Declutter That House to Sell It Faster – New York Times

If someone else can make your point better than you can, let them. 

I ran across this article in the New York Times about the importance of “decluttering” a house.  I realize that I am preaching to the choir for most readers of “to be continued” but I thought you might enjoy it as well as be able to use this article and its ideas when working with your sellers.

Here are a few key takeaways from this great article:

·         “It (decluttering) is vital, because most real estate is aspirational, and buyers want to see themselves someplace better and more beautiful,” said Jeffrey Stockwell, a senior vice president with Stribling & Associates in Manhattan. “They want the feeling that if they move in there, it will be organized, clean and attractive. If they walk into a cluttered, messy space, there’s none of that feeling that life will be better.”

·         ”Even if your home is in good condition, Mr. Stockwell said, “if it’s cluttered, people will think it needs a renovation, and that lowers the value.”

·         But cleaning up isn’t always easy. “You’re parting with things that have emotional value, and that’s very difficult for people,” Mr. Stockwell said. “They understand the need to do it. It doesn’t cost much, if anything, and yet it’s really hard to get clients to do it.”

You can read the article, “Declutter That House to Sell It Faster” at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/garden/declutter-that-house-to-sell-it-faster-market-ready.html?_r=1&ref=marketready

 

Dwell in possibilities

 

Cindy

See What 2 Hours of Professional Home Staging Can Do – Claremont Drive Project

Professional home staging runs the gamut from basic consultation to full scale staging of a vacant house -- and everything in between. 

Recent blog posts have been featuring Transitions home staging projects that are closer to full scale staging – usually bringing in furniture, artwork, accessories and linens.  These projects require an investment that is often returned in a quicker sale for a premium price.

But offering staging services to your listing homeowners doesn’t always have to be expensive or time consuming.  Even a couple of hours can make a huge difference in how a home shows and photographs. 

Today, we feature a basic consultation home staging project on Claremont Drive in Bartlesville.  It just needed a few new and colorful accessories; some furniture rearrangement that took two hours of my time; and, great homeowners willing to do their “homework” and provide some sweat equity. 

The result is a house that shows well and photographs even better! 

Entry – To make the entry and first impression of the house more dramatic, we brought in a console from another part of the house, made it more important with a piece of art and a forsythia arrangement.  A fern added that touch of graciousness.

Formal Living Room – There was just too much too large furniture in this room.  The homeowner’s homework included removing a sofa, bringing in a rug that I spotted in the workout room and adding the wingback chair from the den.  The room opened up and we solved the problem of walking into the back of a sofa.

Den – This den was being used by the homeowner as a bedroom.   A room should be staged according to the original intent of the room.  So, that is what we did.  Isn’t it a beautiful den?

This home is located at 2600 Claremont Drive in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and listed by Donna Skelly (McAnaw Realtors - http://mcanawrealtors.com )

The amazing result is that this house went under contract in 1 day!  Talk about selling a show ready house quickly!

Remember to dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Staging “Aha” Moment Made the Sale

Kitchens seal the deal.  Staging helps makes sense of the house.  Show ready, staged houses sell quickly.  We need to teach them how to live in this house. 

If you follow “to be continued”, you’ve heard these themes and ideas many times.  Today, we can share a real-life example where these ideas came together in an “Aha’ moment for the potential buyer and helped her make an offer on the house.

I was in mid-process staging this Fairview Road project when a Realtor partner and friend arrived with a potential buyer.  I excused myself, went to my car and returned phone calls allowing them time to experience this house.  After they left, I went back in and finished my staging plan.

Imagine my delight when a few days later I learned that this buyer made an offer on the Fairview Road house.  It is always so much fun when my staged houses sell -- and sell quickly! 

I followed up with my Realtor friend who showed this house to learn from any feedback.

She told me that the buyer was torn between two houses that she really liked.  Then they returned to the Fairview Road house and the buyer had an “Aha” moment in the kitchen.  My staging of the kitchen (which had not been completed during their first visit) made the sale.  The buyer was able to make sense of the kitchen space and helped the buyer envision living in that space.

The Fairview Road project involved “strategic staging” – kitchen, dining area, family room mantle and bathrooms.  Strategic staging is lightly staging either key areas; great features of the house we want a potential buyer to notice; or, areas that require explanation.

