Vacant Staging - How it works

I get a great many inquiries about staging vacant houses and how it works. These inquiries can be either from real estate agents or home owners that have vacant property and are considering having the property staged so that it will show better.

Most people think that you just put a few pieces of furniture in a house and some hand towels in the bathrooms and that's all it's about. Well, it 's a good bit more than that.

It's usually a 4 step process starting with an initial consultation with a home staging professional reviewing the home, taking photos, drawing diagrams and taking measurements on every detail needed to complete the job. This is when budget and goals are discussed with the home owner.

Once the home owner decides to proceed, the professional consultant meets with a furniture rental company with which they have a good and reliable working relationship and design a plan. Then the pieces that best suits the home and the sellers budget are chosen. Most furniture rental companies require a 2-3 month minimum rental contract and the monthly rental fee is paid directly to the rental company

This is where most people think that the job ends ......not so. The day that the furniture is to arrive at the property, the consultant and their assistants meet the rental movers and direct where all of the pieces are to be placed. The consultant then starts adding tons of additional accessories in the form of bed linens, wall art, plants, trees, table decor, pillows, throws, light furniture, knick knacks and materials. These touches create the emotions, the feelings of the house and what turns the house into a home. This is where the professional home staging consultant shines, creating the emotional connection points that draws a buyer into a room so that they will linger a little bit longer and begin to start imagining this as their home. A monthly rental fee of the accessories is paid to the staging company.

A few days before the house is to close in escrow, the home stager meets the furniture rental company again and spends the day de-staging the home.

What all this boils down to in dollars in cents is a staging service fee, a monthly furniture and accessory rental fee. The cost is usually anywhere from 1/2 to 2% of the asking price and based on the size of the house and number of rooms that are to be staged.

This is usually the place where the owner suffers from sticker shock, but be reminded, *statistics show that homes that were on the market without staging, on average took 9 months to sell (across the country). Those same owners had their homes professionally staged and they sold, on average within 2 months. WOW! That's 9 months vs 2 months!

This is an investment in selling your house, not an expense. Making extra mortgage payments while the house sits on the market....that's and expense.

You may want to go over the formula below, to  figure out if you can "afford" to stage or not;
Mortgage + expenses (utilities etc.) = Monthly expenses
Monthly expenses X 9 months (avg. time un-staged) = Cost to list house un-staged
Savings: Expenses X 7 months (average time on market reduced) – staging fee = Savings if you stage your house first!

Note: If you have a price reduction you can also add that into the loss you are taking by listing a property un-staged.

Let us help you sell your vacant property faster and for more money with professional home staging.

www.southern-staging.com 770-251-0608 home/office


*study conducted by Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)

No Lookers? Could it be technology?

You've had your house on the market for months and have had a few showings and now.....nothing. What has happened?

Let's face it, technology has taken over the world. Facebook and Twitter are how the current generations are receiving their information. Most young buyers are being notified by phones, tablets and email, whenever there is a new listing available that meets their criteria. The first thing that they are going to do is look at the online photos.

To learn what others are seeing, go online and take a look at how the property is being viewed. Is there a virtual tour that takes too long to upload? It could be that there are photos, but is it possible that they need improvement, or there aren't enough photos for them to get excited about? If buyers don't see amazing images, they won't even put it on their list of properties to view. With over 90% of home buyers researching online before ever making an appointment to go view properties, having GREAT photos is crucial to driving buyer traffic to a listing.

If you are disappointed in the lack of showings for your listed property, talk with your agent. It could be that you need to update photos. You may want to consider consulting a home stager, before, to take every advantage of having your property in photo ready condition.

Don't let technology send your potential buyers down the street to the competition.

For more information of having a photo ready property, consult

Nan Johnston

Southern Staging & Redesign

www.southern-staging.com

Make Laundry Rooms Look Like A Fun Place To Be!

I tell my clients to make their laundry rooms look like they are a fun place to be.  These are some great inspiration photos for everyone....selling house or not.

