Last week I had the pleasure to stage this Vacant Condo in Edina, MN. The investor contacted me the previous week to submit a bid and within a few days we had a signed contract.

The investor had put in new carpet, counter tops, stainless steel appliances, and lighting and now all it needed was some pizazz.

Home Staging provides the wow factor needed to take it from good to great. This previously beautiful but beige home is now beautiful and bold.

Don’t let your listing be forgotten. Have them professionally staged so the buyer will not only remember it but make an offer!

There are Two Reasons a Home Doesn’t Sell…..It’s Overpriced or It’s Ugly. I heard this phrase on a television show on HGTV and it has always stuck in my head.

There is so much truth to this simple statement. One can say…”Well, a bad location on a busy road is why it isn’t selling”. True, but than the price would reflect the bad location. Someone will be willing to overlook the busy road, if it is not overpriced based on the less than ideal location.

Or a potential buyer may say…”I refuse to buy this house as I’ll be spending days removing the wallpaper”. Again true, but that means the house is probably ugly. If people don’t like wallpaper they won’t like the house. If they like wallpaper but not that pattern, they won’t like the house. It doesn’t matter that you the seller likes the wallpaper, it may be “ugly” in the eye of the buyer and that is all that matters. Take the wallpaper down.

Many times sellers think their house is the exception to the rule. That their house is great, that it warrants a higher price, that they don’t need a Home Stager because they have the best decorating and it was expensive.

You may have expensive decorating but if it is too overdone or too taste specific it won’t appeal to the majority of the buyers.

Your house may be special but your Realtor knows your competition. Hire Professionals. Listen to the Professionals. And don’t take it personally.

Price AND Presentation are both important. One without the other will usually result in zero offers.

Do your homework to find a Home Stager and Realtor that will work for you and maybe even have some Tough Love for you. A professional Home Stager and a Realtor have your best interests at heart.

Below is a blog written by Sharon of Sharon Tara Transformations, a home stager in New Hampshire. What she has to say is relevant in MN and any area of the country and I wanted to re-blog it here for you:

The smartest way to sell your house is to do your Home Work.

There is so much complaining about the market – the state of real estate…doom and gloom and falling prices.   What’s a seller to do? 

I’ll tell you what not to do…don’t fall prey to the headlines.   Many sellers in New Hampshire are doing just that.  One after another they are becoming “price reduced” statistics.  

If you want your house to sell, take control and take action- Do Your Home Work!

Strategically marketed products sell…

Those in tune with today’s market know that the key to the sale is preparation.

Do your homework and find out what houses comparable to yours have sold for recently.

Do your homework and find the agent that will best represent you. 

Do your homework and have a home inspection to avoid costly surprises later.

Do your homework and find a professional home stager to give you advice on the best presentation.

Consult with your team of professionals to create a list of needed improvements to transform your house into a “market ready” product for sale.  Once you have been advised on what needs to be done…do your home WORK…

pull up your sleeves and do the work or hire someone to do it for you.

Once the house is show ready, make sure your online photographs represent a spacious, well maintained, emotionally appealing home.  Maintain the appearance for every showing.

Buyers want move-in ready…

For the best possible result…DON’T LIST your house until your preparation is complete

As a home stager my mantra is “let there be light”. Many homes I walk into have one overhead light in a room which has one 60 watt bulb in the fixture.

I am not sure how they function with so little light but that is not my concern. My concern is getting their house sold and I tell them “you can never have too much light”. Well, I suppose you can if it is a huge florescent fixture with four florescent bulbs but type of lighting is a whole other topic!

Whether I am doing a home staging consultation or a Redesign project, I tell most homeowners they need three lamps in their family room or living room, preferably in a triangle arrangement and at least two of them being table lamps versus all floor lamps.

I have always recommended that in an average size bedroom you should have two fairly large lamps on each side of the bed.

I say “fairly large” for most all lamps unless they are accent lamps. This is because most of us have large scale furniture and small lamps not only look disproportionate, they do not give off much light. A lamp with a 6″ lamp shade will project light onto a small area of the table it is on but not provide much light for a room.

I recently saw on HGTV that they recommend 100 watts for every 50 sqaure feet. That’s a lot of light! Another recommendation, use white or cream lamp shades. Dark lamp shades don’t allow enough light to come through.

Along with the lack of light fixtures I find in a home, I find most homeowners are using high efficiency bulbs. Great for living, not for selling. They take too long to “warm up”. The buyer will be in the next room before the light bulbs have reached their full wattage.

Take out the high efficiency bulbs and replace them with the old fashioned cheap ones for selling.

Home Staging Tips – Inexpensive Bathroom Upgrades make the difference in Maple Grove, MN. When I suggested a few easy tips during a Home Staging Consulation to update this Maple Grove bathroom I knew it would make a difference and it did.

This bathroom was stuck in the 80’s and needed to be updated for as few dollars as possible. The homeowner was a hard worker and ready to do what it took to sell his house.

A little sweat equity to take down the wallpaper, less than $30 on a light fixture instead of a Hollywood light bar, and need we even mention the mirror which was less than $10 in materials and 4 cuts with a miter saw!

As they say, proof is in the pudding, I mean the pictures!

A Home Staging Consultation is priceless. 

Each house is different and what works in one home may not work in another. Ask a professional what is best for your home to get it sold.

