Right Brain, Left Brain - A Contradiction in Terms that Works for Me

I have a confession to make - I am a contradiction in terms with a special link that makes it all work. 

My first career was as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).  I built a small tax practice that I ran very successfully for 10 years.  I sold that business when my late husband became ill and left the accounting profession behind.  On the one hand, I had a very “right brain” type of career that was logical, analytical and objective.

In 2005, I decided to embark on a completely new career.  I enrolled in the local community college, took courses in home staging from Center Stage Home ^TM and became immersed in a new creative pursuit – home staging and interior design.  Loving my home, inside and out, decorating it, and rearranging creatively is in my genetic make-up.  For the past 6 years, my husband and I are building a home staging business that has staged more than 150 houses!  And, I get involved in some interesting design projects (cool doctor’s office will be the subject of a future blog).  So, on the other hand, I am now in a career that is “left brain” focused - intuitive, creative, and subjective.

The great thing is that I loved running the tax practice and I am having the time of my life building this home staging and design business.  I can resolve this seeming contradiction because there is a common link to my right brained and left brained careers – people and relationships. 

The fun part of my tax practice was in spending time with my clients, learning about the life changes over the past year, discussing their plans and dreams and helping them help me complete their tax returns. 

The fun part of home staging and interior design are the people and relationships that I develop with realtors and home sellers.  As any realtor can tell you, one learns a great deal about people’s lives, plans, problems and personalities when you help them sell their house.  I take personal ownership and pride in every house that I stage and I consider the listing realtor and seller as members of my extended family.  I want them to succeed by selling their house quickly and for the best possible price.

I get very excited to learn that one of my staged houses has a contract.  I am happy for my “new friends” (and in some cases old friends) who can now begin the next chapter of their lives.  I am happy for my realtor partners as we were able to help our client sell their house.  And I am happy for myself as my hard work, creativity and experience made a difference once again.

Every day, I get to dwell in possibilities for homes and sellers.  I am blessed to love what I do and enjoy the people with whom I work. 

Remember to dwell in possibilities for yourself and for others!!

Cindy

The 30 Second Rule

One of the truisms of real estate is that upon entering a house, buyers make up their mind in the first 30-60 seconds.  The rest of the time in the house is spent justifying their first emotional reaction. 

Without question, the exterior and interior entry areas and any rooms that can be seen upon entering the house need to look their best.  The entry area must make a good first impression because you are never given a second chance to make a good first impression.  If the house is messy, cluttered, or confusing to the potential buyer, odds are they will not be back.  And you’ve lost a real sales opportunity!  . 

Put yourself in the role of the potential buyer looking at this house and ask these types of questions:

·         Is the landscaping well-kept and consistent with the house and the neighborhood? 

·         Are the porch and steps clear, clean and inviting? 

·         Is there a relaxed, warm and peaceful feeling when you walk in the door?

·         Does the house have a clean and fresh smell?

·         Are all areas within sight of the entry area visually appealing?

·         Are those rooms properly light?

·         Does the front door hardware have a nice feel and is the air temperature comfortable?

·         Will this house pass the “30 Second Rule”? 

If there are too many negative answers to these questions, then the cost in professional home staging may be an investment needed to sell this house more quickly and for the best possible price.

Buyers want to walk-in a professionally staged home (inside and out).  And once in, they want to see more.  Most importantly, buyers imagine living in that house and making it their home.  When a house is professionally staged, it is more likely that buyers will make an offer and buy that house.  And in the end, isn’t that why the house was on the market in the first place?

Dwell in possibilities!

Cindy

Success Breeds Success- Observations about Successful Realtors

In life, success breeds success. Successful companies attract the best employees who make them more successful.  Successful sports teams attract the best free agents who want to win with that team.  Successful restaurants attract customers who are willing to wait for a table – and then those crowds attract more customers.   

In real estate, success also breeds success as potential sellers want to list their houses with realtors who deliver results.

While I continue to learn every day about the real estate business and profession, it is clear to me that the successful realtors I’ve observed operate very effectively in some key ways:

·         Honest with Sellers – the successful realtor candidly assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the listing and shares that assessment with the seller.  They have a plan for highlighting the strengths and another for addressing the weaknesses.  Successful realtors tell the sellers what they need to do with their property if they want the house to sell.  Their correction plan is in service to making the house marketable.  They do not “sugar coat” to keep that listing.

·         Proactive with Sellers – successful realtors act proactively with their sellers.  They identify problems but also provide effective solutions.  Successful realtors have a list of dependable resources at their disposal to help with any problem.  Certain successful realtors use me to help show the sellers what needs to be done (paint selection, kitchen upgrades, “de-cluttering” and/or full scale home staging) and why it will make a big difference in the sale of this house.  They help the seller manage the project to ensure that the house meets their standards before listing.

