"Open House" - Maryland Real Estate Blog

Make Your Home Stand Out with Staging

 

Home staging is one of the latest buzz words associated with  selling real estate.  As the real estate market progresses through a tough seller’s market, it is important to have a full arsenal of marketing concepts at your disposal.  Consult your real estate agent for a home staging expert in your area.

 Now, there are various lists and ideas about how one should approach home staging.  I have narrowed and simplified the lists to a very basic level.  I call it the three D’s of home staging.

1.  De-Clutter

Over the years we accumulate stuff.  This stuff generally matters to us and we find value in things that we never use, but just can't throw away.  To you it is important and essential, to a potential home buyer it is crap.  You want the buyers to look at the house and not your stuff.  Some buyers perceive clutter as a home that has not been cared for or is dirty.  The rule of thumb is remove 33% of the stuff from your house and store somewhere else.  Some of us are more pack rats than others, so be honest with yourself and de-clutter appropriately.  Many sellers have small children that require a ton of oversized, awkward swings and chairs that take up a disproportionate amount of space relative to the size of the child.  This does challenge a selller.  My advice . . . try to remove as much as you can from the main floor of the home; the first impression floor.  Provide the wow factor there and store some of the bulkier items on the top floor or basement.

2.  Depersonalize

The objective here is to take your home from being “lived in” to “ready to move in” (The 7 Deadly Home Staging Sins. . ., 2007). This includes, removing family pictures, painting walls a neutral color, de-crapping the fridge, removing ALL pets, and any other personal items arranged in your home.  This is about removing distractions and allowing the potential buyer to envision your home as theirs.  People are, by nature, curious.  They will spend valuable home shopping time enjoying last year’s trip to Disney World and Suzy’s A+ on the fridge rather than focusing on what “sells” your house.

3. Disassociate

It is time to remove your self from the house.  This is more of an emotional step than anything else.  You are now selling a product.  This is no longer the place where you raised 3 kids and created a million memories.  Your home is now a product, a profit making entity that should be marketed and prepared to be sold as a business transaction.  In order to succeed with numbers 1 and 2, you must first remove your whole self from the home you have built.  This is much easier said than done, but a critical factor to maximizing a profitable transaction.

Now where do we go from here?  Once you are ready to begin the staging process you need to decide whether you want to hire a professional.  This is where my job gets a bit touchy.  Most of you think you have the skills to stage your home because you have “great taste.”  Taste is not about what looks good to you, it is about what the majority of buyers in this current market place are looking for.  I will always advocate a professional to help with this process.  It has been proven time and time again that those who use a professional to stage their homes will sell faster and for more money that homes that don’t use professionals.  Yes, it will cost you a few dollars for the staging effort, but statistics tell us that the profit will far outweigh the costs.

Baltimore area home staging expert, Paula Henry from Simply Put Interiors, says “professional real estate staging is a combination of seduction and knowing your competition”.  Henry sums up staging with a great company slogan, “Creating the Wow Factor One Room at a Time!” (Professional Staging, 2007) 

Good luck and thanks for reading . . .

If there is topic in real estate or other related field that interests you, let me know, and I’d be happy to research and present an essay or opinion on the matter. . .

Jim can be reached outside of this blog at 410.569.4663, Jim.Ellis@ReMax.net or www.JimEllisHomes.com

International Association of Home Staging Professionals. “Brief History of Home Staging & The Stage ^® Trademark.” [Online] 2003. <http://www.iahsp.com/history.php>

Accredited Home-Staging Specialist Designation. “The 7 Deadly Home Staging Sins You May Be Committing Right Now!” [Online] 2007. <www.ahsdesignation.com>

Simply Put Interiors. “Professional Home Staging.” [Online] 2007. <http://www.simplyputinteriors.com/staging.html>

Spring Cleaning Checklist

Below is a check list as published by Realtor Magazine.  Also, don't forget to change the batteries in the smoke detectors and replace the air filter in the furnace.  Maintaining your home every year will cost a few bucks, but the financial consequences of not doing so are immense.   A good spring cleaning every year should be a regular event in maintaining a sound home.    Happy Spring!

• Let the sun in. Make any room look brighter with clean blinds and windows. For a green window cleaner, mix a solution of one part white vinegar to eight parts water, plus a drop or two of liquid dish washing liquid. Spray on and wipe with newspaper to avoid streaks. Washing on a cloudy day also reduces streaking.

• Sniff out smells. Check the drip tray underneath your refrigerator and wash out any standing water from defrosting. Remove inside odors by washing the inside of the fridge with a baking soda and water solution. Boil lemon juice in your microwave and add it to your dishwasher to eliminate bad smells. Also, put the lemon rinds down the disposal. Add activated charcoal in the fridge to keep odors at bay.

• Make your bed better. Vacuum mattresses and box springs, and then rotate and flip over. Do the same for removable furniture cushions. This is also a great time to wash or dry-clean the dust ruffle and mattress pad.

• Clean those coils. Improve energy efficiency by vacuuming grates, coils, and condensers in your furnace, stove, and refrigerator (either underneath or in back). If a vacuum won’t reach, try a rag tied to a yardstick.

