Selling Your Vanilla Box

We all know that the real estate market is in a major slump. Nothing seems to make that grim point more real then when one takes a short drive through any neighborhood. For it is there we see, dotting the front yards of so many homes, a multitude of For Sale signs. But while looking at a sign in a front yard makes a tangible point of reference for what is happening with the sales of single family homes, what is taking place with regard to the condo market is sometimes harder to see. Because often there is no sign, it is easy to overlook the fact that there are many many condominiums for sale too.

In some ways selling a condo is harder then selling a single family home. First, it is not uncommon, especially in larger developments, for one condo in a building to be selling against another condo configured with the exact same floor plan, features and finishes. And, except for slight differences in the exterior façades, it is also not unusual to find one building full of condos to be pretty much the same as another building full of condos in the same neighborhood.

Sellers need to understand that with so many condos to choose from, they all start looking the same to the buyer.  In the buyer’s eye, without much distinguishing one from another, they become just another Vanilla Box.

While there are many configurations of the Vanilla Box, the typical Vanilla Box of today has the door in the rear, sliding patio doors to a balcony in the front, and a kitchen in the middle with stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops and an island that separates the kitchen space from the open dining/living room area. All are pretty much the same…floor to floor, building to building, neighborhood to neighborhood.

With so many condos being relatively the same, the chance for a sale is quite competitive. Plus, if you are a home seller that is currently living in a Vanilla Box, in a neighborhood that offers similarly priced NEWLY constructed Vanilla Boxes… keep in mind that a shiny new Box is much more appealing to a buyer, than a scuffed, scratched, and worn used Box.

Good news is that the hope for a sale of your Vanilla Box is not a lost cause… for either the independent owner trying to sell their unit, or for the builder trying to sell one or more units. Both, for different reasons, can benefit from hiring an EXPIRIENCED home stager.

Stagers will help individual seller trying to sell their unit in a number of ways. First, they will point out the problem areas that make a used home look used, and then offer low cost ideas and solutions that make the condo feel new. Next, while it is a fact that a furnished property is easier to sell then vacant; sellers need to understand that due to size constraints of the home (typically condos are more compact) furnishings in the condo needs to be set in a way that  they actually help the condo show and flow for touring… and a stager can help here too. Good staging is a balance between adding the right amount of visual appeal, without having the interior décor distract the seller’s eye from the property they are considering buying.

For the builder, a Stager can also be of great service. Who hasn’t been a bit surprised to experience a builder’s empty vanilla white unit after touring their lush and lovely model? For this reason large builders have for years had model properties for buyers to first tour. Today, the opportunity and benefit of having a model unit need not be a selling advantage reserved only for the larger builder. Smaller builders can hire a Stager who can provide low cost, yet beautifully designed staged-model solutions. PLUS, if the builder is selling multiple units in one building, should the staged unit sell, the staged model can be moved from one unit and re-set in the next. The added flexibility of a “rolling” model offers yet more flavor and appeal to the Vanilla Box.

So yes, without a doubt this is a tough market, especially for condo owners. But properties are selling. Fortunately, builders and owners of Vanilla Boxes can change the flavor of their offering from FOR SALE to SOLD… with the help of a Home Stager.

Flavor It Forward...

Me

When Wallpaper Attacks, It Can Kill the Sale

In today’s real estate market more and more home sellers are relying on home staging tips and advice to guide them in ways to best prepare their homes for selling. So last week, when I was hired to tour a seller’s property to give them my “Buyer’s Eye” advice, a monster of a problem reared its ugly head. The wallpaper in my client’s home was so extremely ugly I told them I just had to write a blog about it and use it as an example on how monsters like this will negatively affect a home’s sale.

So for the fun of it, and to drive home my point, I present to you (below) what I saw. So hideous was this wallpaper, I have to admit it almost looks like a cliché. However be wise, while not all wallpaper is as ugly this, it still is a problematic issue that sellers need to pay attention to. Fortunately, my clients were motivated and open to advice and willing to take it down. They know they had to present the most competitively appealing property as possible to sell in today’s market. But when it comes to wallpaper, not all sellers are as accepting of staging advice. I have found that the topic of wallpaper usually results in eye rolling, harrumphing, justification and/or avoidance with sellers. So if you are serious about selling your wallpapered home, you need to look it from a sellers view. Keep in mind, regardless of how “fantastic” you think your home’s wallpaper is, it is a HIGHLY personal expression of taste, so chances are potential buyers will NOT like it. Second, buyers want to buy their dream home ready for today, not yesterday. Wallpaper is trendy and needlessly ages a home.

But most importantly, what sellers need to know is this…. when buyers see wallpaper they don’t like, they see dollar signs. When it comes to spending their hard earned money to buy their dream, buyers will scrutinize and negatively react to your wallpapered home as, hopefully, you reacted to my extreme examples above.

So you need to know that any and all the resistance you have about removing wallpaper will be the EXACT same resistance a buyer will have about it too. Buyers know removing wallpaper is an arduous task that can be costly. Because this is the reality of buying a home with wallpaper, buyers know in this market they can and will move on to the next home that does not have that monster to battle.

Stage It Forward...
Me

5 Simple Factors That Keep Your Home From Selling

Believe it or not, even though the market is “bad” homes are still selling. Of course they are not selling at the rate they used to… but they are selling. So if you are trying to sell your house and find yourself asking the question “Why isn’t my home selling?” you may be surprised to know that the answer to that question is quite simple, but a bit multifaceted. The sale of a home in today’s market is dependant on a five factors that if not seriously considered and advantageously applied will keep your home from selling.

The first factor you must look at is PRICE. The asking price of a home today can not be dependant on what the price would/could have been in the “good old days”. The price of your home must be appropriate for today’s market… AND, because there are so many other homes in the market, it also needs to be aggressively competitive. Home buyers want and will spend the least to buy the most they can. Holding out for more, will only result in MORE time on market… so be wise.

The next factor is CONDITION. The better condition your home is in, the more attractive it is. Buyers do not want to spend their money repairing and making simple updates once they take possession. A home that is “move-in ready” is going to be snatched up long before a similar home that needs attention. Investing in a home inspection and addressing any major issues earlier on may cost you some money, but it will never cost you the sale. However, problematic issues, discovered by the buyer’s inspector, will still cost you money and also may be just enough to kill the sale. Besides hiring a home inspector, who focuses more on structural and mechanical conditional issues, you might want to also work with a home stager who will focus on the numerous smaller maintenance details and repair concerns that influence a buyer’s perception of condition.

