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Answers for Home Sellers

What is a Home Staging Consultation?

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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.

Real Estate Lies Explained by Barb Corcoran

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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.

When Home Staging Doesn’t Sell Your Home

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real estate frustrationThanks 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 staging, used the stager’s “hand-picked Realtor”, and even moved out of his house while it was on the market.

Home staging is but one (important) piece in the puzzle of how to get your real estate sold fast.

It’s possible that the stager’s “hand-picked Realtor” was not the right agent to hire for his particular neighborhood or price range.

For example, it’s generally best to list with a real estate agent who specializes in your neighborhood and price range. After all, if they usually sell million dollar homes and you have a $350,000 listing, it won’t get the same attention. Why? Because their commission on your home is way smaller AND they know more potential buyers in the higher price range.

Plus if they don’t normally work your neighborhood, they’re not as knowledgeable about it. So they don’t have buyers there, don’t know the area agents as well to talk up your property, and may recommend the wrong listing price. Worse, in some areas like the one I live in, if you hire an out-of-area agent the other agents in the neighborhood won’t show your home!

There are good agents and bad ones. I have certainly fired a few real estate agents over the years of buying and selling my own homes.

Were there strong photos on MLS?

Unfortunately, many home sellers have found that even after staging, the listing agent will keep the old photos on MLS. Or they don’t take good interior shots at all!

With 90% of potential buyers in Canada (and 70% in the US) searching MLS online themselves before calling an agent to book a showing, the listing photos are critical in attracting potential buyers who want to see the property in person.

If your home is on the market, make sure you see what it looks like on MLS. If the photos don’t show your property in its best light, demand that they be changed! Naturally, it’s up to you as the home seller to make sure your home is “photo ready” when those shots are taken, either because you’ve hired a professional home stager or you’ve done the work yourself. Don’t expect your agent to tidy the place for you!

How well did the agent market your property?

This is another benefit to hiring a real estate agent that specializes in your neighborhood. They know the other agents who have buyers looking there and it’s easier for them to talk up your listing in office meetings, get attendance at a broker’s open house or caravan, etc.

Marketing also includes feature sheets, MLS photos, advertising, open houses, virtual tours, special websites, etc.

When hiring a listing agent, make sure you discuss what marketing they are going to do ahead of time!

Choosing the correct listing price

Choosing the right listing price is critical because even if your home shows well, it needs to be priced realistically for what it is. Get out there and physically walk through homes that are listed in your area and price range to see first-hand how yours stacks up.

Listen to what listing price your agent recommends (it’s best to get at least 3 points of view on this, there can be a significant range) and then compare this with what other agents have recommended and what you see for yourself by going into other listings. Beware that some agents will suggest way too high an asking price to “buy” your listing, figuring they’ll talk you into a bunch of price reductions later.

Seasonality will effect length of time on market

The time of year and how many competitive listings are on the market at the exact same time as you will effect how long it takes you to sell. For example, if you put it on the market at the slowest time of the summer or over the Christmas holidays, it will take longer to sell because there are fewer buyers.

Is it the “right” house for the neighborhood?

If you are trying to sell a 2-bedroom in a neighborhood of 3 and 4-bedroom homes, it will still sell, but it will take longer because your pool of buyers is smaller.

Is the staging any good?

Like any profession, there is good staging and bad staging. Some err on the side of decluttering so much a place practically looks vandalized. Others, add so many cutesy touches and use so many silly staging tricks, they are totally distracting to potential buyers.

In his comment, JS assumed staging was a waste of money, but if it didn’t sell with staging, it’s unlikely that his home would have sold without it. I don’t know how long his house was on the market, or any of the other factors mentioned here. I wanted to share these so that everyone will take into account the full picture of what sells a house when it’s time to list theirs.

Please share your comments or experiences here. They will help others and also suggest new topics that you want me to write about further!

Learn more about how Six Elements can help you with home staging advice.

Debra Gould, President Six Elements Inc.

Debra Gould, President Six Elements Inc.

Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is President of Six Elements Inc. and creator of the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program with over 4,000 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.