• Wash the walls. Grease, smoke, and dust can adhere to walls and make even the best decorating look dingy. Wash walls using a general-purpose cleaner with hot water. Start at the top of the wall to avoid drips and in a corner so that you wash one wall at a time. Rinse the mop head frequently in clean water. And don’t press too hard, because flat latex paint won’t absorb much water.

Enjoy the warming weather.

Jim

A Suggestion with W's Gift

So what do you do with your stimulus check?

We have been bombarded with a gazillion options and special deals from every retailer under the sun to "please spend your money here."  Which one do you pick?  I have a suggestion . . .

Take your $1200 (or whatever your amount is) and improve your home.  This is really the gift that keeps on giving.   If you decide to improve your home, I would suggest starting in the kitchen.  It is statistically proven year after year that you get the best return on your home investment in your kitchen and baths.  Also, most of the large home improvement chains are offering additional discounts during the stimulus check period.

So lets buy . . . I don't know . . . a new dishwasher (or some other kitchen appliance).  For starters, make sure you buy an improvement over your existing appliance (stainless steel is in).  Secondly, and most important, buy an Energy Star appliance.  This investment is like residual income.  You will save water and energy everytime you operate the dishwasher.  Also, call your local energy company.  Many of them will give you a rebate or discount for buying and using Energy Star appliance.  Lastly, (check with your accountant) some energy saving purchases can actually save you a little bit on your taxes.  After all of these great savings, you are also contributing to improving our environment.

Use and spend your money wisely.  Make it the gift that keeps on giving and invest in a green applicance!

If there is topic in real estate or other related field that interests you, let me know, and I’d be happy to research and present an essay or opinion on the matter. . .

Jim can be reached outside of this blog at 410.569.4663, Jim.Ellis@ReMax.net or www.JimEllisHomes.com

Selling Your Home in a Buyer's Market

What it really comes down to is distinguishing your property from the competition.  The inventory of homes in every area of our state, at every price range, is so high that, more than ever, we have to consider the competition (other homes for sale).

The biggest mistake sellers make is overpricing their home.  If you chose a list price that is too high, then all of the subsequent distinguishing factors are null; a huge waste of time and money.  Traditionally, the rule of thumb is to look at the most recent and comparable sales in your area.  I tell my clients all the time, "You are only as good as the last home sold!"  However, in this day and age, you must also consider the other homes currently for sale in your area.  If there is a home in great condition comparable to your home and priced $20,000 below the most recent sales, then you MUST consider that when setting the list price.

Distinguishing Factor #1: Have a buyer's agent commission study done.  Disclaimer:  Real estate commissions are 100% negotiable.  It is customary in Maryland that the seller of a home offers a commission to both their agent and the agent who brings a buyer.  In most markets in our area, the inventory for any style of home is incredibly high.  In other words, a buyer often has 2-3 dozen choices that fit their needs and budget.  A way to ensure that a buyer is taken to your home in the first group of showings is to offer a competitive commission to the buyer's agent.  The average buyer only looks at about 10 houses before they make a decision.  Make sure your home is included in the first ten.

Distinguishing Factor #2: 21st Century Advertising - About 85% of buyers start their home search on the Internet.  Conversely, in 2007 less than 2% of homes were sold because of a combination of an open house and a sign in the yard; 6% were sold because of a newspaper ad.  The age of putting a sign in the yard and an ad in the paper are over.  If these traditional marketing tools are no longer effective and 85% of buyers are looking on the net, then it only makes sense to focus the majority of the marketing effort to the world wide web.  The listing, at a minimum, should appear in the Multiple Listing Service (#1 site for Realtors) and Realtor.com (#1 national search site for consumers).   Other avenues would include homesdatabase.com (#1 local search site), homes.com (top 5 national site), zillow.com and craigslist.com.  These web ads should include multiple high quality digital photos, virtual tours and movies.  The reason why open houses are no longer effective is because a buyer can sit in the their living room in their pj's and take a virtual open house via the web.  Many buyers won't take time to look at a listing on the net if it doesn't have more than one photo.  Consequently, they won't ever visit your home in person.

Distinguishing Factor #3: Home Staging - The idea of home staging began on the west coast a few years back and has been slowly working it's way east.  Studies have shown that staged homes sell about 30% faster and for more money than non-staged homes.  Staging includes interior and exterior staging (front of house landscaping is often a must!).  Once your home is listed at the correct price, you have set a competitive commission for the buyer's agent and allowed the buyer to preview high quality photos of your home, it is now time to make a great first impression in person.  This will cost the seller a few bucks to properly and professionally stage a home.  It can cost anywhere from $80 to several thousand dollars depending on many factors.  However, if your mortgage payment is $1800/mos and you spend $1800 on staging and your home sells even one month faster for your asking price, then it is certainly worth the $$.

The key to today's market is not only about setting the right price, but also outshining your neighbor's homes that are also on the market.  I would suggest asking your real estate professional to preview other homes for sale in your area and ask her/him to consider them when suggesting the price of your home.  My goal for each of my seller clients is to position their home in the market in such a way that it is the next one sold in the neighborhood.  Good luck!

If there is topic in real estate or other related field that interests you, let me know, and I’d be happy to research and present an essay or opinion on the matter. . .

Jim can be reached outside of this blog at 410.569.4663, Jim.Ellis@ReMax.net or www.JimEllisHomes.com