PRESENTATION, both on-line and in person, is third factor that needs to be taken into account. The on-line presentation of your property needs to be captured and shown in first rate photography. Gone are the days when a Realtor could take poor quality digital snapshots and loaded them into an MLS system. Today’s buyer, who lives are busy and hectic as yours, depends on the Internet to help them prescreen properties. Better photos capture and tell a better sales story. In addition to having quality photos taken of your home, it still must look great when being toured by a buyer. An experienced home stager will guide and direct you to set and present your home so it can be easily toured and distinguished from your possessions in it.

Hiring the right listing AGENT is the fourth key factor essential in getting your property sold. Selecting a Realtor, solely because they recommended the highest listing price, may be the biggest reason why your home will not sell. Picking a savvy and strategic Agent who has skillful with a variety of marketing tactics and who is adept in working through a myriad of sales issues that can stop a sale once a buyer makes an offer is crucial. An experienced Realtor, who has a proven track record that demonstrates they have mastered both the marketing side and the sales side of real estate, will earn every penny they are paid for selling your home.

The fifth and final factor has to do with your INVOLVEMENT. Sellers need to fully share concerns, needs and objectives with the selected Agent right from the start and continue until the property is sold. But while candid honesty is key, it must also be two way street. Your Realtor must not only listen to you, but you must listen to them. So stay informed, watch the market conditions, and objectively listen to the feedback after showings. Then consider and act on key information you gather as if you were the buyer. Ultimately your home’s sale is controlled by you… NOT your Realtor.

So that’s it… the secrets are finally revealed on how to sell your home in a tough buyer’s market. How you choose to work with and apply these five simple factors will make, stall or totally keep your home from selling. In closing, if you think that just because you have a few of the factors under control your home will sell, you are wrong. It really takes all five working in together.

Sell It Forward...
Me

The A-B-C’s and 1-2-3’s of Home Staging

I often now receive inquires about home staging, from home sellers all over the country, that typically start by asking a question such as, “Can you give me a little information on how staging works and what staging a home costs?” Since so many start their inquiry with the same question, I thought it would be helpful to answer with what I call the “A-B-C’s of Home Staging.”

A is for ABOUT home staging in general. Actually, if you are going to stage your property you need to know that it is ABOUT a 2 step process. The first step is the “prepping of the property. Prepping the house basically attends to the conditional issues that need to be repaired, cleaned and/or updated. The second step is ABOUT the “pretty visual” that people think of when they think of home staging. This step has to do with the physical setting/arranging of the furnishings and/or accessories within a house. The combined goal of the 2 steps is to create a house that shows it best and ultimately will draw the interest of the widest buying demographic possible.

B is for BASIC types of staging services. While there are 6 Basic types of staging services, it is important to note that all stagers offer all six. The services a stager offers the better it is for you. Since you actually won’t know what you will need until the stager visits for the first time, a stager that provides more service types is better equipped to guide you based on your needs and not cut short the impact of staging because of their own limitations.

The 6 BASIC staging service types are:

1. Consult Staging: This type of staging solely taps into a Stager’s knowledge. First focusing on the condition of a home, a Stager visits a property to meticulously instruct on all that must be done to best prep and then set the property for market.



2. Re-Arrange Staging: This type of services relies on both the Stager’s knowledge and their physical labor. Once a home’s conditional needs are met, a Stager arranges the property by physically setting it using only the seller's existing furniture and decorative accessories.



3. Enhance Staging: Again, once conditional issues are addressed, the Stager will then set the interior space. But not only are the existing furniture and accessories used, but the Stager will bring and blend in decorative accessories and/or furniture from their inventory. These “props” are loaned or rented to the seller while the home is for sale.



4. Reseller Vacant Staging: When a "preowned" house is vacant, there is not much else to look at, conditional issues and concerns are amplified and ultimately fixated on by buyers. So while it is important that conditional needs be addressed, a Stager is hired to then maximize the home’s visual appeal by fully setting it with the appropriate furnishings and accessorizes.



5. Rehab Vacant Staging: When conditional issues throughout a older property are repaired and updated to today's trends, a Stager is hired to then maximize the home’s visual appeal by fully setting it with the appropriate furnishings and accessorizes.



6. Model Vacant Staging: While conditional in new construction is not an issue, “life-styling” is. Models typically rely more on projecting a “life-styled” visual appeal then a preowned vacant. A good Stager understands and designs within a specific life-style marketing concept when furnishing, accessorizing and setting a vacant spec / model property.

C is for COST to hire a home stager. What hiring costs actually are depends on how much Talent (knowledge), Time (physical labor) and Treasure (props) a stager provides. If a seller has a limited amount to spend, then the best value a stager can provide is the Consult. For as little as $100 (in some markets) a Stager can be hired to scrutinize a property and provide professional staging advice and guidance. From there it is realistic to expect to pay anywhere from $35 to $75 per hour for a stager’s services. As for props, the fees for renting these items will vary based on just what is being rented and the length of time the items are being rented for.

Sellers are not only realizing the cost of staging will pay off, but actually ARE benefiting from making the investment. Let’s face it; if “time is money” then reduced market time is a great return on investment. So regardless of staging solution proposed, a good stager will do all they can to maximize the return on a seller’s staging budget so that the house sells… 1-2-3.

So there you have it, today’s blog lesson on the A-B-C’s and 1-2-3’s of home staging.


Staging It Forward...
Me

You Can Stage It... Even if THEY Still Don't Get It

In the 4 years I have been staging, I now notice a new trend taking place... the number of calls we get directly from home sellers, prior to their hiring of a Realtor, is on a sharp rise. But the odd thing is that while staging has been out there now for a number of years, it still AMAZES me how snubbed, ignored, and misunderstood the staging message has been by the Realtor community in general. For what ever reason, many Realtors seem to have shut down any possibility to understand any opportunity staging offers.

Why aren't Realtors getting it? Well, I have a feeling that what many Realtors think staging is... actually is not all that it is.