Designs for Living: Cheerful Laundry Rooms

Houzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and More»

Browse by Space and Style- For Example:

Tropical Kitchen · Mediterranean Bathroom · Traditional Living Room · Eclectic Bedroom · Tropical Dining Room · Contemporary Homes · Modern Patio · Modern Landscaping ·

Make Rooms Pop With Spring Colors

Check out HGTV's Idea site for great photos on the Hot Spring Colors.

  HGTV Breakfast Room

Not the best colors on walls for selling. Bold colors reflect the home seller's taste and buyers know that "someone" is going to have to paint. 

 HGTV pink accessories

Better use of latest color trends when selling. Add the color in your accessories and they can move with you when you sell!



Another 'Use What You Have' Idea!

A few years ago I need some shelving in one of the small bedrooms for kids toys, etc.  The room is too small for a bed, dresser, chair and a free standing set of shelves, so hanging shelves was the way to go. 

E (husband) had some old wooden water skies ( he  used as a youngster) that were laying around, obviously not being used, since he had promoted to a fiber glass one.  I decided to use these for my shelves and with the help of my nephews, Ham & Eggs (twins) we shopped for brackets and came home and installed them. 



I think that turned out GREAT and everyone comments about my clever idea. 

These storage jars are left over plastic mixed nut containers from BJ's.  Aren't they just perfect for holding little cars, crayons and wooden puzzle pieces? 

Now that "Ham & Eggs" are "too cool for Aunt Nan", this room has become my grandson's room. 

Look at that cute little wooden "blue" fire truck that he built with his Cousin Josh.  And my favorite items of all are ....

his cute 'lil' cowboy boots.  LOVE IT! (singing) 

This project reminds me of the skateboards that you see in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog.  Only I would use metal L brackets to hang those up. 

What kind of projects have you got spinning around in your head?



Put on your "Buying Eyes"

It sounds like a song, doesn't it? However, every home seller needs to....put on their buying eyes. How do you do this?

Begin at the curb. If you were a buyer, what would you see? A nicely manicured lawn that looks as if it has been carefully tended or unruly flower beds, un-finished projects or children's toys scattered all over the lawn?

Now, walk through your front door. Most home owners seldom do this. Are there cobwebs all around the light fixtures and front door? Check the door bell ringer. It's often broken and most owners don't know it, because they never use the front door.

Once in the entrance area, what do you see as a "buyer"? Is every room that you can see from the front entrance, a different color? What grabs your attention? What gives a feeling of home?

Stand in the doorway of each room and ask yourself, how do you think a buyer will feel about this room? Will they be distracted by your collections, personal photos and decor? Is the room dark or light and bright? Will a buyer see dated furniture, fixtures and accessories? Neat and organized sellers are viewed as taking care of a home. The opposite is also true. Old and dated furnishings in a new home still make the home appear dated.

As a seller, it's easy to ask, why can't a buyer see beyond my furniture and possessions? The truth is that only 10% of buyers can see past current home owners decor and visualize what the space could be like for them. That means that 90% CAN NOT see beyond the owners decor and condition of the house. They CAN NOT imagine living in the space, because they are distracted by the sellers personal taste and belongings.

It is difficult for a seller to be objective about their own property. A good home stager can help a seller disassociate them from their home and see it from the eyes of a potential buyer. So, put on your "buying eyes" and let's get that house SOLD!

for more information about staging a home to sell, contact...

Nan Johnston

Southern Staging & Redesign

www.southern-staging.com

www.facebook.com/southern.staging

Price War and Beauty Contest

 The latest predictions of the upcoming housing market are bleak, to say the least! That being said, buyers are out there. How are you going to attract them to your house over the thousands of others on the market?


 A well-priced, well-presented home will still attract buyers. Even in this troubled market, some houses in our area have sold quickly and at close to the asking price. If you are not the best looking house at the best price, you are going to have to wait to sell.

Every listing is in a price war and a beauty contest. Real Estate experts top two tips for selling a home in the current market: (1) price your home ten percent below market value; (2) hire professional stagers to maximize the first impression of the home to a potential buyer.

For more information about home staging and marketing real estate, contact
nan@southern-staging.com
770-251-0608 home office
Newnan, Georgia