To market, to market
Matt and I have a couple conversations a day about the stress he is experiencing from selling his home, buying a new home, boxing up his old home, selling extra furniture as he downsizes, and unboxing everything into his new space. He lives more than five hours away from me, so I’ve just been giving pieces of advice that I think might help the process run more smoothly.
Unfortunately, I’ve been about two steps behind on providing him advice throughout the whole ordeal. When I ask if he’s thought of something, it’s already checked off his list. He and his wife are organized, and they certainly knew what they were getting into with this move.
One thing I had wanted to suggest to him was to hire a staging professional before his first open house. A staging professional is an organizer who focuses their career on organizing and preparing houses to go on the market. In Matt’s case, his house had already sold by the time I came up with this suggestion.
However, if you’re considering selling your home, maybe this bit of advice will be beneficial to you. The premise behind having your home staged is that the way you go about the day-to-day activities in your home isn’t necessarily conducive to what a potential buyer wants to see. If your place is disorganized, then the buyer can only imagine being disorganized in the space. However, if your space is organized, then the potential home buyer can imagine being organized there. I love working with professional organizers, so bringing in someone who does this full-time makes a lot of sense to me.
Often times, your real estate agent can suggest a staging professional in your community. If he or she doesn’t know one, or you’re selling your space without an agent, you can do a search through the Staged Homes website for a professional in your area. If no one comes up in your area, consider using a general professional organizer, which you can locate through the National Association of Professional Organizer’s referral site.
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Posted by Erin on Mar 22, 2008 |
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7 comments posted
Posted by angorian - 03/22/2008
Or, follow the tips that numerous home TV shows give for staging, such as remove 50% of your stuff to storage, remove any “personal” touches like family photos, repaint walls to be neutral if they’re not, etc. Basically, the idea is to remove the sense that it’s YOUR house, and make it a tidy, blank slate for the buyer to envision their stuff in.
Posted by Jim - 03/22/2008
Staging: Yes, yes, yes!
We didn’t hire a “staging professional” – but our selling agency had someone with a lot of experience in staging who came in and gave our house a walk-through. And we’d spent a fair amount of time watching shows about selling homes, so the concepts already worked for it.
We ended up filling a small rented storage space with the extra stuff we took out. The two key things I took away from the process:
1) Don’t think in terms of what you’re going to take out. Think in terms of what are you going to keep. Default should be storage.
2) Just like in the consumer sales world, most people are daunted by a blank slate. Same with a blank room. Have just enough in the room to give the viewer an idea of how the room can be used, but lots of empty spaces for them to fill in with their own ideas.
Worked like a charm – we probably got an extra 5% on our selling price. And we got a head start on packing and decided what was making the move.
Posted by Beth - 03/22/2008
As someone who just purchased their first home, I can tell you how important it was to me to see a simple – clean – organized home. In this “BUYERS” market, seller’s really have to go to the extra effort to stage their home. A couple of suggestions -
[1] Definitely take personal pictures down and out of sight. And I mean personal! One house I looked at had a naked tub baby picture of their little boy hanging in the bedroom.
[2] Remember the little things – wipe down the counters and make sure they are spotless. I walked into one house Sunday morning and pancakes must have been on the menu because a syrup mess was still visible on the counter. Declutter showers and closets. Nothing like checking out a bathroom and there are 5 shampoo bottles, body wash containers and sponges all over the tub.
[3] Decluttering definitely makes a difference. I really liked one house but it was PACKED – garage, attic, everywhere. It had no air conditioning and I brought a contractor with me to determine if it could be installed. The attic and crawlspace were so crammed with stuff that he could not give me any idea.
Ultimately, the house I ended up buying was owned by an older couple who definitely took pride in their home. It is spotless and really, aside from a few cosmetic changes, nothing needs to be done before I move in. Sure, there is some ugly wallpaper and light fixtures but, because of the way the house was kept and shown, I was able to look beyond all that.
