Christmas 2012 Rerun, Twas The Night Before Listing

A 'Styling To Sell' TIP for NOW

We are still seeing homes with flip flops in the hall closet, swimming pool

equipment, patio furniture and other leftover things from the lazy hazy days.(unfortunately long gone!)

All off-season items should be packed away by now.
Pool equipment should be stored neatly out of site such as a corner in the basement or packed. If pool equipment is stashed in the mud room, and patio cushions are in the family room, the prospective buyers will wonder where they will stash this paraphernalia if they buy the house.
Still having summer jackets in the closets shouts that there is not enough storage space.
Closets should be season appropriate and room appropriate. That means
no food /pantry items in the hall closet, no adult clothes in the kids' rooms.

 
In winter, Styling to Sell is more important than ever. Our short days and winter weather bring challenges - luckily Regroup can handle it!

Worthwhile Style: A Fresh Funky Look for a Yonge & Eglinton Condo

This was a great collaboration with Regroup and the condo owners.  The owners had minimal furniture in the unit and what they had was very tired, drab and had no Wow factor what so ever. A single bed was in the living room, an older pine country style table and folding chairs were in the dining area. A TV stand was used as a desk and the bedroom was boring and bland. But this is a super bright large soft loft, it just needed a refresh.

The vendors did not want to rent furniture but were willing to purchase, so we advised them on what to buy. We looked at pictures on-line together and guided them throughout the 'shopping sprees'. They did a great job on choosing a modern sofa, dining set,and desk. They also removed every item we suggested including a huge shelving unit that divided the space, took down drapes, and purged closets.

We came in with accessories and wall art and made the transformation from dull to dazzling.

Mid Project

Before

After

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

The vendor emailed me:

"Thank you Thank you. I can't believe it is our condo!"

 Yes, this was Worthwhile Style.

Back To School? Home For Sale?

Back To School?   Home For Sale? 

Here are 5 Back to School Tips to Help Keep it 'show-ready':

( Yes..this is the same as last year. I was asked to run it again, so here it is)

Selling a home can be a stressful time; combine this with the new schedules, the school bags, lunch bags, gym shoes, text books, pencil cases and paperwork, and early September can become as hectic as the Christmas rush. 

Here are 5 Tips to keep a home 'show-ready'.

#1 If kids usually use the front door – now is the time for them to use the side or back door. Keep the WOW factor at the front door; keep shoes & school bags at the other one.

#2 Have a dedicated spot for books and school bags, and homework, that looks neat and organized, and somewhat clutter free. Baskets and foldable coloured storage bins work perfectly.

#3 Don’t let kids' summer paraphernalia and back to school equipment overlap  - put some items that belong to the lazy hazy days away early. Pack them up, ready to move or put them in storage.

#4 The first weeks of school mean dizzying amounts of paperwork such as permission slips. Get these signed, back in the school bag and returned to school immediately. Don’t let them pile up.

#5 Student moving out to university?

This means a considerable amount of ‘stuff’ will be moving out too – clothes, toiletries, and clutter…all good to go. But if you have removed beds, bookcases, chairs, carpets, dressers, and accessories look at the room with new eyes and see what needs to be replaced to show the room at its best.

Does size matter? Of course I’m talking about …….decks!

We all love a big deck but it’s really what you do with it.

Even when it is a small deck, you can do some amazing things.

Patios and decks add to the living space and especially in our geographical area – they should not be overlooked or forgotten about.

There is a current trend for ‘outdoor rooms’ so if you have a deck or patio create an extended living space – use colourful cushions, put out bright coloured patio dishes, a lemonade set, and lots of blooming plants. On large decks and patios use outdoor furniture sets that say “hey come sit down, stay & visit”.

If you have a small deck or a balcony use planter boxes so as not to use up deck floor space, put out a size-appropriate bistro set and make the area welcoming.

Most small patios can handle a bench or small bistro set, and pots with lots of blooming plants.

At this time of year vendors should put as much care and prep into the outdoor space as into the home. Prospective buyers need to envision themselves spending time in this area too. It can give you a competitive edge.

On the deck, be sure there are no nail heads or screws sticking out, that it is structurally sound and re-stain or power wash.

On the patio be sure slabs are not cracked, crooked, or raised. Also be sure there are no weeds or grass sneaking up between the slabs.

A gazebo on a large deck, in the backyard or on a patio is a great touch.