• If a seller goes on line and finds a list of "10 Things You Can Do To Ready Your Home for Selling" and does as it advises... THAT IS home staging.


• If seller’s Realtor then comes to look at the home and directs them to do 10 more things, that better readies their property for selling, and they do those things... THAT IS home staging.


• If a Stager is hired and they find and additional 10 MORE things for the seller to attend to and the seller and/or the Stager do them... THAT IS home staging.

Just as selling a house does NOT always require a Realtor, staging a house does NOT always require a Stager. However, home sellers who have worked with a good and reputable Stager have learned that we do see more issues that work against the homes sale and offer more creative ideas and solutions to ready/package/market a home for selling in ways they never considered.

First, and most often, the service a Stager does is give advice. We guide, direct and counsel home sellers as to what they can do to BEST to prepare their property for selling. A Stager can also coach sellers on how to quickly, easily and inexpensively accomplish and address that which can be done to help make the home more appealing. Consulting services from good Stagers are, in some markets, less then $100. If needed, Stagers can come in and help do some of the things that need to be done to prepare the home for selling… including “setting” the interior space.

Information is power. The more you and your Realtor knows and understands what home staging does and does NOT do and when to use our services , the more empowered you both are.

So don't let the words "staging" or "Stager" trip you up. While these words are relatively new, what we advise has been given as advice in real estate sales for year. All that has really changed is that there is an entire INDUSTRY now committed to understanding the intricacies of how a home can be best merchandised and marketed as a product so that it entices them to buy.

Staging It Forward...

Me

POST SCRIPT of THANKS: Thanks you REACHED.COM for seeing the merit in this post and selecting it as a WINNER in the Carnival of Real Estate. CLICK HERE: To read "The 8 Top Picks" in the 87th Carnival of Real Estate.

Chipping Away the "PRICE IS KING" Myth in Home Selling

The way many Realtors and home sellers rely on pricing as a marketing strategy for home selling is not entirely all it is cracked up to be. Believe it or not there is a simple yet profound parallel lesson both Realtor and seller can gain from the way Lay's potato chips are packaged, priced, marketed and sold and how real estate is packaged, priced, marketed and sold.

First, lets me be clear... when it comes to selling anything, be it real estate or potato chips, price IS king. It is a fact that the selling market will only get the price the buying market is willing to pay... this is what makes price "KING". However, I think that too many agents and sellers collapse the concept of "KING" down to mean it is the ONLY thing that matters when it comes to selling real estate. They don't understand the total ramifications of HOW pricing is but one factor managed and integrated into the overall marketing and selling process of real estate.

With that in mind, let's crunch on the pricing lesson of the potato chip...

Recently I saw a persuasive news segment on CBS Sunday Morning. In the piece the correspondent reported on the dynamic and well-regulated world of food labels. Interviewed for the segment was the Product Manager at FritoLay that was responsible for marketing their "natural" potato chip product. FritoLay knows that while Classic Lay's Potato Chips (Bet'cha can't eat just one!) have been a snack "staple" in America for years, consumer tastes change. Because markets and tastes change, FritoLay knows they must ongoingly develop products… including potato chip products.

Surprisingly on camera, the FritoLay's marketing manger shared a company "secret" about one of their newer products... the Natural Potato Chip. She revealed that Lay's Natural Chips are for the most part exactly same product as Lay’s Classic Chips. BOTH are nutritionally the same product and are made using the same type of potato and are cooked in the same way. The only real difference, between the two, is that "natural" chips are salted with sea salt, a salt PERCEIVED to be more natural, are cut thicker and are put in bag that looks more earthy in color and has a matte (paper bag like) finish. Classic Chips go into a shiny red and yellow bag.

Ok, so what! Both bags of chips are the same. What's does that have to do with price?

Well, there is one other BIG difference between Lay’s Natural and Classic chips. FritoLay admitted that they put LESS chips in the Natural chip bag AND the then charge MORE for them. That's right, less product for MORE money. So if price really is KING, how could they get away with this? Well, FritoLay's knows that buyers buy what they want...some potato chip consumers want "natural" chips. Buyers do not perceive Classic Chips as natural... even though they really are. If FritoLay wants to sell chips to the "natural" buyer, they have to sell a product that is viewed as "natural" they know he packaging then becomes essential in driving home the "natural" point.

So even though these chips are basically the same, because the potato chips are packaged in a way that buyers can easily and visually relate to them... they buy them. FritoLay knows that buyers buy products, as simple as potato chips, when they connect to it.

Or said another way... even though homes are often the similar, when homes are packaged (staged) in a way buyers can easily and visually relate to them... they buy them. Stagers know that buyers buy products, as COMPLEX as a home, when they can connect to it. A real estate stager's job is to package a house in a way that the buyer will relate to. In a chip, THAT is what staging is all about.

So, while it is important for a home/listing be priced right, don’t be misguided into solely believing the "Price is King” myth… if you do then your home/listing may just end up sitting there on the market as a Real Estate Couch Potato.

Chip It Forward...
Me

It Ain't All Pretty... But it is Darn Good Marketing!

Even though America is a consumer society, it's an odd fact that the typical home seller does not view their property as a product for sale in a marketplace. Because this is so, many home's sales end up languishing. But this need not be the case.

Basic old fashioned marketing principals teaches that how a product is perceived and received within the market can be positively altered and impacted… and this is where home staging can help. More then just being decorators or designers, good home stagers are focused in applying a full array of strategic property marketing principles and practices which positively influence the consumer about a product (your home) in a market.

So even though a staged home might look attractive, it is important to note that staging is NOT solely about making a home just look "pretty." In fact there are homes that CAN look visually attractive and STILL not be staged.

Any Realtor, home seller, or builder who thinks that all staging is is making a home look "pretty" is grossly ignorant to the reality of what a good stager does and therefore probably not using a stager and benefiting from what we do.

The "Why" and "How" a home is prepped and set for its showing and ultimate selling is what a staged home is all about. Be it Macy’s, Best Buy, Safeway, Walgreens etc., what we do is much like what happens every day in these retail stores across America.

Real estate staging is actually more about the process of strategically setting up (merchandising) a property in a manner that makes it not only easy for buyers to tour, but also creates a way for their eyes and hearts to connect to it with a powerfully effective first impression that lingers and stays with them.