The changes and suggestions from a Professional Home Stager can bring more money to the bottom line as well as a faster sale.

Home Staging does not mean deceiving the buyer. There are times during a home staging consultation that I have been asked how to hide something. Don’t hide it, fix it!!

Home Staging can get a bad rap as many buyers, as well as Realtors, think things have been covered up, painted over, or a chair conveniently placed in front of an eye sore. Home Staging does NOT mean deceiving the buyer.

A prime example of covering up is placing an area rug over a stain on the carpet or hard wood floor. Have I ever placed a rug over these stains? Yes, but only when it made sense to do so.

For example, in a quaint 1930’s vacant home I staged had the original hardwood floors. Charming. Naturally I wanted to warm up the living room by placing an area rug in the conversation area between the sofa and chairs. I immediately pointed out to the seller and the Realtor that I was going to do so but to disclose the stain that was in the middle of the floor. Remember, Home Staging does not mean deceiving the buyer.

Another example is small rugs in front of the sinks in the bathrooms and kitchen. They are not needed in a tiny area and buyers are not buying the rugs. Pick them up and show off the tile or linoleum. If there is a discoloration or chipped grout, fix it whenever possible.

Sure, placing a rug in a location that most home owners will have a rug anyway is acceptable, showing that the stain will probably never be noticed to their guests. However, disclose it and be truthful.  

Hanging a picture over a hole in the wall, never. Fix it.

If there is bad caulking in the kitchen or bath, don’t cover it up with towels or decorative canisters. Make the necessary repairs to show that the house has been well cared for and no detail overlooked in making it the best property to buy.

I have seen TV shows about Home Staging that actually give ideas on how to deceive the buyer. Are you kidding? This is so totally wrong in so many ways and gives Home Staging such a bad reputation. Home Staging is about enhancing the property, not deceiving the buyer!

Here are some powerful stats on home staging released recently by RESA (Real Estate Staging Association):

* 78 percent less time on the market after staging.

TIPS ON HOW TO START “SETTING THE STAGE”

Home Staging creates a space that a buyer can visualize themselves living in; it’s about showing your home at its full potential. Less than five percent of the buyers can visualize a room in a manner other than what they see in front of them. Buying a home is emotional. People decide on a house within 11 seconds of entering the front door. You want the buyer to immediately think “this is my home”. Staging helps stir the appropriate emotion. Let’s get ready to STAGE!

1)      Curb Appeal: A buyer may not get out of the car if they don’t like what they see. Cut the grass, shovel the snow, brush down the cob webs, make needed repairs, and paint the front door.

2)      First Impressions Only Happen Once: Take a critical look inside the entryway and all the rooms you can see from the entryway. This is where you need to start to create a “wow” factor to make them want to keep looking.

3)      Declutter: Let the buyer see your home, not your things. You are not selling your things. This does not mean having any artwork or accessories. Both are key to setting the tone of the home and drawing your eye to key features.

4)      Furniture Placement: Every room has a focal point. Furniture enhances the focal point as well as sets traffic patterns. The placement of furniture can make a room look too small or too odd. Correct arrangement is critical.

5)      Paint: Paint is the key emotional piece of selling a home. An incorrect color can make or break a sale. Neutral does NOT mean white!

6)      Clean, Clean, Clean: If you are selling a car you detail clean it, toothbrush clean. The same must be done with your house when selling and it must be maintained that way. You will be way ahead of your competition if your house sparkles.

7)      Lighting: You can never have too much. No one likes to walk into a dark and dreary house. You may need to buy additional lighting and make sure to place it in the most enhancing position for the room. If possible, turn on every light prior to a showing.

8)      Depersonalize: If you don’t see it in a model home, you don’t want the buyer to see it in your home. No trash containers, bathroom scales, tooth paste or shampoo.

9)      Accessorize: No matter how old your home, it can look like a model home with a few inexpensive accessories in key areas.

10)   Repairs and Upgrades may be needed: Consider the listing price of your home. The buyer expects to find certain things in a given price range. Visit our website to see the average cost and potential return on your investment for common upgrades.

In my last three blogs I discussed the top 20 ways to improve the value of your home. Now a couple things to consider before you do any improvement:

1)     Look at how long you are going to be in your home. Some improvements are imperative to make to get your home in sellable condition. Other improvements should only be made if you plan on being in your home for a while.

2)   Check out your Neighborhood. You never want to improve beyond the value of your neighborhood. Being the biggest or best house on the block is not the best thing for resale.

3)   Check out your Market. What is the current housing market in your area? Who is the potential buyer of your home when you do go to sell?

4)   Don’t design yourself into a corner by being too specific. You don’t want to limit who you can sell to. Personalize your home through paint and accessories that are easy to change rather than having to replace walls.

5)    Balance your style and area. Again, keep in mind what will sell in the future if you choose to do so?

If you are planning to make improvements and potentially sell in a shorter period of time, check out the statistics listed on my website on the return on your investment for certain improvements. It can be found at: http://roomswithstyle.com/reasons.html

If you have made any mistakes in your home improvements that you would like to share with others so they don’t make the same ones, please do so. What is your horror story in home improvements? Or, what was your biggest success? I’d love to hear.

In the next blog I am going to talk about MYTHS in home improvements.