Posted by boots - 03/23/2008
Once again, real estate agents are off the hook,getting paid to do less and less. This is exactly why you hire an agent. An real estate agent who doesn’t know how to “stage a house” is like a math teacher who doesn’t understand fractions. Before you sign anything with an agent, make sure that they give you ideas about what they might do to sell your home. Take the real estatge agent for a walkthrough BEFORE hiring them. If they know their stuff,then you won’t have to spend even more money to hire someone else needlessly. Perhaps the “staging professional” should have a unitasker Wednesday debut.
Posted by Marc - 03/23/2008
Another tip to avoid having buyers see a sticky syrup mess on the kitchen counter and other such turnoffs (one house we looked at had a cat’s feeding bowl almost in the middle of the kitchen floor with spilled food around it!): make a list of things to take care of to prep the house before leaving the house for the day or just before a showing or open house. Often you still have to live in the house, so you can’t leave things perfectly all the time.
Things such as: turning on certain lights for ambiance, making sure all the dishes in the kitchen are put away, wipe down and dry bathroom and kitchen counters and sinks, tucking in dining room chairs, opening blinds/curtains, tidying up kid’s bedrooms (throw all the toys into a toy chest, for example), make the beds, quick sweep or vacuum of the floors, put some fresh flowers into a vase, etc.
Having a list really helps, especially if you are rushing out the door and can’t easily remember what needs to be done and if the last person to leave varies – remember to add as the last step in the list to put the list away (just remember where you put it for next time)!
Posted by Dream Mom DBA www.dreamorganizers.com - 03/23/2008
I am a Professional Organizer and just staged my first home. One of my regular clients was in the process of a divorce and asked me to help her with that. I went through the home and created a task list of things to be done and let her discuss this list with real estate professionals in her area. She interviewed three and said I had made more suggestions than any of them combined and their comments were that my ideas were right on the mark.
To stage her home, I used some of what she had in new ways and created a calm, serene and organized home highlighting her homes best features. In addition, I did a few value added things-I organized her kitchen and attached labels to each of the cabinets and drawers so that anyone looking at the home, would have the benefit of a Professional Organzier since everything was labeled and they wouldn’t have to think about where anything goes when they move in. For example, when I organized her kitchen, I labeled the lazy susan for the olive/cooking oils and in this case I just labeled the lazy susan and the cabinet where it was stored. You can imagine how nice that would be if you moved into a home and all you had to do was unpack and not think about where anything goes! The added benefit to her is that we were able to donate the things she no longer used and that saved her packing time and costs when she does move.
When I staged the family room, I created a home office area on the one side of the room. This home, built in the seventies, had a 3×3x3 foot storage niche in the wall near the office and it had small doors attached to it. I used the niche to store all of the bulk office supplies (the extra paper, etc.) so that the prospective buyers could see how to use these little gems should they purchase the house.
We also have warranty books that I had created when I organized her home office a while back. Those books will have all of the warranties for all of the appliances that come with the home. Another value added feature for them to see.
I have a new client next week and will begin my next staging project. This client needs to move right away so she’ll meet with me to create a staging plan.
One other benefit to hiring an organizer or staging professional versus a real estate person is that an organizer or staging professional can also do the staging shopping for you. In the first home, the client gave me a budget and I completed all of the shopping for her. I knew exactly what I wanted and where to find it at the best price. I also knew where I wanted to spend my budget and which rooms I would spend the most dollars. That saved her time. In addition, I created custom valences/drapes in the kitchen that turned out beautiful. Even the painter wanted to know who did them.
In this market, every little bit helps.
Posted by Zoran - 03/24/2008
Hi!
)
)
I had ones a settling problems…
well, my problem was the garage..,yes,don’t laugh at me!I have faults like not trow anything of my hose and I stockpile in the garage…I simply did not know what to do with all of that staffs!And I’m so grateful to a friend of mine,..he give me an advice and I am giving it to you
http://www.garage-sale-riches.com
not just that helps but it is successful,try and will see!
Erin I like Real Simple, especially thanks for the web site about the Flea Market,..
I really like your blog,but the zen’s office…OMG I loved it, Simply for that you can write and have enough light,but also light that not disturbs my PC monitor!
I hope I’m helpful to anyone…:)
Best wishes everybody!
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