know, however, there are more than a few non-believers out there - you'll see them as they take that shot of their seller's master bathroom - in the mirror, over the cluttered vanity, you'll often see their flash reflection.
Keep on keeping on!
DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
Michelle...I love how you included all of those seemingly small detail things that buyers see and sellers ignore. When I put those details in my staging reports I get back comments about how picky and fussy I can be. Yeap, I am because I wouldn't want to buy a house with those issues IF I had choices and todays buyers do. Great info...thanks!
Dean: The first thing I tell sellers when I meet with them is "Home staging is not an excuse to overprice your home. If your home is overpriced, it will not sell staged or not".
I agree that the most important factors in getting a home sold are price and condition. If either of those is not up to snuff it will effect the selling price and time on the market. As a stager I don't have any say on price but I can help home sellers get their home into the best possible condition in the most cost effective manner so they can get their home sold.
Thank you for commenting and for believing in the value of home staging.
Hi Ginger: My consultation clients are always suprised that I can find 8 or 10 single spaced pages of items that need to be addressed before they put their home on the market. But once they read the report and start looking around they usually see their house differently - more like a product that needs to get ready for market so they can sell it. Most of what we find is cosmetic, but we have found an undetected leak under a sink a time or two. Yes, we're picky. It is our job to be so that the house gets sold faster, with less hassles and for the best price.
Michelle. Great blog. I especially liked how you referenced that home stagers are trained to help you take the guess work out of preparing your home. So true! Many homeowners haven't a clue as to where to begin and what would net them out the most reward.
Awesome blog, Michelle.
Kathy
Michelle I enjoyed your comment about your report and how lengthy they can be. I must admit that because I've gotten so many negative comments from agents (not sellers) about the detailed reports, that I have backed-off a little with the details, BUT now that I've read your comment, I'm going back.
I hate taking the time to be so detailed but I do think it's what they need to hear. Fortunately I work with a couple of agents that understand why I do what I do and they "prep" the sellers before I arrive AND before they get the report. Yesterdays report was 7 pages and I left out the repairs and painting section because it was a owner/builder house and he knows what NEEDS to be done. Now it's just a matter of doing those things.
Affirmation...thank you. I need to remember to do what I know is right.
Hi Kathy: Thanks for your thoughtful response. Hiring a professional home stager can save a home owner a ton of money. I blogged recently about a homeowner who saved $3500 after hiring us. She didn't need to replace her carpet as she had thought. Heres the link A home staging consultation can save you money. Many of us have staged or consulted on hundreds of houses. We know what works and what doesn't and what is worth it and what isn't. Thanks again.
Ginger: It is a fine line between offering constructive suggestions and totally trashing a house. I have never gotten negative feedback from an REA on one of my reports. Mostly they are thankful that I have done the dirty work for them and they know they will encounter fewer obstacles once a house is under contract.
At the end of the report, I make a list of 10 or 20 things I feel are most important, and the things they should absolutely take care of as a kind of re-cap. I think most people understand we are trying to help them do what they hired us for.
Thanks Ginger!
I have tried multiple times to upload some photos to this blog but have been unable. Sorry. I'll try to add them later.
Great entry and great job on SEO. I picked this up on my google saved search.
Jo: Thank you, and thank you again. I'm glad to hear the SEO strategy is working.
Great points on everything, Michelle, and you're right - a comprehensive Consultation Report from a Professional Home Stager will be (and are) pages long - single spaced. I often include pictures within my reports so that the Sellers can see exactly what is being referred to in the report. Sort of a, "Would you want your MLS photo to reflect your home like this?" - Great blog!
Thank you, Connie. I have been doing more and more staging consultations recently. I really enjoy them - not as much as staging a nice big vacant, but almost;-)
Hi Michelle! Great blog!! I am totally loving that homeowners are calling me to get a consultation BEFORE even the listing papers are signed! If the Realtors only realized what an opportunity it can be to partner with a stager more often....they would be blowing kisses to us! LOL...
I had to smile at your words above regarding the consulation report with the many pages of 'items' which usually need to be addressed. You are correct, the homeowner LOVES those reports...and the home stager providing a thorough job of it all is important. I may not be a home inspector, however, I review a home pretty closely and look for potential problems which might cost the seller the sale. Good consultations are worth the small price! Thanks Michelle! Regards-Kathleen G
Kathleen: No, we are not building inspectors, but we may be able to make the building inspection go more smoothly by having our clients take care of the more obvious defects. The more the building inspector finds wrong with the house, the more likely the buyer will want to renegotiate the sales price downward.
I am getting more and more calls from homeowners even before they have met with any REAs. And they are asking me for referrals to agents. We are a great resource for any REAs that would like more leads.
Thanks for commenting Kathleen.
Michelle
Great point about sellers thinking staging allows them to price their home above the market. It does however make the home more marketable while not more valuable. Marketablity versus value is a distinction that many agents confuse.
by the way, Do you have an outside blog that I can add to my Blogroll ?
Thanks and look forward to reading your thoughts on the world of real estate.
Michelle - Yes, yes and yes to the comprehensive reports. They can seem a little daunting at first glance, but overall they're like treasure maps.
Jackie
Hi James: Staging always works in both the buyer's and seller's favor. The house is more marketable (can sell faster and at a better price) and it is in move in condition for the buyer. I think most Agents understand marketability vs. value. It is usually the homeowners that are being unrealistic.
Jackie: We go through most of what is going to be in the report with the homeowner before we give them the report. That way everything is explained beforehand. We also encourage the homeowner to contact us if they have any questions or if they want us to be their accountability coach. Thanks for commenting.
Nice job Michelle. You do a great job of making it clear to sellers why they need you, or someone like you!
Michelle, you have painted a very clear picture on what sellers need to do. Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Great post Michelle,
Sometimes it is the little things, sometimes the big ones. Good Stagers look at homes differently and present them better.
All the best
Hi Tamara: Feel free to use this info to educate your clients. Thanks.
Patty: Thank you. See above.
Kevin: So true. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks Michelle-- I appreciate the offer. I will certainly keep a link to your website handy!
Oops. I missed this response. You are most welcome. Happy selling!
Hi Laurie: Thanks for the feature in The Southern Calfornia Real Estate Forum Group. Exciting!
Your before and after photos says more than a thousand words. I agree with you.
Your before and after photos says more than a thousand words. I agree with you.
Excellent advice Michelle! I think along those same lines too - like a blind date you want to make sure you make the best impression the first time out if you want to make an impact on your date with the buyers.
Thank you Ronda (Mahalo!)
Karen: Does Eddie know you're going on blind dates? Thanks Karen!
shush!
I'm in one of those situations that I may actually pay for the staging of a property up front and have the seller agree to pay me back out of the proceeds. This house needs some serious staging as it looks like a home out of the late 60's early 70's, green carpet and all!
Todd: Occassionally, Realtors pay us for staging up front when their clients can't afford it. Most houses would sell faster and for a better price if they were staged, which is helpful to both the home owner and the listing agent. Just make sure you will be reimbursed in the event the house does not sell (overpriced, sellers unreasonable about working with the buyer, change of plans, etc.). I worked with one listing agent that paid for the staging, but wrote into the listing contract that the homeowner agreed to lower the price a certain amount every 30 days until the home sold. Fortunately the house sold after the first open house, so it was never an issue. But the listing agent felt confident that the homeower would agree to a price reduction to get the home sold if the LA felt it was necessary.