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Home Staging FAQ'S

 

My house isn’t worth being “professionally staged”…

 

Even spending a mere $500 for an initial consultation should net you thousands in return and speed of sale based upon statistical data. In the previous statistics, unless the house is under 50K this argument is invalid.

 

The housing market is good and my house doesn’t need to be staged to sell…

 

You’re right. Every house will sell…it’s a matter of when and for how much. Even if your house sells quickly in a good market, it doesn’t mean it sold for the amount it would have sold for had it been professionally staged. Remember, professionally staged homes sell on a conservative average for 6% more*. If your home sold for 400K unstaged it probably would have sold for 425K staged.

 

Why can’t I just stage my own home?

 

Home sellers are usually incapable of successfully staging their own home. Why? Because our homes are like our children, we don’t always see all of its flaws. We’ve gotten used to the way it looks and in fact it is difficult emotionally to change it. If you can’t view something objectively then you are unable to market and package it effectively. Not to mention most home sellers don't "stage" homes everyday so the idea that they can expertly transform their own home is a bit silly.  That’s what professionals are for and that is where the greatest returns come in.

 

Can’t homebuyers use their imagination and look past the dcor?

 

Only a mere 10% of homebuyers can actually visualize the potential of a home. This is why having a vacant home professionally staged is so important. Buyers cannot visualize size and scale so furniture helps to give them a frame of reference.

 

Still not convinced? Check out our "Top Ten Reasons You Should Professionally Stage Your Home" as well as our "Top Dollar Guide" for getting the most out of your home sale.

 

*Based upon Home Gain Statistics


 

Top Ten Picture Tips for Making Every Picture Count!

 

Great pictures of the interiors of the home is so important in this digital age where home buyers are ONLINE shopping for homes and no longer going door to door.  Most people do not put enough time and energy into these photos but consider them more of an afterthought which is great because that means that those who do will compete easily in slowing market.  In today's slowing housing economy having a beautifully, professionally staged home is critical in order to compete.  Having enticing photos of the home online for buyers to find is imperative!

 

Here are just a few picture taking pointers to remember when taking those "After" or interior shots:

  1. Go For Volume - With digital cameras, you can never have enough photos so feel free to snap away!  Plant yourself in every corner of the room and take the shot.  Don't simply stand there and shoot, get low or high (on stairs or chair) in order to produce a more interesting picture that draws the buyers eye.
  2. Turn On the Lights - Every light in the room must be on and your blinds or drapes should be open!  Indoor light has a photographic quality all it's own that adds warmth and color which adds a rich effect that emotionally draws in a buyer.
  3. Turn Off the Flash - Take a picture with a flash but ALWAYS take one without the flash which will usually be your inevitable first choice shot.  Why?  Because the flash adds a hard light quality whereas removing the flash forces your camera to draw in as much natural and artificial light adding a warm, comfortable glow to the shot which buyers can respond to.  REMEMBER - You must have a steady hand otherwise there will be blur.  A photographers trick is to steady your arms against your body, specifically, pushing your upper arms into your chest as you shoot.  At the same time, spread your legs wide so as to have a tripod effect.  Another trick is to lean against a wall or door frame to steady your shot.
  4. Always Review Every Shot - Digital cameras allow us to review the shot in the viewfinder after it has been taken so make sure you do this.  A camera sees quite differently than us!  We are taught to be extra critical of what the camera sees so many times you will catch things in the picture that you wouldn't have noticed otherwise ie bed sheet sticking out, cluttered counter top or faulty wall hanging.
  5. Go Green - Savvy Realtors know that the trick to taking a great back yard shot is to shoot from behind some greenery back at the house at the far corner of the yard.  This not only produces an interesting angle of the entire yard but many times adds a fringe of green leaf/plant in the edge of the shot as to give the viewer a sense of peering in from behind foliage.
  6. Don't Center Everything - Create interest by positioning focal points to the left or right rather than center.
  7. Shoot for Magic Hours - An hour or two after the sun rises and before it sets is when the light is it's softest, warmest and most flattering.
  8. Avoid Backlighting - Make sure the light from windows is coming from the side or behind you to avoid glare.  This tip is critical and most often the one we see people not following on Realtor.com!
  9. Shoot From Different Vantage Points - Squat low or climb the stairs to take a variety of shots from different angles...it's digital so shoot away!
  10. It's In The Details - Look at every detail and photograph some of the emotional connection points in each room to "zoom" in on staging effects.
  11. Touch It Up - Use a photo optimizer like Adobe Photoshop to put the finishing touches on your photos.

 

 

How To Sell NOW! Or Forever Hold Your Peace...
(For A Few Years At Least)
By Audra Slinkey

So much has been said about the Real Estate "bubble".  Indeed, it's hard to expect to make 100% on your house value within five years (as some areas did) without a little bit of a decline at some point which looks to be more of a "correction" than slump.
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal Online it says, "In the latest news from the slumping U.S. housing market, a report released this week says that median house prices are likely to decline more than 10% over the next few years in 20 metro areas, including Las Vegas, Tucson, Ariz., and Washington, D.C.

 

The report, by Moody's Economy.com Inc., a research firm in West Chester, Pa., also says that the slump won't end quickly. Indeed, according to the report, prices may keep falling until 2008 or even 2009 in some areas. In all, prices are falling or likely to decline soon in about 100 metro areas, the firm says."

 

What does this mean for home sellers and Realtors?  You'll probably get MORE for your home TODAY than you will 6 months to 3 years from now so you can't make a half hearted attempt at selling your home if you really want to get it sold.  Buyers know that prices will go down so many are deciding to wait which means less buyers for more homes thus heavy competition.

 

Home sellers should not simply "wait" for the right buyer because this waiting in a declining market will only result in a lower home sale.  Home sellers who are selling in this market are the ones who compete the best.  They have their homes PROFESSIONALLY Staged, use a top notch Real Estate Agent to market the home and price the home right (using a range if need be to get better Internet exposure.)

 

There are buyers out there so it's just a matter of attracting them with a good agent(getting traffic) and capturing their hearts with a good house marketer or home stager(home staging).  Do it now or hold your peace...

 

Read the Wall Street Journal Online Article Source...