Home Staging Is No Longer an Option
April 28, 2010
As a professional home stager in Los Angeles, I have known very well the difference that staging makes in selling a home quickly and for a higher price. All the while the non- staged competition sits on the market for a lot longer, enduring price reduction after price reduction. No house needs to endure this kind of humiliation, as if being the odd man out when it comes time to play the game. Every house needs to get in the game and play for all it’s worth. After all, your house is worth everything to you. Now make it worth it to someone else (your home buyer.) Get it staged! Your competition is.
Michelle Drewry, Accredited Staging Professional® is the owner and Principal Designer of Staging The Essentials. Call 213-392-1901 or visit www.StagingTheEssentials.com
Los Angeles Home Staging Influences a Home Buyer to Purchase One House Over Another
April 13, 2010
Home staging in Los Angeles, whether a vacant home or an occupied home definitely helps buyers to make their choice in homes to purchase. Home buyers start out with a list of everything they want in their new home (e.g., three bedrooms, two bathrooms, good schools, a certain price range, etc.), but what makes Los Angeles prospective home buyers choose one house over another? It’s that “fall in love” feeling they get when they first see the home and as they continue to walk through each room.
Most home buyers didn’t stop to think whether the house met all their criteria when they “fell in love” with the house they now call home. They only understood that they envisioned themselves living there. Their decision was based on emotion.
Speaking from experience, when my husband and I were looking to buy our first home in Los Angeles, we were impressed with the open floor plan, the new carpet and freshly painted walls, but the “Staged” furnishings were the deal breaker. We were so awestruck with our new find, after having seen many non-staged homes that were too taste specific and not appealing to us. Many of the homes we looked at were dated and had so many personal effects along with way too much stuff. This made it difficult to feel comfortable imagining it to be our home. In fact, we couldn’t wait to get out! No wonder we were attracted to the newer model homes with their up-to-date neutral furnishings. We just knew this was going to be our new home. Had this home not been staged, I strongly believe, and my husband agrees that we would not have “fallen” for the home otherwise. The furnishings had been staged to set an ambience, a lifestyle that we grasped for hook, line and sinker. We thought, now we have found our home.
After having purchased our new home, it was then we came to realize that the home did NOT have a garage. There was nothing more than a cinder block wall and cement-floored parking area into the hillside. We had overlooked one huge feature because our focus was on the lifestyle displayed inside the home. And people still ask if Staging works!
Personally, I can’t express strongly enough what a difference Home Staging makes in SELLING and BUYING a house in Los Angeles or anywhere else. A house can have all the right criteria on paper, but if it doesn’t portray the right lifestyle, one that is appealing to many prospective buyers, it will take much longer to sell and will likely suffer one or more price reductions. Staging your home is such a small price to pay when considering what you will gain.
Michelle Drewry, Principal Designer and Accredited Staging Professional of Staging The Essentials will be able to tell you how best to feature your home for selling. Or contact her at 213-392-1901
Staging Your Los Angeles Home
March 26, 2010
When home sellers decide not to have a professional home stager prepare their home to sell, it is almost certain they will spend longer on the market and experience price reductions. Even car sellers wouldn’t think of selling their car without taking the necessary steps to prepare for that sale. Washing, waxing, vacuuming and carpet cleaning (ahh! That fresh scent) are all on the list before taking those fabulous photos that are going to sell their car.
Why is it that home sellers still think their house will sell itself without any preparation? Selling a home, is about selling one of the biggest investments most of us will ever undertake in our lifetime. This is the time to get your investors (home buyers) on board for the sale. Help your prospective buyers say, YES to your house.
- Clean, clean, clean! You can’t get it clean enough for your buyers. Make sure your home smells good. Ask a friend to see if they detect any unwanted odors such as, cat urine, furniture smells from animals, cooking odors, etc. These can surely be a sale-killer. All of these can be fixed prior to going on the market.
- De-clutter! Often the way we live in our homes is not what will sell our homes. As homeowners we can easily become comfortable living in our own clutter. All that we need is within arms reach (very comfortable.) We fail to see what others see. This lifestyle may be comfortable, but may not be appealing to our buyers. They want to envision themselves in the home and will find it hard to do with the seller’s personal things around. Try hard to see things as your buyer will.
- Stage your house! Having your house professionally home staged has become essential to selling a house more quickly and for more money. Sellers must present their house in the best possible condition and in the most appealing manner. Your competition is! A professional home stager can help sellers determine the best plan for their home to sell faster and for the best price. Staging The Essentials, a professional Los Angeles home staging business will prepare your home to sell. (213)392-1901
Home Staging Your Outdoor Rooms
March 26, 2010
Staging the outdoors is the topic of a recent article in the HOME section of the PASADENA WEEKLY, May the best deck win/ outdoor spaces can be the bonus prospective homebuyers want, courtesy of ARA content. The article states, “Anything that adds living space adds value, and the least expensive way to gain space is to build a deck or turn the one you have into an outdoor room by staging it so that it flows seamlessly with the rest of the house,” says Mary Beth Harrison of The Harrison Group, a Dallas-based real estate agency. “A great deck can set your home apart from others with the same interior floor plan or square footage, and deck additions typically add value when it comes time to sell.”
Michelle Drewry, owner of Staging The Essentials, a Los Angeles Home Staging business located in the San Gabriel Valley, agrees it’s time to update your outdoor living spaces. Now that winter is over and weather permits outdoor living, set the stage by creating a party atmosphere with outdoor furniture and barbeque. Many prospective home buyers want to know that your house offers an outdoor area for their family gatherings. Fire pits are popular for outdoor entertaining after the sun goes down. It can make the outdoors just as cozy as curling up indoors in front of the fireplace during winter.
Whether you are deciding to build a deck or refurbish an old one, we live in a time when there are many easy-to-install options for decking materials. You can check out decking materials online prior to contacting someone to build or refurbish. This allows you to be informed about your choices before starting any projects. Keep in mind that investing in your outdoor living spaces is an easy and inexpensive way to create an outdoor room. And when you have your outdoor room professionally staged, you are giving your home a selling advantage. Staging The Essentials can help you make the right choices for selling your Los Angeles home. (213)392-1901