In this house, my strategic staging included: dressing up the mantle (the first thing you see upon entering the house); using furniture, accessories and artwork in the kitchen; and accessorizing the spacious and fresh master bathroom.  I staged the kitchen and breakfast eating area extensively.  By doing so, an awkward, blank wall above the kitchen sink was explained and not a decorating issue.

The staging helped the potential buyers visualize these key areas and then left the rest of the house to their imagination.  See more at http://www.transitions-home-staging.com/Fairview-Road---Bartlesville.html

This home is located at 4222 Fairview Road in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and listed by Pat Poindexter - McAnaw & Company Realtors (http://patpoindexter.com).

It might be the “Wow” first impression.  It might be how the imagination is fired by a great kitchen, family room or dining room.  Or, it might be that “Aha” moment when the possibilities of the house make sense to the buyer.  In each case, professional home staging helps make sense of the house and highlight its many possibilities.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Tulsa World Promotes Home Staging

Earlier this week, I discussed my goal to make professional home staging the standard in our area.  Today, the Tulsa World promotes home staging with two articles headlining the Scene section. 

I was pleased to be interviewed by the reporter, Brevetta Hassell, and included in her article about a Tulsa resident preparing her house for market.  The interview was fun because I was able to talk with Brevetta about my passion for home staging and my belief in how it can make a huge difference. 

It was great that Brevetta picked up on a key fact about home staging:

“The biggest perk of home-staging to the seller is less time on the market. According to a study conducted by the Real Estate Staging Association in 2011, homes that are staged before being listed sell more than 70 percent faster than unstaged homes.

A troubled economy has made for a buyer's market, and for sellers, the stakes are high for setting their homes apart and getting them noticed, seen and sold.”

You can read this article (Tulsa resident readies her home of 28 years for the market) at http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?articleid=20120407_44_D1_CUTLIN669483

The Tulsa World Scene section also featured a second article on home staging (Setting the stage:  Home-staging allows buyers to see the potential of the home).  In that article, they feature Emily Brown and Janet Rusley of Sell Smart Home Staging who stage a Florence Park home.  You can read that article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?articleid=20120407_44_D1_CUTLIN249420  

I’ve been staging homes for 7 years.  It is so gratifying that I can see real signs that home staging is taking hold in our area.  It is not the standard like it is in other parts of the country, but we continue to make progress. 

As I say over and over again, with professional home staging, the transformations are dramatic and the results impressive.  And, the possibilities are endless. 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

It Was Bound To Happen

It was bound to happen because I sometimes feel like I meet myself coming and going.  Today, I am staging a house for a lovely young family who are selling to move up to a bigger house.  I received a call this weekend from the seller wife all excited that they found the house they would love to buy.  It turns out that it is a house that I staged!!

They visited this house and fell in love.  I am not surprised that my clients fell in love with the layout and the incredible possibilities of this house.

Now my new challenge is to help them make their house “show ready” and sell it quickly and for the best possible price – my primary goal with each and every staging project.

This situation also helps me realize I am making progress toward achieving my second goal – which is equally important and in some respects much more challenging:  To make professional home staging the standard in our area. 

If home staging is the standard, then Realtors and sellers (partners or not; savvy or not) will realize that their house needs to be staged by a professional because most of the other houses on the market are being staged.  Buyers expect that the houses they consider visiting first are the ones that have been staged and have “eye popping” online photos.  If home staging is the standard, then those staged houses will sell for all of the right reasons.  If home staging is the standard, my sellers become buyers of other houses I’ve staged!!

I must admit that I see more and more progress in making professional home staging a standard in our area.  In the past month, we worked with three new Realtors who want to partner.  We continued to have staged houses sell (check out the March 15^th blog post – Show Ready, Staged Houses Sell Quickly).  We continue to grow the readership of this blog (more than 5,300 total page views to date) which is another sign that our messages about home staging are being read.  We have daily visitors to our website which tells the home staging story exceptionally well in pictures and results. 

With professional home staging, the transformations are dramatic and the results impressive.  Plus, the possibilities are endless. 

Dwell in possibilities

 

Cindy