·         Set a Professional Standard for Listing – in my experience, successful realtors have their own standard for when a house is ready to list.  They make that standard very clear to the sellers and it is usually a condition for the listing date.  They give their sellers “home work”.  I find that most sellers understand why it needs to be done and want to meet those standards.  Equally important, other realtors recognize that a house listed by a successful realtor is “show ready” so they are more likely to visit that house with their buyers.

·         Access to Resources – successful realtors have a list of dependable resources that they bring to bear in support of that seller.  The resources include painters, plumbers, carpenters, pest control, home stagers and many more.  They recommend “their people” to make it easy for their sellers to get their “home work” completed on time.  Plus, they make “their people” feel like they are an important part of the successful realtor’s team.

·         Maximize Technology – successful realtors maximize the technology.  Their online photos reflect the house at its best (after the repairs and the house has been staged).  Their website is up-to-date so that potential buyers can find the right house for their needs.  It has been gratifying to learn that successful realtors who follow “to be continued” have forwarded the link to their sellers to help them learn more about the value of home staging. 

In my experience, successful realtors use everything at their disposal to set their listings apart from the competition for the right reasons.  They dwell in the art of the possible (to borrow from my favorite Emily Dickinson phrase).  And as a consequence, they deliver results.  And who would not want to list their house with a realtor who delivers results!!

Remember to dwell in “the art of the possible” like a successful realtor!

Cindy

This Is the House We Live In and Not the House We Stage

One of the challenges of being a professional home stager is that sometimes you have to separate your personal life from your professional life.  I want to share a funny story about this distinction.

My husband has a basket where he keeps the magazines he is reading or plans to read.  One day he came home to find some lovely, color coordinated design books in his basket with his magazine conveniently placed out of site.  His stager/designer wife decided that those tasteful, eye-appealing design books looked much better than his copies of “Sports Illustrated”, “Men’s Health” and “The Week” (I have to admit that they looked perfect in that basket).

When he discovered the wonderful change, he came out and said, “Cindy, this is the house we live in and not the house we stage.”  Of course, we had a good laugh over this “incident”.

Our funny story does bring up an important distinction about staged houses and the homes we live in.  The professionally staged house is arranged and accessorized to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible.  If it is done well, the staged house is “buyer-friendly”.  The purpose of the staged house is to help sell that house quicker and for the best possible price.

The home we live in is our house filled with our desires, needs, dreams and memories.  It is “Gasior friendly” or “Smith friendly” or “Jones friendly”.  The purpose of our home is to be a place of rest, relaxation, enjoyment, and comfort.  It is our place and it should reflect what we want consistent with our lifestyle, tastes, furnishing and accessories.  If it works for us, then that is all that matters – and it is a really good thing to live in a house that works for you.

As we’ve mentioned before, when it comes time to sell the house, the unique nature of that Smith or Jones friendly home can become a liability.  It can be tough for the seller who wants the buyer to like their home and their stuff as much as they do.  The problem is that buyers need to see themselves and their stuff in the house. 

When a house goes on the market for sale, it is no longer the owner’s source of pride.  It has become a product for sale that needs to appeal to as many buyers as possible.

We love our “Gasior friendly” home and are pleased when our friends enjoy themselves in it.  We know that if and when we decide to sell it and stage it, our house will be staged with lovely, color coordinated design books and the magazines will find a new home in some drawer!!

Dwell in possibilities!

Cindy

Just the Facts, Ma’am – Home Staging Statistics

I recently found a study conducted by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA^© http://www.realestatestagingassociation.com) ^.   I thought you might find value in this study and their findings.

They examined the number of days on the market unsold followed by the experience of the same homes after staging.  As you can see, the staged houses sold in about ¾ of the time as the same house when not staged.  As a control, they also examined 284 vacant and occupied homes that were staged and then listed.  In this instance, the results were even better with only an average of 40.5 days on the market.

VACANT HOMES (87 Homes)

Homes -Listed Unstaged, Not Sold                                              277 Days on Market

Same Homes – Staged, Listed, Sold                                         63 Days on Market

OCCUPIED HOMES (39 Homes)

Homes Listed, Unstaged, Not Sold                                               233 Days on Market

Same Homes – Staged, Listed, Sold                                         53 Days on Market

VACANT AND UNOCCUPIED HOMES (126 Homes)

Homes -Listed Unstaged, Not Sold                                              263 Days on Market

Same Homes – Staged, Listed, Sold                                         60 Days on Market

VACANT AND OCCUPIED HOMES (284 Homes)

Staged, Listed and Sold                                                               40.5 Days on Market

Real Estate Staging Statistics Report by RESA® (Released February 2010)

If you have comments about this study and your experiences with home staging, please share them with the “to be continued” readers.

Rather than commenting on my experience which is similar to these statistics (and will be the subject of a future blog posting), I will just let the RESA^© facts speak for themselves. 

Dwell in possibilities!

Cindy