Today I am not surprised to find there are many pretty homes that still are not selling. But a staged home, that is priced right, will sell quickly, even during ugly markets.


Stage It Forward...
Me

POST SCRIPT of THANKS: Thanks you HotPads.com for seeing the merit in this post and selecting it as a WINNER in the Carnival of Real Estate. CLICK HERE: To read "The Fools Edition" in the 84th Carnival of Real Estate.

When Realtors Commit this Crime… Sellers Do the Time!

Earlier this week I received a phone call from a desperate a home seller looking to home staging as marketing solution that would help finally sell his $499,000 town home... that had been on the market for over 1½ half years. Right from the start, the caller was frank and wanted to make sure I knew that when compared to similar sized units for sale in the development, his townhouse was the most expensive. He also wanted to make sure I understand the price difference was due to the fact that his property had been totally gutted and extensively remodeled… including the kitchen and baths. So while they all were same size on the inside and looked the same on the outside… his was NOT exactly the same as the neighboring “competition”.

Intrigued to know what we would be working with, I hoped to take a little "sneak peak" and pop over to the listing Realtor’s site. I asked the seller for the name of his Realtor and the name of the firm he sold for. Hmmm… I never heard of THAT company. So I did a quick Google search to find the Realtors site. To my surprise NOTHING came up. WOW… the listing real estate company, nor the Realtor, had a website to market themselves OR their listings. OK, that is a bit odd, but it was a small real estate company… after all there are other online property marketing options available to Realtors for their listings.

Luckily the seller happened to know his MLS#. So with no other place to go and see view the property on line, I did what I have done before... I went over to a popular online-listing site here in Chicago that give buyers the power to preview and pre-screen properties ahead of time. At that site I punched in the MLS#. WA-LA! The listing popped up with an exterior shot of the caller’s property! (Shown Above)

But to my surprise and dismay that was the only picture available on line for anyone to look at. The Realtor was relying on just ONE picture on one publicly accessible site to capture and sell all that this totally updated and rehabbed property had to offer. Why wasn’t the remodeled interior of this town home being marketed? If you ask me there is no excuse for this level of service and is nothing less then a marketing crime. Why a crime? Well, if it is estimated that 80 to 85% of homes buyers now FIRST pre-shop properties via the Internet... what would you say about a Realtor relying on one exterior shot for the buying public to preview is? But the story gets worse.

After we hung up, I was now even more curious. Something told me to take a look at this seller’s competition. So I dug a bit deeper. I then found 2 comparable properties within the exact same development. (SEE clipped ads shown in the larger graphic along with larger original ad) One property listed for $84,000 less then the property the caller owned and the other listed for $89,000 less. Now I know there could be a lot of discussion, pro and con, about the effect listing price has on property sale’s probability, this is NOT the point of this post.

The point I am making has to do with marketing. While I know there are many marketing options and tools (like real estate staging) available. Each Realtor, of these 2 cheaper properties, invested the time and money to tap into one of the most basic yet most effective marketing tools available today. Each used MULTIPLE photos posted on easily an accessible listing site to help build and reinforce potential buyer’s interest. Considering the seller, who I was talking to, had a property that costs more AND offered more, would it not be helpful to capture and display those differences to potential buyers? Plus, what does NOT showing the interior communicate to potential buyers?

Finally just let me say that most likly it is not just the lack of pictures that are keeping this property from selling. The point is that Realtors in today’s industry MUST realize that digital photography, which is cheap and easy, coupled with easily accessible on-line listing sites now give buyers the power to preview and pre-screen properties. (Watch my CURB APPEAL SHOW) Any Realtor that chooses to ignore this basic yet very important fact is committing a crime, that ultimately can cause his client's to have to do some time while they wait for their homes to seller.

Market It Forward…
Me

WOW... REUTERS picked up on this post! (Click Here to see)

SORRY... If It's Ugly on the Outside Buyers Ain't Going Inside

CURB APPEAL... well I am sure every home seller has heard about how important it is. But the truth is there just is not as much information out there that helps a seller understand what to do to stage the outside of a home as there is to stage the inside. Which is unfortunate because in some ways staging the outside of a home is even MORE important then the inside. WHY? Well let's face it, if the outside of a home looks bad a seller is probably NOT going to get a potential buyer to look at the inside... they will literally drive on.

So it was good to see that the Chicago Tribune published an article that took new look the “staging story” in its Special Curb Appeal Addition. In today’s Tribune, Carol Monaghan does a great job reporting not only WHY staging outside a home is important, as well as sharing some great home staging tips on just what a seller can do to make the outside of their homes be as appealing as possible.

Carol quotes a certain Chicagoland home stager who gives this simple advice... "Sellers should consider a home's ‘Web appeal’ too, says Craig Schiller, a home stager and principal of Real Estaging in Park Ridge. Because many buyers begin by prescreening houses on the Internet to determine which houses to visit, finding ways to make one stand out can give it an advantage over its competition."

This certain stager goes on to say… "People always say buying a house is the biggest purchase of your life. The reverse is also true: Selling a home is the biggest sale of your life. You want to do all you can to make buyers excited about your house." (Boy I love that quote! I wonder where I’ve heard that before?)

But seriously, while Carol's article offered some great curb appeal staging tips I think the most interesting tidbit she dug up and reported was a fact that every home seller should know… "A recent Real Estate Agent Community Trends survey, sponsored by Jeld-Wen Inc., found 82 percent of real estate agents had buyers refuse to look inside a house based on its exterior appearance."

WOW! 82% of the buyers won't walk into an "ugly on the outside" house! I gotta admit... even this certain stager didn't know that!

Me

BUILDERS... FINISH PAINTING THE PICTURE TO SELL YOUR MASTERPIECES

When the real estate market was hot, the practice of tearing down small outdated houses to build modern new homes was a popular practice taking place all over the USA. In some communities the resulting homes, that grew on the land where a small and ordinary once sat, were grand masterpiece properties. Builders learned that if they bought small tear-downs and built large luxury homes they could make more on the deal. But like anything else, once the good idea got out… it didn’t take long for other builders to follow. So to remain competitive, even when the market was good, builders added more luxury features, finishes and amenities to these new grand properties.

