Make It Look Like a Million Dollars!

Regular readers of “to be continued” as well as each and every one of my Realtor partners know that I love a good challenge.  A good challenge fuels my creativity.  It kick starts my desire to overachieve and over-deliver.  It also requires teamwork with the home owners, Realtor and home stager. 

Today’s “to be continued” Feature Home had the perfect challenge from my Realtor partner with this 87^th and Harvard area listing.  “I want this house to look like a million dollars after it is staged!”  Some challenges involve transforming frumpy into fresh but not in this case. I was challenged with giving energy and flow to a wonderful house and location.

After my initial consultation with the home owners, I left them “homework” to complete before our staging date.  This professional couple earned an “A” for their assignment.  For example, Ms. Home Owner purchased absolutely luscious new bedding for the Master Bedroom! 

Then, the fun began.  Working mostly with their lovely furniture and exquisite accessories, we spent the day staging our vision to show off this wonderful house.  We brought in some key pieces of furniture and accessories and worked on the flow and focal points of this wonderful house.   As you can see from the accompanying photos, we succeeded in turning our “million dollar” vision into a reality.

A challenge of home staging is that the home owner does not always buy into the stager’s and/or Realtor’s vision.  As we have stated many times in this blog, putting your house on the market is a very emotional experience.

Typically, I hear from the home owner client the same day after staging their house.  In this instance, I did not hear from my professional couple clients before going to bed – so I began to worry that they did not like what I did to their house.

Imagine my surprise and delight (and pride) the next morning when I received the following late night email note.

Cindy

Our house is beautiful . . . . I arrived home from work just before 10pm & have spent the last hour saying "wow" and taking a million pictures, so that I might recreate this every day! I will speak with you tomorrow about details, but I love the house. Thank you so much! I know it will sell now, and I am going to entertain until it does! Who knows, perhaps I'll help us generate more interest!

Fondly,

Ms. Homeowner

PS. Mr. Homeowner loves it as well!

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Blueprint for a New American Home

Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an interesting article, Blueprint for a New American Home, about home buyers and home owners shifting attitudes toward “more practical features and away from the aspirational”. 

The author points out that “the new styles are showing up in the relatively few new homes under construction as well as in the remodeling of older homes. More people are renovating as they stay put longer.”

The shift in attitudes and possibilities includes:

·         Grand Foyer to “Drop Zones”

·         Breakfast Nook to Outdoor Living Space

·         Dad’s Office to Lifestyle Center

·         Formal Living Rooms to Open Family Rooms

Read the full WSJ article Blueprint for a New American Home at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204644504576651152960249150.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews   Make sure to check out the accompanying slide show photos for examples of the shifting attitudes and possibilities.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

The One That Finally Stumps Me!

As I prepared to tackle this staging project, I had convinced myself that this was the one – the house that was going to stump me.  It lacked energy and I lacked inspiration.  It was a gigantic puzzle to me that I pondered for days trying to find a way, a hook, or an inspiration for the home staging.  It was just not happening.

I built a plan for how to stage the house still fighting the fear that this one was going to stump me.  I packed my stuff hoping that I would find some magic home staging fairy dust.  I kept coming up empty and uninspired.  Oh well, I can always go back to my CPA tax career!?!?

And, then it happened – the hook, the idea, the inspiration.  It came in an unlikely space – the sunroom.  As furnished by the seller, this room appeared to be an afterthought.  You can see what I mean in the accompanying “Before” photo.  Then, I had a vision of a seating area with a colorful rug, Pier One chair covers and pillows along with opening up the window shades to highlight the gorgeous statues and backyard.  See the “After” photo to experience the inspiration too.

Presto!!!  I had my inspiration and found my energy.  The puzzle fit together and the rest of my staging work blossomed from this inspiration.  The other rooms came to life as well as I built color and pizzazz into the master bedroom, bath, family room and kitchen.  Suddenly, this dull, uninspiring house was popping with life, energy and color.

Then, I envisioned myself living in this house (reading a great book in the sunroom and entertaining in the large family room).  It is a really good sign when the stager starts imagining living in that house.  It bodes well for the real buyers who will find the eye popping online photos and visit this wonderful house.