TIP: if you have a vendor who is planning on selling in the fall, take pictures this summer, so you can show potential buyers the paradise they can expect to see next summer.

Great idea for a small balcony!

This is in Dallas - just had to add it!

One of my favourites...in Alberta.

Top 4 Reasons to Stage a Home...NUMBERS

So….most agents understand the benefits of  Styling to Sell. Over the course of the past several years the staging industry has done a fairly good job of educating agents and brokers about these benefits. The Before/After pics and of course HGTV along with colleague anecdotes have all contributed to the majority of realtors recognizing the tremendous transformation a stager can give a home. Especially when the stager really understands the market.

But how do realtors share their knowledge and help sell our staging services to a skeptical and emotional vendor….numbers.

The numbers don’t lie.

Here are 4 number based facts to help you sell staging to your vendor.

#1.  Staged homes spend 78% less time on the market

#2. 95% of Professionally Staged Homes sell on average in 23 days or less

#3.  Staged homes realized on average a 6.4% increase over the list price

#4. 63% of buyers will pay more for move-in-ready homes

Here's an extra one....

According to Better Homes and Garden: BFGrealestate .com

90% of buyers look on line first

and 84% value photos the most (over property information, agent contact information or interactive maps)

And we all know that on-line pictures and print ads look much better when a home has been staged. This means that staged homes are really talking the language of huge percentage of home buyers. 

I think its truly what they want to see. 

They don't want to see clutter, they don't want to see dated furniture or mismatched paraphernalia or even an empty space. 

Why do model homes look so fabulous? What have builders known for years that the average agent is just getting and many vendors don't get yet?

* RESA Real Estate Staging Association

** Survey conducted by International Association of Staging Professionals and Staged.com

*** Coldwell Banker on 2772 homes in 8 cities

**** Survey conducted by Maritz International

Staging a home is like....

Often agents want to stage their vendor’s home but they face obstacles in ‘selling’ our services. Vendors don’t always understand that staged homes show better, look better on line and in ads and leave a better overall first impression on the potential buyers.

Here are 3 of my favourite analogies.

#1. A well-known stager in the US uses this one:

Have you ever bought a piece of Tiffany jewellery? Did you keep the beautiful and well-recognized blue bag? Staging is like the Tiffany wrapping for your home.

#2. This is the one Maddy uses all the time:

Would you go to a job interview in your pajamas? No. You would dress to impress. Staging is like dressing to impress for your home.

#3.Here is a great analogy that an agent recently told me he uses.  (Thanks KC!)

If you were selling your used car, wouldn’t you wash and wax it, vacuum the interior, touch up the paint where needed, perhaps replace the hubcaps and put a nice air freshener in it. Staging is the same concept for your home.

 

We often use these when explaining why we are asking a home owner to remove something or clean a closet out, or why our accessories are more appropriate than theirs. We use the one we feel the client will relate to – I like the Tiffany bag one.

Keep checking back to this blog, Maddy is working on some industry infographics and I am working on a list of Professional Staging VS DIY. I can think of some great stories here!

How the heck does the furniture rental process work?

 

How does this process work? What’s involved? Who pays?

Most homeowners have never been involved with furniture rentals and even many seasoned agents have never dealt with it.

When we talk about renting furniture we usually mean the larger items such as sofas and chairs, dining sets, large carpets, bistro sets, beds etc.

At Regroup we will work with what a homeowner has whenever we can.

This means furniture rental can involve complete rooms or partial rooms or just one impactful piece.

Here how it works.

First, we come to the property to do a consult or a needs assessment. We also discuss budget and this is when we create a vision for the space and target market.

Next we do all the work  -including receiving the furniture at the home, furniture configuration and even once the home is sold we make arrangements for pick up.

The rental is based on a one-month period and must be paid for before delivery by the client (homeowner or agent). If an extension is required most rental companies charge either 20% less for the second month or will pro-rate. 

There you have it - the mystery of renting furniture is solved!

$500K Lifestyle..... $1Mil+ price tag

I recently went to 2 consultations where the vendors were getting ready to list their home in the $1.5 – 2.5 mil. Today in the GTA, it is not uncommon. We are often in homes at this price point doing consults and styling.