But remember what I said about a good idea? It didn’t take long for competing builders to add similar features and elements to the homes they built nearby. The result was a rash of new upscale properties that were more alike then different… at least to the eye of the buyer. When the market was good, this wasn’t much of a problem, for even the grandest of homes were selling. But now the market has taken its down turn, and builders need to find new ways get a buyer interested in these luxury properties they are still trying to sell.

(Click HERE if the embedded video show does not appear above.)

So what can builders do to differentiate their homes from the other competing properties in the area? Well, they can start by watching the video show above. Then they can do basically what has been done by larger developers for years. Developers learned long ago that selling a home was not only about the quality of construction and the physical “brick and mortar”. Selling is also about how easily and deeply the vision of living in the home connected with the buyer. The model home painted a picture of what life could be like living in the new home.

For developers, who build multiple versions of the same home, it’s easy to justify the investment it takes to create a lush-n-lovely well appointed model life. But what about the small independent builder? How can they paint a similar picture that emotionally connects with their potential buyers? Well, until recently the independent builders had no options, they just waited for buyers with “vision” who could see and feel their lives lived in the home.

However, today real estate staging changes all that. Staging brings the benefits of model merchandising to the smaller independent builder at an extremely affordable rate. Model home staging, when done well and done right, enhances the beauty and grandeur the builder built into the home and adds just enough "life"so that a buyer can feel and emotionally connect (fall in love) with it on a deeper level.

Just another reason why and how home staging works…

Me

Home Staging Gets a Red Eye in Chicago

"You can rent movies. You can rent an apartment. If you live or work in a street-parking desert, you can even rent a space for your ride. So why not add luxury to that list?" This is what Kyra Kyles wrote the introduction to her cover story in last weeks Red Eye Newspaper. (For those of you that don't know what a "Red Eye" is... well it is the hip urban free daily newspaper published by the Tribune Corporation here in Chicago.)

The article, entitled "Rent An Image" looked at some of the interesting luxury items that are available to rent in Chicago-land. Well, I have to admit I never considered the props we have available as ubber LUXURY items, like the Austin Martin automobiles and the Prada handbags the article spoke of. But Kyra who interviewed Real Estaging for a side bar story entitled "Go ahead and rent that furniture", (Click on image on lwft to enlarge) pointed out the fact that props can be rented to help you sell your home for more money (Click on image at left to read it). Besides making homes look more appealing, staging has helped sellers make more money when they RAISED the asking price. as well as help to sell homes faster... and considering "time is money" staging a home should be a considered in this current market.

Most home seller's think that staging props are rented for use ONLY in and for vacant property sales. Seller's don't know that some home stager's can also rent just the right piece or pieces to finish off the look and appeal of their property as they live there while it on the market. The main advantage of renting is the fact that the seller need not spend the time to shop for decorative items or spend full retail prices to buy those items. The other VERY important advantage of using a stager's props is the fact that a stager knows to use pieces that are UNDERSTATED. When selling your home, your house needs to be the star, not the stuff in it. Experienced stagers know how to create a "put together look" with out our stuff ending up being a beautiful distraction.

So thanks Red Eye... your unique story angle helps to make another fine point about home staging.

Me


PS: If you would like to see an entire PDF sample of Chicago's Red Eye Newspaper... CLICK HERE.

Will Home Stager's Statistics Bust Your NUTS?

By now you have all read the glowing stories and/or watched the captivating HGTV shows that triumphantly boast: "SOLD in one day after home staging!" "Multiple offerings after home staging!" "SOLD at first open house right after staging!" Yet even after all these great staging experiences have been reported in mainstream media, there still is apprehension by Home Sellers and the Realtor community to tap in to and use staging solutions that help sell homes… especially in this slower market.

Now don't get me wrong, there are those of you who have been "early adaptors" of home staging services. But in general, Stagers still experience quite a bit of resistance and reluctance by both Realtors and Sellers alike. Stagers have learned that their nut of concern, which needs be busted into, is the fact that there are no national, independent and verifiable statistics that back up claims of staging effectiveness.

While some individual stagers do keep their own personal statistic, there are NO comprehensive and consistently tracked national data to back stagers up. So, unfortunately. all we end up having too offer, are the tales of all the wonderful experience our clients have had… but this never seems to be enough. Our clients are asking for and need more data.

Up until now, the primary reason there are no NATIONAL real estate staging statistics is due to the fact that within the home staging industry there has been no autonomous body independent of the competitive foundation training organizations to capture statistical data . But this is all going to change... thanks in part to a group of stagers of Stage It Forward and their new Quarterly Qwik Staging Stats program.

Stage It Forward (SIF), an independent group of over 1200 stagers, are now going to regularly track staging stats. Once gathered and tabulated, the home staging industry will finally and continually collect the data needed to convince home sellers and Realtors that staging is an effective marketing strategy on both the national and state levels.

Besides finally having statistics, there is another benefit to SIF stagers joining together… that benefit is it starts industry standardization! Just as there are different types of automobiles (sub-compact, economy, intermediate etc...), most Realtors and Home Sellers do not realize that there are actually 5 different “types” of home staging. Being able to track statistical effectiveness about each staging type will help Realtors and sellers understand and choose from the best staging solution.

Additional benefits from standardizing staging industry data include:

• Real estate market fluctuations as they relate to staging will be captured and reported.
• State and national statistics will be compiled.
• Standard fee ranges for standardized service types will be reported.
• SIF’s Data gathering process will create an audit trail.

SIF realize there is MORE that needs to be done, but this definitely is a good start. SIF has stated over and over that it is best that our industry CRAWLS before it walks applying slow and steady pressure will surly help the industry bust open the statistic nut.

Staging It Forward...
Me

Get Your Thoughts OUT of the GUTTER!

Until recently, it was always true that what a home buyer saw the instant they first drove up upon a property could make or break its sale. If the home was appealing, from the gutter, it was said to have "Curb Appeal".

But times have changed, and while "Curb Appeal" still matters... today it matters in a different place and way. Watch this 30 second Curb Appeal Quiz Show to find learn just where Curb Appeal ACTUALLY now begins... the final conclusion might challenge your way of thinking.

CURB APPEAL QUIZ SHOW 30 Seconds Long

(If you can not see the show above... Click Here.)

Home sellers need to know that with the vast amount of inventory in the market today, home buyers are now first prescreening homes online to help them decide just what they want to tour in person.