When I finally made it home, I did have to stop my husband who was researching CPA continuing education classes and updating my resume.  He had heard my concerns and took them seriously.  He was helping me ease out of my home staging adventure after I was finally stumped!?!?!?

I admit this one was a real challenge, but I am back and better than ever.  In a way, this challenge inspired me to find the possibilities and the inspiration in every house.  Now, I look forward to the feedback from my Realtor partner about how much the buyers loved this house and imagined its possibilities for their life adventure living in it.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

My Tax Accountant, My Home Stager

It was bound to happen one day – a former tax clients becoming one of my home staging clients.  As you may recall, I owned a CPA Tax practice before becoming a home stager (the unusual Right Brain-Left Brain switcheroo).  

I was both excited and cautious when a Realtor partner called to tell me that she was trying to convince my former tax client of the value of professional home staging.  I was excited about a new engagement as well as having the chance to work again with one of the most gracious and kind people.  I was cautious because I knew that he was a shrewd business man who would not give me the job simply because he liked me.  He would need to be convinced.  It was not an easy sale as we had a meeting and multiple conversations before I began. 

But convince him I did and he agreed to invest in home staging.  The even better news for me is that this staging project turned out even better than I imagined (and I imagine really special results)!!

This house had many wonderful features that I wanted to spotlight and enhance.  My goal was to help the prospective buyer visualize:

·         entertaining and relaxing in the warm and comfortable Family Room;

·         reading and working in the “clubby” Study;

·         eating Sunday brunch by the fireplace in the Kitchen; and

·         hosting an elegant dinner party for friends in the Dining Room.

You can see each of these incredible spaces in the accompanying pictures.  You can also visit our website to see remarkable “Before” and “After” photos of this Camden Court staging project (http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Camden-Court.html )

I knew that I had succeeded when my double client (tax and home staging) stopped by and exclaimed “Wow, Cindy.  You did a great job!” -- Once again confirming what a kind and gracious man he is. 

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. 

Because I was able to renew an acquaintance and serve his family in a new and unique way, this engagement was full of wonderful possibilities and great personal joy. 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Two Examples - Cost of Home Staging Is Less than First Price Reduction

In previous blog posts, we made the case that the cost of professional home staging is much less than the first price reduction after a house has been on the market.  Specifically, we used data provided by Cort, the world’s largest provider of rental furniture, to make that point with data.  You can read the details in our March 2, 2011 post (Cost of Professional Home Staging – Less than First Price Reduction)

Today, we share two real life examples to further the point that the cost of staging is a lot less than the first price reduction.  In both cases, we were asked to make a proposal of professional home staging.  The sellers decided not to implement the Transitions staging plan and to test the market without the benefit of professional home staging.  Let’s look at the specifics of each example.

Modest Home with Other Houses for Sale in Immediate Neighborhood – I was asked by my Realtor partner to propose a home staging solution and to convince the sellers of its value in selling their home.  My partner knew that this house needed help as it was a modest home, nearly indistinguishable from the other houses for sale in their immediate neighborhood.  My proposal had a $1,600 price tag and would have made this modest house different from the competition, marketable, and appealing to potential buyers.  The sellers decided not to accept my proposal.

This house is still on the market 3 months later.  And the sellers reduced the list price by $10,000 - six times more than the cost of the proposed staging project!

Bank Owned Foreclosure – I was asked by this Realtor partner to propose a home staging solution for a bank-owned house.  My partner knew about our success with helping sell foreclosed houses (check out the pictures of the Peppergrass Staging Project - http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Pepper-Grass-Staging.html or the Manor Staging Project - http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Manor-Drive-Staging.html ).

My proposal had a $2,100 price tag and would have provided full staging of all key areas.  The banker managing this property decided not to accept my proposal.

This house is still on the market 6 months after I made this proposal.  And the bankers reduced the list price twice – first by $30,000 before we made our staging proposal and then another $10,000 after we made our proposal.

There must be some sort of psychology at work here in that the sellers place greater value on “out-of-pocket” expenses than they do for price reductions on the list price of their house.  In the end, a dollar is a dollar whether it is “out-of-pocket” or in the check at the house closing. 

We will continue to argue for the possibilities of professional home staging because we know it works and have dozens and dozens of examples to share.  It makes sense especially when the facts and examples are so obvious.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy