HOUSE, HOLIDAYS & GUESTS

The House is Listed,  The Holidays Are Here, & Guest Are Arriving!  Having your house on the market to sell during the holiday's is challenging enough as it is.  You are constantly having to keep the house picked up, staged, the kitchens & bathrooms sparkling clean, eliminate any food or pet odors and shuffle everyone out of the house when you have a showing.  It's not easy to live in a "showing condition" home while it's on the market.

Try adding out of town guest and Holiday decorations and you've got the ingredients for a huge disaster or with a few simple tips and some planning ahead, it can be one of the best holidays ever.

1. Try to keep the holiday decorations to a minimum.  Put a simple wreath on the door, remove a few accessories to replace  them with special holiday accessories and keep the clutter down as much as possible.   It won't be much different from "non-holiday" staging,  however will still create the spirit of the  holiday's.

2. Prepare quests in advance, that your house is going to remain on the market during this time while they are visiting.  You may even want to place a check list in their room or central location of the house so that everyone knows what tasks need to be completed in case of a last minute showing call. 

3. Be sure to provide your guests with as much storage as possible.  Somewhere to hide their luggage, a tray to corral their toiletries or tote to use so they can be stashed under the vanity in a hurry.   Keep the throw pillows on their beds to a minimum so they won't have to worry if the bed is made up exactly the way you want it.  KISS....Keep It  Simple Silly!

4. Provide them with a map of your area, special events they may be interested in attending, movie showings & times so they/you will have something fun to do while the house is being shown.  I've heard of some showings taking as long as 2 or more hours.  If your house is being viewed that long by a potential buyer, that's a great sign and you certainly don't want to rush them into a decision that might keep them from buying your property because you and/or your guest came home too early.

5.  Plan on having some of your meals out.  This will  help keep the food odors down, although some holiday baking fragrances have been known to create a special "Welcome Home" feeling  for a buyer and we all know emotions are a huge factor in making a decision on purchasing a new home.

I hope you have a Great Holiday Season and a Merry Christmas. 

 

 

Water Proof Flooring?

Is there such a thing?  Well I'm hear to tell you folks, that there is and it's not ceramic tile that I'm talking about!  It's a loose lay vinyl plank.   What?

It's time to find a replacement floor covering for a property that is about 30+ years old, has old sliding glass doors and when ever there's a blowing rain, water will leak under the sliding glass door.  Or seep in through the tracks...it's difficult to tell.  Anyway, needless to say, the carpet gets wet and has to be seen about right away to prevent mildew, mold, etc. 

I'm not a big fan of ceramic tile.  I just don't like the way it feels under foot.  I love hardwood floors and carpet...I even like a good laminate or vinyl floor depending on the property and room.  So I was researching online and found this site https://www.floorstoyourhome.com/ claiming that they had a water proof flooring solution that was not tile.  Hooray! 

 I online "chatted" with a fellow from this company about my particular situation and asked his advice on what he thought would be a good solution to this water thing.  Floors To Your Home has several different types of flooring for damp areas. He recommended Tuff Guy Loose Lay Vinyl Floor. I've watched all the videos, researched the local box hardware stores (you know who I'm talking about) and asked different flooring companies, and haven't found anything that sounds as great as this product. 

So, I ordered samples and they have arrived.   I must say, I'm impressed! 

 

You can see that this is a thick product.  It's as thick as 3 stacked quarters.  That's thicker than some laminates that I've seen. 

 

We're still not ready to "bite the bullet" and change the flooring yet, but I think I've found my flooring solution. 

 

Check it out and tell them "Nan at Southern Staging & Redesign" recommended it!

Have You Tried "Chip It"?

Sherwin Williams has a new online tool that anyone can use to instantly turn any photo online into a color palette pulled from more than 1500 Sherwin-Williams paint colors.

Go to www.letschipit.com and they will take you through the entire process.  You can add a button to your toolbar and once you find any photo online that you want to try, click on the "chip it" button in your toolbar to activate, roll over the photo to preview then "chip it"!  A color palette will be created that you can save for future reference.

You can even use this tool on your personal photos that you've saved on your computer.

I tried this with some of my personal photos...the below photo is one that I took of the beautiful ocean. These colors are breathtaking to me and I find it difficult to single anyone of them out.

Now I upload this to the chip it site, click yes to their online agreement (does anyone ever read those things?) and then "chip it" and these are the results...

Now, lets try another one. 

It's like MAGIC!  I love this tool!  Can you see if I wanted to create a new color palette for a room how amazing this would be?  Now you give it a try.  You'll have a new addiction once you do!  Enjoy!   

De-Personalizing...What Is It?

In the real estate world, sellers will hear the word "de-personalizing" when preparing their house to sell.