Because online prescreening (or should I say pre-shopping) is now so prevelent, it is my opinion that with today's easy to use digital technology, Realtors have the obligation to capture and present the absolute best images and comprehensive visual experience of a property for buyers to shop and consider.

So if your home is languising in the market you might want to work with an expirienced home stager who can not only help you re-examine but also update your property's "Web Appeal"... because if you don't, your home's sale could remain in the gutter.

Stage It Forward...
Me

PS: This post was inspired by a ongoing series of post by one of my favorite real estate bloggers, Athol Kay. On his blog (ReAgent in Connecticut) page he is constantly posting examples of BAD real estate photograpy... as well as giving tips on how to FIX pictures. For a shock and a chuckle I suggest you check out his series Bad MLS Photo of the Day.

Hmmm, Now that I think of it I think Athol may be on to something... maybe I should have people start scouring the web for BAD STAGING photos and start sending them to me?

Staging is Simple Arithmetic... Sort Of

If you spend any time researching real estate staging you will quickly read some of the most fundamental advice commonly given by home stagers is to REMOVE the CLUTTER and THIN-OUT any excess "stuff" in a home that is going to be for sale. Stagers seem to effectively communicate the message that SUBTRACTION is part of Staging 101.

However, we here at Real Estaging have come to learn that sometimes what it takes to properly stage an occupied home is NOT just what needs to be taken out... but what needs to be put in. ADDITION, or adding items to the home, is the other half have to the staging equation that is often overlooked by MANY stagers.

It is easy for a stager, that does not have inventory, to say nothing needs to be added to improve a homes appeal. Which may be 100% correct. But what if just by adding a few items your home goes from ordinary to extremely memorable and wonderfully appealing? Having access to props could be to your selling benifit.

When looking for a stager, consider the fact that stagers who have invested in prop inventories have made a strong commitment to not only their profession, but ultimately the sale of your home.

So what props do we typically see a home needing? Well, most often we bring in wall art, plants and lamps. Time and time again we find that home sellers do not have enough of these basics decorative items that really add to a property's overall appeal.

Finally, even if a stager has props, when it comes to adding them... scale, proportion, style, color, selection and then placement matter GREATLY. This I can not stress enough. As you watch the above show (or if you need to click this link) notice how our props blend seamlessly with the home owner's existing accessories and furnishings. If you have a hard time determining which props are our props... then we have done our job.

We know our Staging Arithmetic.

Stage It Forward...
Me

Initially Vacant... NOW Staged & Stunning

In my last post I wrote why vacant properties in general are more difficult to sell than furnished homes.

Well here is a little more to consider and something to see...

For years Home Developers have invested in and created model homes for their buyers to EXPERIENCE as they were shopping for new homes. WHY? Well, the answer is pretty much for many of the same reason I wrote of in Part 1 of my series on why vacant homes are difficult to sell. Those reasons include:

• Model homes are spatially easy to understand
• Model homes give off a good feeling of “home”
• Model homes are well lit making them bright, warm and inviting
  

So while words are a great way to communicate a message... I think SEEING actual examples of homes that we here at Real Estaging have staged and transformed is yet another way to make my point.

The cool thing about staging is it levels the playing field and makes available to EVERY home seller the "secret" tool that for years only had been used by larger Home Developers.

Now knowing more of what staging makes available to you, I hope you enjoy the show...

Me

Part 2 of 3: Tips for Selling Vacant Homes.

I would like to thank Design Talk for first proposing that I write on this subject. Part 1, initially written for and posted on their site, really has been received well in the cyber real estate community.

Are Vacant Homes Black Holes That Suck the Life Out of their Own Sales?

Recently I was asked by Design Talk to write a column on a question they are frequenly asked. The question comes from sellers concerned abut selling their vacant houses and wondering if thier property would have a better chance of selling if it had furnishings in it.

Well I replied saying... the fact that most Realtors dread handling a listing that is vacant says a lot, for they know that an empty house is typically a harder sell to make than one that is fully furnished. But why are vacant houses more difficult to sell then furnished homes? Let’s take look at a few reasons…

First, an empty room will always feel smaller than a furnished room. When a potential buyers tour a property, they are trying to “map” their lives into the home’s space. Buyers are evaluating the house to SEE that it will work for them. To help them understand how a house will work or not, buyers will relate the size and fit of the seller’s furnishing to their own. Vacant homes make this basic part of the buying process more difficult.
Next, for many buyers a big part of knowing a house will be the “right” is the emotional connection/vibe they get from it. Houses that are vacant often give off a hollow desperate loneliness. Because it is harder to get the welcome feeling of “home” from a vacant property, the emptiness will actually make it more difficult for buyers to emotionally attach to it.

You may have noticed that Realtors, about to show a furnished home, first turn on EVERY light and lamp in it before the buyer gets there to tour it. (And when I say “every light,” I mean EVERY light.) They turn on the lights because they know that a well lit home sparkles, shines, and adds a warmth and glow that buyers find appealing. Unfortunately, a vacant house will quite often lack or have no lights at all in some rooms. This bad lighting makes it harder for the buyer to see what they are buying, and ends up making the house show as dreary, dark and dull. A big reason why vacant houses are harder to sell is that there naturally is not much to look at, so what there is to see gets scrutinized. While a buyer does want to spend their hard earned money to BUY a home, they are not too interested in spending money on making repairs and fixing the problems the seller chose to leave behind. Having nothing in a house makes it very easy for the buyer to focus their attention on even the smallest of flaws and then negatively fixate on having to spend money to make repairs. Think about it… a wood, tile and linoleum floor will show more dirt, scratches and mars; the smallest carpet stains will clearly be visible; and naked walls will noticeably reveal all the holes, nicks and scuffs that are present. Because the home is unoccupied, the exterior maintenance will often go undone. In the summer, lawns will either overgrow or burn out and weeds will take over gardens. In northern markets, walks and drives will be hidden if not shoveled after a winter snow fall. In general an unkempt exterior will kill any curb appeal and immediately start to diminish the buyer’s hopes as to what to expect on the interior.