Both homes were tastefully decorated, well kept, and clean. They showed an acceptable level of pride of ownership. They both still needed a few touch ups and one needed some painting but basically the owners felt they were almost ready to list. And they were. But…..neither home fit my ‘vision’ of what a home with a $1,000,000.00+ price tag would be. The Lifestyle wasn’t a million dollar Lifestyle. (See all those zeros – that’s alotta moolah!)

The decor looked very similar to what was in a $700K home around the corner and not too far off from a nicely staged home in the $400K range.

Several pictures were very dated and not overly expensive, furniture was nice but not even one piece was outstanding, bedding was Ok but didn’t look or feel exceptional and certainly not luxurious. Washrooms were large but no different than the homes for much less money. What was missing?

Where’s the caliber of WOW factor ??

This is what we call a $500K lifestyle in a $ million +  home syndrome.

Sellers have found themselves with homes in the over $1 mil range but their Lifestyle doesn’t show it or in most cases allow for it. But keep this in mind…

the purchasers in this bracket need to visualize themselves in the home – they are buying a Lifestyle, not just a house. And they have to spend a lot of money to get the lifestyle. Vendors have to set the stage. 

We have seen homes in the $1.6 mil range sit for months, then be properly styled and sell for asking or above.

So….some wall art should be gallery style, unique, limited edition or original, the master bedroom should feel like a retreat and the washrooms need some luxury. Living, dining and family room furniture that is slightly outdated or low end should be replaced with items that fit the home listing price tag lifestyle. 
Renting appropriate furniture and impactfull wall art is a perfect solution for the $500K lifestyle in a $1,000.000.00 + home syndrome.

My favourite customer service mantra: S.A.V.E.

This week’s Blog is a departure from property styling, staging, design, décor and preparing to sell in general.

It involves something that as services dealing with the public we need to deal with. Something that is hard to find and seems to be disappearing and at times non- existent:

Good customer service.

I read the following several years ago, (2009) in the NY Times blog of Jay Goltz.

It is timely, insightful and helps us turn negative situations into positive customer experiences.

Just thought I’d share!

How to S.A.V.E. Customer Service

By Jay Goltz

Sympathize. “I can understand why you are upset,” or, “yes, I can see the problem,” or, “I am so sorry that we have put you through this” will go a long way to calming most people.

Act. “I am going to talk to the person who does our scheduling,” or, “I am going to go back to production to take care of this myself,” or 100 other things you can say that will solve the problem.

Vindicate. It’s important to let the customer know that this isn’t business as usual. In my custom-framing business, if we frame something improperly we say, “We have a quality control inspector in addition to your sales consultant who checked over your order. They usually catch things like this. Obviously they dropped the ball. I’m really embarrassed. This kind of performance did not get us where we are. Again, I’m really sorry.”

Eat something. Customers did not give you money to get bad service. Many times it is appropriate to give them something. A restaurant might offer a free dessert, another company could offer free delivery or a discount. It costs a lot to find a new customer; it is certainly worth something to keep an existing one.

13 for 2013: Thirteen ‘Styling to Sell’ Tips

Staging has become a standard procedure for many realtors and vendors and most people understand that colours should be neutral, the home should be impeccably clean and most need to be de-cluttered to some degree. So here are 13 Tips that take into consideration that you already know the basics of preparing a home to sell, but need a few next level  ideas to gain a competitive advantage to sell fast and sell for more.

1.    Use low VOC new carpets and paint wherever possible.

2.    Show rooms with their intended purpose

3.    Paint tiles – outdated tiles in kitchens and washrooms can be painted. Sherwin Williams has a full solution that comes in all colours. This is much cheaper and easier than replacing outdated tiles – not recommended for floors.

4.    Bring in a stager BEFORE you paint, purchase a big-ticket item, renovate or purge

5.    A home should be styled and staged to be reflective of the price point and lifestyle

6.    Don’t “over stage”

7.    Don’t go too far with depersonalizing

8.    Empty home/condo ? – at least stage main living areas

9.    Update fireplace  - many 25 + yr homes have real eyesores. An updated fireplace can transform a room.

10. Kitchens & bathrooms still sell homes with an ROI of 75% – 100 %

(Appraisal Institute of Canada) for renovations/updates

11. Staging sells: ROI of 196% - 500%+ (various sources)

12. Get a consult /check list as a starting point

13. See what our Advanced Lifestyle Staging techniques can do!

If you have questions about these tips or other staging challenges please call me - 416 277 3282 or email me