 

Most people think it means removing personal photos and portraits so that they buyer will be able to imagine themselves living in the property that they are considering purchasing. And yes, that is part of de-personalizing, however it is really much more than just removing personal photos.

 

De-personalizing involves re-moving any or all of the following:

 

• personal beauty items
•  
• medicines or prescriptions
•  
• DVD and CD collections
•  
• sports team memorabilia
•  
• collections in general
•  
• specific paint or wall paper choices
•  

Sellers will often ask me "why do we have to remove these things". Let's think about it....take personal collections for example. This could be anything to collections of old cameras, clocks, figurines, etc. Once a buyer starts noticing the collection, that 's what their focus is towards and guess what? YOU HAVE JUST LOST YOUR BUYER! They are no longer looking at your house, but caught up in your collections

 

Same thing for DVD or CD collections. Nothing says "THIS IS OUR HOUSE, NOT YOURS!" more than the tower, basket or shelves full of family movies and music choices.

 

And don't even get me started on sports team memorabilia....especially college teams. I've seen buyers strike a house off their list because their opposing college football team banners are on display in a sellers house. It's ridiculous, I know, but it happens!

 

Smart sellers may want to ask themselves if they are will to take a chance of losing a buyer for their house in this real estate climate all because they were too attached to their personal items?

 

For more information on "de-personalizing" your property to sell, let's set up a staging consultation BEFORE your house goes on the market!

 

Are You Attracting Flippers?

Flippers are real estate investors that search the market for low priced properties that need small inexpensive repairs. They make the repairs at a low cost, put the property back on the market and sell it, often for a good profit.


If your house needs repairs, it may be putting buyers off and attracting flippers. Buyers approach a property and see needed small repairs and they automatically start thinking, "Hmmm, I wonder what else is wrong with this house" and that is not the seed that you want to plant in a buyers mind. Small repairs says "differed maintenance" to a buyer.

Are you attracting flippers by not making the necessary repairs BEFORE listing your property? If your house needs work, selling to flippers can be a viable option to get your house sold, but you are not going to get the price you want. They want to purchase at a price below market value.

Studies show that we have more 1st time home buyers under the age of thirty than ever before and they are willing to pay MORE for a MOVE-IN READY house. If there is a similar house to yours down the street that doesn't have a "honey do" list that comes with the selling price, that is most likely the house that the buyer will choose.

Go ahead and make these repairs before you put your house on the market. If you can find a buyer that is willing to buy, the offer that they are going to make will be much less than what it would have cost you to make the changes in the first place.

There is always a "New Listing" buzz whenever a new property goes on the market and that usually is the best time for your house to be shown and go under contract. Why risk losing a buyer by having them see your property before it's ready to be sold? Go ahead and make the house appeal, not to flippers that will make low ball offers, but make it appeal to the first time home buyer.

Take it from Whoa to Wow! Make it 1st time friendly.

For more information about making your house 1st time friendly, contact Nan Johnston at Southern Staging & Redesign.
nan@southern-staging.com

Income Property Transformation

A few months back, we had a rental house that became vacant after having had a tenant for 6 years.  We had been into the property several times through out the years and always thought that it was in pretty good shape and that the tenant took good care of the house.  Boy were we wrong!

When we finally received the key from the tenant after they moved, this is what we saw when we first entered the house.  I wanted to CRY!  We've owned this property for approximately 25 years and never had it been in this condition.  It's always been dark and dated, but this was  dark, dated and FILTHY!

Call it what it is....an ugly duckling!

After many weeks of hardwork, elbow grease and countless cans of paint, we now have a beautiful swan!

(Thank You Danny!)

Lowes and Sherwin Williams loved to see us coming!  Take another look at this kitchen before...

...and now after.

We are so pleased with the results of the project and now with the staging furniture and accessoires in place, we are searching for the perfect tenant. 

Who do you know that may be interested in renting this charming cottage?

Stay tuned for more before and after photos of this cute 3 bedroom house.

For more information about turning your ugly duckling into a beautiful swan, contact

Nan Johnston

Southern-Staging.com

770-251-0608 home/office

Selling In Established Neighborhoods

There are many good points to having a house to sell in an established neighborhood.  The landscaping is mature, providing great shade and curb appeal.  The lots are usually large with great backyards for kids to play.  Usually they have original features, like hardwood floors, real masonry fireplaces, and spacious & sturdy patios for outdoor entertaining.  The bathrooms have the original tile and the kitchen has been updated (about 20 years ago).   "Why wouldn't a buyer want to buy in this neighborhood? It's the most sought after area in town?"

Well, let's take all of the above points and go over them: are they positive or negative?

