Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Designing New Possibilities for Your Home and How You Live ™

home staging consultationHome staging doesn’t have to be expensive, especially if you just hire a home stager to give you detailed advice on what to do on your own.

This is commonly referred to as a Home Staging Consultation and a good one will include:

1. Discussion of the target buyer for your home.

Think of home staging as “packaging” your real estate. You can’t choose the appropriate package unless you know who the likely buyer is.

The target buyer is determined by your property’s price range, location and configuration.

For example, a house with no yard on a busy street will be less appealing to a young family. Since you can’t change those “features” through home staging, it’s important to decorate with a more appropriate buyer in mind.

A good home stager will begin with a discussion of the target buyer as this should  influence their recommendations.

2. Detailed review of what to do to increase your home’s curb appeal.

Since most potential buyers will form their first impression as soon as they drive up to your home, curb appeal is key.

Many house hunters will decline going into a house even when they have a pre-arranged showing booked, just because they hate the outside of the home.

Curb appeal includes anything from replacing your welcome mat to how to improve the landscaping (and anything in between).

3. Detailed review of what to do to make every room in your home more appealing to the target buyer.

This is a room by room inventory of what you need to:

  • Repair
  • Paint (including specific color recommendations)
  • Clean
  • Get rid of (throw out, donate, sell or put in offsite storage)
  • Rearrange (you may have the right stuff, it’s just in the wrong place)
  • Add (furniture or accessories which will be borrowed, rented or purchased)

Where appropriate, the home stager may also discuss safety tips to protect your family while your home is on the real estate market.

4. Discussion of next steps after the home staging consultation.

A professional home stager can handle any of the items they’ve recommended on your behalf. Or you may prefer to implement their recommendations yourself (which saves money).

Both options, or a combination of these is completely acceptable.

For example, you may want the home stager to shop for the accessories you need and handle repairs, cleaning and rearranging existing furniture on your own.

The cost of a home staging consultation should range anywhere from $200 to $1,000 (or more) depending on: the experience of the stager, where you live (major cities are more expensive), and how much time they spend with you.

Beware of an overly cheap, or free, home staging consultation. It will be a waste of your time, and may result in bad advice that makes your situation even worse.

A true professional knows the value of their services and isn’t afraid to charge accordingly.

Read the 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a Home Stager

Debra Gould, President Six Elements Inc.

 

 

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President Six Elements Home Staging

Internationally recognized Home Staging expert Debra Gould has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate across Canada and in the US. She is the author of 5 best-selling home staging guides and has taught over 9,000 home stagers in 23 countries.

Barb Corcoran Real Estate LiesI’ve learned the hard way how many real estate lies can be contained in a newspaper ad or real estate listing. That’s because I’ve bought 8 homes in 4 cities and read thousands of real estate listings over the years.

It’s a real emotional roller coaster searching for a home. We’ve all been taken in by misleading adjectives like “cozy” and “country living.”

Since my real estate dream is to have a home with a water view one day, my pet peeve is “listen to the waves,” when the house is 10+ blocks from a lake or ocean. I would never hire a real estate agent that works that way.

Before you get all excited about your next dream home and book a real estate showing, watch this short Barb Corcoran video where she translates the fancy adjectives for The Nate Berkus Show and tells you what these real estate lies really mean.

I’d love for you to add to this list of real estate lies and what they really mean:

  • Cozy = small
  • Original condition = appliances more than 20 years old
  • Country living = really far from shopping, hard to get to
  • Handyman’s special = tear down
  • Charming = hasn’t been redecorated in many decades (and not in a retro way)

What real estate adjectives have sucked you in? Please share in the comment section!

Debra Gould, President Six Elements Inc.

Debra Gould, President Six Elements Home Staging and Interior Redesign

Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is President of Voice of Possibility Group Inc. which operates Six Elements Home Staging and is the creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program with over 7,000 students in more than 20 countries. An entrepreneur since 1989 and author of several staging guides Debra has staged millions of dollars worth of real estate and uses her expertise to train others worldwide.

Learn more about how Six Elements can help you with home staging advice and real estate advice to get the most equity out of your home when you sell, and help you sell faster.

5 Ways Not to Blow Your Real Estate Deal

It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to sell your home in a hot real estate market or in a down real estate market, there are many ways to avoid blowing your real estate sale. In an interview with the Today Show, $5 billion real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran (who you may recognize from the show […]

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real estate frustration

When Home Staging Doesn’t Sell Your Home

Thanks to “JC” for a recent comment on this blog expressing his frustration that his staged home didn’t sell. It’s awful to be in that situation when you feel like you’ve done everything “right”. I don’t know JC or even what city he lives in, but he said he spent a lot of money on […]

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real estate listing photo shot at dusk

Real estate listing photo better at dusk

Real estate photography quality has never been more critical. I’m dismayed when I see real estate listing photos that look like they’ve been shot from a moving car, or when the photos show a home at its least flattering angle. As a home seller you need to insist that your real estate agent use quality […]

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quick tip

What bed size to buy for a tiny condo?

An interior redesign client of mine was struggling with what size of bed to order for the master bedroom of her new condo. She and her husband were used to sleeping in a King but she was concerned it would be too crowded in the new room.

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Real Estate Agent You’re Fired!

Finding the right real estate agent is so critical whether you’re buying or selling a house. Unfortunately, with about 1.3 million Realtors® in the US and approximately 98,000 in Canada, there are bound to be a lot of agents who aren’t at the top of their game.

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Redecorate Bathroom for Spring

There’s nothing like flipping through the latest editions of House & Home, Better Homes and Gardens, Elle Decor, Style at Home, or House Beautiful to have you craving a new house or major renovations. Both are costly options! Instead, try to redecorate and fall in love with your current home all over again. It’s amazing […]

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Home Staging Helps Develop a Real Estate Listing Mindset

One of the side benefits of home staging is that it helps you see your house as a real estate listing instead of your home. A professional home stager forces you to look at your home from the eyes of a highly critical buyer which is key to selling quickly and for top dollar. If […]

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real estate saftety tips

5 Real Estate Safety Tips to Protect your Family

One of the unpleasant realities of selling your home on the real estate market is that you’ll have to put up with strangers going through every room and opening every closet. They’ll even look in your medicine cabinet! It’s all fair game, since you are trying to sell your house and prospective buyers have the […]

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