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We try and accommodate every budget and project deadline. If this still won’t due, we still want to help. We are offering enough advice and practical design common sense to get you moving in your direction. Welcome to Muccini University. Your one stop shop for home staging ideas, advice and problem solving techniques.Come in, take a seat and face front.
Prerequisite classes: Home Staging 101
“Home staging” is not a new term, but for many homeowners and real estate agents the concept of “professional home staging” is shedding new light on how to promote a home in the real estate marketplace. In past years, homeowners were left to their own discretion as far as preparing for home showings. Though they could occasionally rely on an agent for instructions, more often than not real estate agents were just as perplexed at working out the details as the homeowner.
While agents are experts in the field of selling and closing, many are not design savvy. Agents usually know exactly what factors can help sell a home. It’s just not always easy to get a home into selling condition in a timely manner without some sort of experienced assistance.
Professional home stagers are practiced in the art of preparing a home for resale. They work with the “flow” of a home, eliminate clutter, edit and arrange furniture, and even assist in enhancing curb-appeal. With the aid of a professional home stager, your house can make a notable first impression on potential homebuyers.
The market is ever-changing and more than ever, it is essential that your home defy the market trends and stand out from the rest of the competition. Go beyond the “for sale” sign ~ you must make your home into a “product” available to the highest bidder. Staging is a proven marketing strategy that will result in maximizing your home’s appeal, secure your equity and expedite the sale!! Staging is all about making a first…and lasting impression. Home staging will highlight the home’s best features and visual appeal so that you capture the emotions of potential buyers so they envision themselves and their family living there. Whether occupied or vacant, Muccini Designs will apply basic design elements of function and balance while neutralizing the space so that it appeals to all clients.
Home owner curriculum
Grab them from the curb.
You’ve seen them. Buyers hunkered low in their cars in front of your house, doing drive-bys before deciding whether to request a showing or attend an open house. Make these potential buyers fall in love with your home from the street by adding potted plants and flowers, power-washing patios and walkways, weeding the garden and mowing the lawn. It’s your first chance to make a good impression, so you’ve got to make it count.
Make it sparkle.
Pretend that your mother or mother-in-law is coming for a visit. Think hotel clean. Mop, dust, vacuum, wash windows, baseboards — even the cat. Remember that people will look in your cupboards, under your sinks and in your closets. Also, pay particular attention to odors. You might even consider consulting a neutral nose by having a friend come by for a smell test.
Pay attention to color and light.
You may love hot pink in the living room, but too-bright colors turn buyers off. Neutralize strong colors for the broadest appeal. A neutral home appears larger and has less chance of offending someone. Also, open up blinds and draperies to make sure there’s sufficient natural light throughout the home. Remember, lighting is the most effective way to set a mood.
Depersonalize.
Few things deter buyers more than a cluttered home. They need to see your home, not your stuff. Excessive personal items like photos, collections, personal awards, electronics and collectibles will make it difficult for buyers to see past your personal style and may deter a sale. Taking yourself out of the picture makes it easier for buyers to imagine themselves, and their stuff, in your space.
Consider replacing furnishings.
Think about removing or replacing worn or outdated furnishings and get rid of extra pieces. The time has come to move beyond matching furniture, so break up your sets; dated can easily become eclectic with editing and rearranging. Consider consulting with a professional staging company for design direction and advice on rental furnishings to create an inviting home with broad appeal to a wide range of buyers.
Invest in new artwork.
Displaying new artwork is a great way to breathe new life into a room. Photography can be used to contemporize a room and add a splash of color as well.
Make repairs.
Make your home a high-maintenance zone. Repair squeaky doors, chipped or smudged paint as well as broken fixtures and fittings that you’ve neglected.
Not only can an area rug hide shabby flooring, but it can also bring in added color and depth to a space.
Apply a fresh coat of paint.
It’s the best bang for your buck that will quickly refresh a dull, dated room. Slap a fresh, neutral color on the space. Choose a beige or taupe for living spaces and a neutral green or blue for bathrooms.
Don’t forget the floors.
Get rid of worn carpets, and consider refinishing shabby hardwood floors. An inexpensive new area rug is a quick fix and can disguise the look of old floors.
Spring for new light fixtures.
Renew the look of the room by replacing old or dated light fixtures, door hardware, light switches and outlets. If it’s tacky and older than you, get it out of there.
Real estate agent curriculum
What will your “listing” look like online?
Another often overlooked aspect of why home staging works is that most potential buyers search online before ever contacting a real estate agent.
Studies have shown that 70% in the US look for their next dream home on the Internet. Your listing photos need to captivate them enough to want to take the trouble of seeing your house in person.
Three things sell a home in today’s real estate market:
1.) Price – the price of your home.
2.) Location
3.) Presentation – this is where professional home staging comes in.
Before you sell your home, a professional home stager can tell you how to invest your resources so your home shows well and stands out against the competition. The latest statistics show that over 80% of Realtors believe in or recommend home staging. This is a win-win for everyone!
It’s often difficult for home sellers to swallow the cost of home staging of a vacant property. It’s labor intensive for a stager so the one-time staging fee can run anywhere from $700-1500 depending on the size of the property, the number of rooms being staged, price range and location of the home. There’s an additional cost for rental of furnishings and accessories that is incurred monthly, usually several hundred dollars.
Don’t say ‘ouch’ until you consider the information found in this article in Realtor Magazine (taken from an AP source). “Maintaining Vacant Property Can Be Expensive” is typical for sellers who need to leave a home before its sold. Add the monthly cost of the mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, lawn care and maintenance. Odds are it adds up to at least the same amount as a 3-month investment in professional staging.
Based on current statistics from RESA and Staged Homes com, properties that are professionally staged are selling in around 30 days. The seller in the article had carried his property for nearly 2 years! Had he staged prior to listing, odds are very good that the house would have sold long ago (provided it was priced right). Hypothetically, if his home sold just two month sooner, he would have recouped more than his initial investment. Say the staged home sold in the average DOM we’re seeing for professionally staged homes today…32…This seller would have saved himself over $26,000!!!! I’m no financier or mathematician :>) , but that’s a return of 10 times his original investment. “Money Saved is Money Earned” goes the old adage.
In this buyers’market where price and presentation are king, sellers can’t really afford not to stage.
As a real estate agent you can help the home owner through the staging process. From explaining its importance and advantages. Many time the realtor will oversee the staging process and make sure the home owner is satisfied with the process and results. Alternatively, some agents prefer to make the suggestion to the seller and simply suggest a stager. Either way, I welcome the input and suggestions of the realtor. A team effort not only makes the process fast and efficient, it also gets the strongest results.
* A home seller who has paid for a home staging consultation will be more likely to listen to the advice of their Realtor regarding price and marketing of their home.
* A professional home stager may be able to say things to a home sellers that a Realtor may not be able to without jeopardizing his/her relationship with their client. A home seller expects design advice from a home stager and usually welcomes it.
* Having a professional home stager on a Realtor’s team is a positive marketing tool to gain more home selling clients in today’s competitive market.
* A professionally staged property will present better on the MLS and will result in attracting a larger buyer audience.
* The statistics show your home will sell faster because it will show better.
www.StagedHomes.com, a leader in home staging services, statistics show an average of a 3% minimum increase in final sales price on homes that had been staged, versus those who had not. On a $300,000 home, that’s a $9,000 increase-and well worth the home staging fees.