For all these reasons, a vacant house will be more difficult to sell then a furnished home. A buyers market will only make it even more difficult for a seller to sell for there are more than enough homes to choose from. Therefore, it is easy to understand how a buyer will be attracted to a home that they spatially understand; get a good feeling of “home” from; is bright, warm and inviting; and shows no glaring signs for maintenance or repair.

Oh… and just because a home is furnished does not make it an automatically and perfectly appealing home to buy… for even a furnished home still should be light, bright, CLEAN, maintained and uncluttered.

Stage It Forward…
Me

Part 1 of 3: Tips for Selling Vacant Homes.

Click HERE for Part 2.

WOW! USA TODAY featured this post on Vacant Homes to its on-line readers!

FEED ME SEYMOUR! It takes a lot for Home Stagers to grow Prop Inventories

Many home stager's have been taught ONLY to stage using what home sellers personally have in the way of furnishings and decorative accessories (props). This approach to staging is all well and good and at times the right solution, but also at other times extremely limiting to what would and could best serve the home seller. Why limiting? Well what if what the property that needs to be staged is a totally vacant property? Or what if the property, that needs to be staged, is occupied but still lacking in pizazz and is basically an empty home? What does the prop-less stager do if a house needs more "bling" to bring some life and appeal to it?
Houses that need life and be "propped up" to add to their sales appeal happen more than I thought they would. Realizing this, Real Estaging made a commitment 3 years ago to build a prop library… we quickly learned it would ultimately best serve our home selling clients regardless of what their staging needs were.

Currently we have just about 5000 items available in our "PROP LIBRARY"... which might at first seem like a lot. But what do we do if all of our props are out and placed in homes and a new staging job comes in that needs to be propped up? Well, we do what we have been doing for 3+ years… we go out and buy more! AND... the quality and appropriateness of what we buy is VERY important. We just can't buy shlocky junk and put it in a house and say it is “staged.” Bad props will distract a buyer’s attention from looking at the property. We know that if a stager wants to build a reputation for quality staging... they have to own and place in the home quality props.

And as important as it is to give a client the options to have the BEST that staging can offer, I have to admit owning a Prop Library sometimes feels like that voracious plant in the play The Little Shop of Horrors that screams "FEED ME SEYMOUR!"

July for us has been a CRAZY BUSY time here at Real Estaging (hence, I have had no time to write anything for my blog). And being so busy, fortunately (or unfortunately) we found that much of what we own in our inventory had already been "PLACED" out in client properties.... and we needed more!

So what did we do? We went shopping... and rung up a whopping $6,448.21 for new props for the month of July! (Brook supplies the rental furniture for our clients.) THAT was a lot of Ka-Ching for BLING! But, if we wanted the business, it is money we had to invest without immediate return. Placed props do NOT pay for themselves the first time they are placed... it takes a few flips!

Why do we invest in props when so many other stagers don't? We know having the resources that provide options and a variety level of services WILL help differentiate your staging business from other stagers in the market place. Being a one stop staging shop has helped build our reputation. But I gotta admit owning a Prop Library has at times turned our one stop staging shop into a Shop of Horrors.

Stage It Forward…
Me

Since Home Stagers Aren't Popeye, Home Sellers Don't You Be Wimpy!

When I was a little kid I used to watch the animated cartoon Popeye on Television. One of the cartoon's secondary characters was a sweet harmless lovable oaf named Wimpy. But Wimpy had a major "issue"... he was addicted to hamburgers.

Hamburgers! Hamburgers! Hamburgers!

Wimpy craved them and could not get enough of them. He would do ANYTHING for one. Even if he didn't have the money to buy one he would try to mooch money from the other characters in the cartoon so he could buy one. Wimpy is now known for his famous line, "I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

So what does Wimpy have to do with Home Staging? Well, in the 3-plus years Real Estaging has been merchandising properties in Chicago and its burbs we have brought a LOT of spinach into many homes' saleability. However, being that home staging is still relatively new and misunderstood, we sometimes get asked if we would accept payment for our staging services at closing. I gotta admit EVERY time we are asked that I can't help but think of poor old Wimpy.

Why shouldn't a home stager expect to wait for payment for the services they provided until the closing? Well, it might help you to understand when to pay a stager if you look at what we do from these perspectives.

FIRST, staging services are like any other services provided by an independent contractor hired to help ready a home for its eventual sale. Would you ask or expect a painter who had painted a house, in order to get it ready for sale, to accept payment once the house is sold? Or would you ask a landscaper who trims the bushes, edges the lawn, and plants flowers to accept payment for their services once the house is sold? No! So why should a home stager expected to be paid at closing?

SECOND (and MORE importantly) is the fact that while the whole purpose of staging is to prepare a home that is for sale and IMPROVE its attraction for potential buyers... home staging does NOT guarantee the sale.

Remember, a home stager's responsibility is to prepare a house for its sale in the market... NOT SELL IT. It is the Realtor's job is to sell the property. When a stager has completed their work... the Realtor takes over to make the sale happen. As a property merchandiser, once we set a home and leave the premises, the home stager has NO control over multiple dynamics that can and WILL impact the home's sale. Dynamics such as:

• PRICE - A property that is priced too high will never sell, no matter how much staging you do.
• MARKETING PLAN - A property can be staged all nice and pretty, but if a realtor is not getting the word out on it, then staging will not help.
• INSPECTION FINDINGS - A home might look great on the surface... but lurking below a pretty surface may be an issue that ONLY an inspector will find.
• SELLER MOTIVATION - If a seller has underlying "issues" that thwarts a sale... then a sale just might not happen.
• SELLING SKILLS - Some deals are just harder to close than others and require more sales acumen. Again while the home might look great, if the Realtor is can not close deals, staging will not help.
• BUYER'S FINANCING - Stagers have not control on a buyer's eligibility or ability to secure financing for a staged home they want to buy. (So did we NOT do the job?)
• MAINTENANCE - If a home seller reverts to their pre-staged untidy cluttered ways the stagers work will be compromised. Also if a home is not kept clean... that also will undermine the positive impact a staged home can have.

So if you compelled to ask that Wimpy question... know that this Real Estaging Bluto and others will most likely reply "NO...but we do take Master Card, Visa and American Express."

And remember there is plenty of staging spinach here… to help you learn more to sell your home.

Me

Staged Home Raises Funds to Benefit Art Center

Well, I gotta admit it really is odd to see the house empty again… but just one weekend later that's how this house sits.