1.    * Mature Landscaping - Could be a positive or could be a negative....yes, the trees are large and the shrubs are already established, but that could mean that they are at the end of their life.  According to the National Association of Home Builders, Most landscaping elements have a life expectancy of 15 to 25 years.  That large oak tree that has been there for the last 60 or so years could be a hazard in the next storm.  The original foundation plantings most likely are covering the front of the house.  Might be a negative. $$

2.    *Large lots with big back yards - I have to admit, I can't see anything but a positive on this unless the shade from the large oak tree has prevented any grass to grow and you have a backyard of  "Georgia red clay" for the kids and pets to track inside.  Ok...I guess that's a negative!

3.     * Original Hardwood Floors - Most of the established homes in our area that have the original wood flooring, have been covered with carpet.  Reason? Because the owner that has been living there for the past 50 or so years, grew up with "cold hardwood floors"  and wanted the warmth that carpet would provide.  Could be a positive or a negative. Let's see...today's buyer wants the hardwood floors exposed and usually that means the carpet has to come up, and underneath, it's beautiful wood flooring or are dark stains where little Fido has had a few  "accidents".  The floors usually creak and most likely will need refinishing.  Positive or Negative! $$$$

4.    *Original tile in bathrooms - I'll bet my lunch money that the tile is either, pink, green, blue or yellow and it's trimmed out in black tile edges! It's usually on the floor, in the shower and halfway up the walls.  It screams "retro"!  This may be a great look when decorating to live, but the target market that will be looking at this property, probably won't appreciate the retro pink & black tile and may see the need to reduce the price in order to cover the cost of renovating the baths!  Negative $$$$$

5.    *Updated kitchen - As a seller, understand that although the kitchen was updated 15 or more years ago, it's already outdated again. Buyers want granite counter tops, stainless appliances, and new cabinetry.  They may even want to see a larger open concept kitchen than the original footprint of this house provides, which means extending the kitchen and opening it up into the living areas.  Most of these established houses have small formal living rooms, dining rooms and dens that are separated from the kitchen. Kitchen renovations are usually one of the most expensive renovations a home owner can make. So, I have to give this a negative. $$$$$$$

Studies show that buyers are willing to pay more money for a move-in ready property. If they are willing to purchase a property in "as is " condition, they will subtract an inflated amount off the price of an offer in order to cover the expenses they will incur while making the house "livable" for them.  I'm not saying that as a seller you need to make these renovations for a buyer, however there are less expensive alternatives that can make the house "livable" in order to attract a buyer and get the best price possible for your property.

Talk to your Realtor and find out more about what a buyer expects to see.  Let the experts at Southern Staging & Redesign help guide you  on how to update your property without breaking into the bank.

Selling Your Home - It's A Process

Once a decision is made to sell your home, there's a process involved. You make the decision, you start a list of task to complete, actual work begins to take place, emotions may arise and the roller coaster ride begins.

Decisions are made about where to move, what agent to use, how to price the property, etc. The decision to move may be due to a much anticipated opportunity such as job transfer, expecting a baby and needing more room or a promotion at work allowing you to purchase a dream home. Or it could be for a more unhappy event such as job loss, divorce, or death in the family. Empty nesters could qualify for happy or unhappy emotions. Either way, emotions are going to run amuck!

If you are a "list maker" you'll want to organize your thoughts, put your tasks to complete on paper and develop a time line about what's involved with the move. Whether you use pen and paper or digital sources such as computer or smart phone, this is a large part of the process. The is when "disassociation" from your home where you've built memories begins to happen. If you see it in black & white, you may start to believe that this is really going to happen. It's part of the process!

Get ready, this next stage is where the tasks start. This is the stage where everyone in the household needs to roll up their sleeves and get to work. Pre-packing, un-cluttering spaces, making repairs and cleaning like you've never cleaned before, must take place. Once all of this is complete, you then have the arduous task of maintaining this state until the house sells. Ugh! It's not easy, but if you want to sell the house, it's a necessary part of the.....process!

Emotions - this is the part of the process that will show up through-out all of the above stages. Emotions run high while deciding on a price to list, jump back on edge when you get a call to "show" the house. "Everyone pick - up! Their showing the house today! " Then you worry all day about what the buyer thought about your house. You call your Realtor only to find out that they haven't heard from the showing agent for feed- back. One of two things can happen at this point, either you will become excited due to an offer or disappointed from a low offer.

If you manage to work out a signed sales contract, you start the real packing and make moving arrangements, all the while keeping your fingers crossed about the appraisal, the buyers home inspection or that the buyers loan will go through without any complications. At the closing, a feeling of relief may be experienced or disappointment due the final sales price and proceeds to the seller.

Final part - taking that last look around the property once the last box is loaded into the moving truck to be sure you've left nothing behind and seeing the "ghosts" of past events that took place during your time spent in this home. I've done this a time or two in my life and I promise it can be a bitter/sweet moment. But...look ahead and anticipate your future

Life is an adventure! Enjoy the process!

Whew- I'm exhausted!