However, LAST weekend, this newly constructed luxury home in Park Ridge, Illinois was staged and GLORIOUSLY TRANSFORMED (as these photos show) into the premier site on the Artistic Living Tour of Homes.










Last weekend was the culmination of over year of preparation for a unique fund raising event. The weekend's festivities were no small undertaking, as it took an army of volunteers, who graciously donated their time, talent and treasure, to totally transform this site into a beautiful staged show-house... all for the benefit of Brickton Art Center.

I am happy and proud to report that the Artistic Living Tour of Homes, a show-house plus 5 tour residential tour homes, was a wonderful success. With over 300 people touring the sites… everyone is already buzzing about next year. The volunteers are excited and full of ideas and anticipation on how to make next year’s tour even better. One resident even already offered their home as a tour site!








This “staged” fund raising event was for Brickton Art Center. Brickton does amazing things with and for the arts and is one of the “crown jewels” of our community. It is one of those unique resources within Park Ridge that makes this city such a desirable community to live in.

Brickton, is a small art center tucked away in a corner of the downtown area, currently fulfills the cultural and creative needs of over 6,000 Park Ridge and Northwest Chicago community members each year. It offers over 200 fine arts classes and has hosted nearly 100 gallery exhibits featuring established, emerging and developing Illinois artists. PLUS, and most importantly, Brickton creates beautiful changes in the lives of at-risk populations through it’s out-reach and art therapy based programs.








However, like any not-for-profit, raising funds to continue Brickton’s mission is critical.

At Real Estaging, where one of our core values is to support not-for-profit organizations that are making a difference in the world, it made total sense to offer our help and support such a wonderful organization. We've known how staging can be used as an AWESOME marketing tool for selling... so it made perfect sense to adapt it for this event and create an entirely new version of Brickton’s Artistic Living event.

This event was no small undertaking… besides creating a fresh adaptation of the event and then coordinating all the creative talent of the Gallery Home, whose rooms were each separately "staged" by 9 different designers and/or retailers, we also worked with 5 residents in Park Ridge who graciously opened up their homes as sites on the first ever Park Ridge Tour of Homes. We received accolades for having the “perfect mixture” of big homes, small homes, contemporary homes, traditional homes, new homes, and old homes. The homes we selected were a perfect cross section of all that Park Ridge has to offer.

Having a great idea is one thing, but a weekend long city-wide event of this magnitude takes hundreds of helping hands, including individuals, business organizations, artists, designers, home stagers, elected officials, corporations, residents, neighbors, and families. It took a community working together to make this event the success that it was.

So, needless to say Brickton staff and the army of volunteers were THRILLED that after all their hard work the Grand Opening ceremony was recognized by state Senator Dan Kotowski. Senator Kotowski came and cut the ribbon kicking off the tour and opening the Gallery Home last Friday night at the Gallery 1033 Cocktail Party. More pictures of the gallery home and the cocktail party can be seen here.

So, all I can say is a heartfelt “thank-you” to the many of you that helped stage this successful event.

Finally, to my fellow home stagers, I share this idea with you… for while this one event showcased how we transform spaces, more importantly it shows that we can Staged It Forward... by giving it back.

Keep Staging It Forward...
Me


PS: Oh... Real Estaging staged the Red Living Room & Dining in the pictures above and in the link.

THANKS NBC CHICAGO... for featuring this story on your web site.

Don't Be Seen as a Shifty Seller that Stages to Bamboozle Potential Home Buyers

Home sellers, if you choose to use a home stager's service, here is a question to ponder...

Once staged, should your occupied property be ADVERTISED as such?

I bring this question up as I feel an educated Seller is an empowered Seller.

First, keep in mind, Home Staging is NOT just decorating. Staging IS a complex marketing tool, that relies a variety of skills, talents and knowledge. So while a basic undertaking of a Stager is to visually prepare a home so that it appeals to a buyer, it is also a Stager's responsibility is to teach home seller and Realtor how to best utilize the “tool” so that it has NO opportunity to work against the sale of the home.

So, getting back to the question at hand… Should your staged property be ADVERTISED as such? Well consider this, while we could benefit from such advertising exposure, those of us here in Chicago at Real Estaging believe that the home seller and the listing Realtor need to discuss the possible implications and then responsibly decide If, When, Where and How to reveal the fact that your home has been staged. In your discussion with your Realtor consider these 3 points:

1. With more and more people understanding what staging is and how it can actually INCREASE the asking price of a home (*See Post Script below for explanation), some buyers, may use that fact that they know a home has been staged AGAINST the seller and try to negotiate a lower price they "feel" is more appropriate.


2. Some buyers who learn a home has been staged might feel as though just the surface has been "touched-up" and they are being bamboozled into buying a house that is less than what they are seeing.


3. With staging still a relatively new service, buyers might find their attention drawn at the staging and NOT at to house and its features. As I have said time and time again… the home should be the star, not the stuff.

Now I doubt every buyer would turn their knowledge about your home’s staging against you. However, why risk it? So, my advice is… it's OK that a Realtor advertises the fact that a home has been staged within the industry and to fellow Realtors (such as within the MLS, or at a brokers open house). Advertising in this manner allows the BUYER'S Realtor, who has a much better read on their client's "sensitivity and quirks," decide if they want to reveal the staging fact to THEIR clients.

Finally, if you have not yet hired a Stager, before you do ask them a simple question: "Should your property, once staged, be advertised as such?" Then… wait for their reply. If they are quick to answer "YES" or say "It really doesn't matter." then I fear that if they don't fully understand a key basic subtlety to staging. And if they don't get this point, then what else about the "Staging Tool" might they not fully comprehend or incorrectly apply that will ultimately give you a LESS than the marketing result you were hoping for?

Stage It Forward...
Me

*POST SCRIPT: A home's listing price is based on 3 key elements: 1.) Location 2.) Market and 3.) Condition. The combination of these 3 Key elements... determines a home's possible price range (Low to High). Stagers go to work on CONDITION... improving the CONDITION of a home can raise the price to a higher price point. The better the condition... the more one can ask. This is a BASIC to ANY real estate transaction.

THANKS Pittsburgh WPIX -TV 11. I am glad you like this blog on home staging. Check out my featured link here.