In my experience staging homes in the San Francisco Bay Area - Sausalito, San Francisco, Daly City, San Bruno, Burlingame, San Mateo, Foster City, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Redwood Shores, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Atherton, Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Milpitas, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Campbell, Fremont, Santa Clara, San Jose., this is one of the most frequently asked questions by both realtors and home owners. So hope this article helps to put together your top criteria to hire a stager.

The number one rule & the most important rule to remember when you hire a stager – WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). Look for all the work that the stager has done –the website, business cards, portfolios, proposals, etc. The stager walks into your home and tells you what to do with your house to make it more marketable for a quick sale. It is in this same way that the stager is selling their services. How do the stagers marketing materials look? This will definitely give you an idea of what the stager is going to do with your house. Don’t make any compromises here based on price. If the stager offers a really low price make sure you are satisfied with the stagers work. A good stager will practice what they preach. If a stager is not good at selling themselves with attractive presentation materials and samples how are they going to help you sell your home?

The next key factor is certification, staging is a new industry and there are no clear rules around pricing, quality of work, skill sets, the right ways to stage a house. So a certified stager at least means someone who is committed to their work, takes the time to get trained and validate that they are dong the best for their clients.

Pricing – there is always a new stager on the block awaiting to outbid the others to get the contract, this is good news for home owners and realtors who are on a budget, you can shop around for a good deal. But also remember, if u pay peanuts you get monkeys J make sure you use the first rule & check out samples of the stagers work before you pick the cheapest.

Get a detailed written proposal of what will be done so when you compare proposals you compare apples to apples. Not only that, it will also help you understand what you are going to get for the money you pay. If the stagers proposal is not detailed enough request for more details. Feel free to ask questions – how many rooms will you stage? How many pieces of furniture will you place in this room? etc

Your comfort level with the stager is also very important. Trust your instincts and go with the one who is flexible to your requests, someone who takes the time to work with you and listens to and understands your needs. The bottom line is you know your home the best; you know the flaws and the key features discuss these with the stager and see what they have to offer to highlight or underplay features as needed.

Good luck!

Jaya

www.increasehomeappeal.com

]]> http://increasehomeappeal.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=26 http://increasehomeappeal.com/blog/?p=6 http://increasehomeappeal.com/blog/?p=6#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:16:46 +0000 Jaya http://increasehomeappeal.com/blog/?p=6

In today’s market in the San Francisco Bay Area, flooded with foreclosures and short sales what do you do to get top dollar for your property? Is Home Staging a solution? Are all staged homes selling? Campbell, Saratoga, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Jose, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Gatos and surrounding areas are all experiencing increasing average time on market. In this current situation in the Bay Area, how do we get your property to sell in the first two weeks?

After a detailed research on the real estate market in the bay area and the impact of home staging, here are my top six factors that will help you get your home in the Bay Area sold.

• Pricing it right is the key

Having sold a home myself, I understand a sellers psychology – “Every home is losing its value except mine.” You have to be realistic. The important factors you need to take into account to determine the price are – the most recent sales history, the pricing for the properties in your neighborhood, the duration of these properties in the market. It is a lot better to price it right the first time, than do a price reduction later. This is because you lose your bargaining leverage if your property stays on the market beyond 2 weeks.

• Make it a certified home

Get the home inspection done; fix the termite problems, the water damage and the stuff that scares buyers away. A good realtor/stager can help you get these repairs done for a lot cheaper. Have the certified home sign displayed at the open house.

• Take the first offer seriously

Sometimes the first offer is the only offer you might get. Don’t get carried away assuming many more offers will come through, it may not. Try to keep the offers alive as long as possible even if you don’t want to accept it.

• Home Staging

It’s low investment, with high returns. You need to capitalize on the emotional impact of the first impression. Home Staging may be the determining factor for having a quick SOLD sign outside the house.

• Having the right agent is important

You need to make sure your agent has strong marketing & negotiation skills without being pushy. The agents have to play their cards right at the open house.

• Be open to feedback

Don’t take it personally, its the biggest sale of your life, its not worth it to let emotions get in the way, think of this as a business venture and work on maximizing your profits!

Good luck!!!!

Jaya

www.increasehomeappeal.com

Yes, its true, buyers will be more interested in a home with an updated kitchen & bath but what is the ROI (Return on Investment) in the current market? Right now in the SF Bay area, San Jose & surrounding areas it’s probably going to be negative.
Here is a list of good investments in

• The key here is spending just the right amount but getting that million dollar look. If you can get your bath upgraded for less than $1000 do it but if you are going to spend $10000 stop, think about it, you might be throwing away money that you could use as down payment for your new home. If you can paint your cabinets instead of replacing them for over $5000 do it. Think re-facing, repainting, quick & easy fixes, DIY weekend projects……

• Get the termite repairs & the rest of your section1 fixed. Don’t go with the companies that you use for inspection, get your realtor or stager to recommend someone cheaper) you can get this done really cheap & you get great returns how? (The buyer with a smart realtor will definitely ask you to pay for the section1 repairs. Now lets say that’s $6000 for a typical 50 year old single family home in the bay area), that is $6000 out of your pocket, If you can get it fixed and certified for $1000, that is a $5000 saving for you, its not only that, the more important point is that the buyer is walking into a certified home, especially a first time home buyer and will be so relieved to know that the house needs no repairs that he might just put in an offer!

• I just cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get the property professionally staged. It is the best investment you can make. Its more then placing some nice looking furniture around the house, You have to make the buyers heart skip a beat when they step into the house, You have to make them fall in love with the property, Believe me that’s what staging does, it capitalizes on the emotional impact of the first impression. This is why I can’t stress enough that you have to stage it. It might make the difference between making a sale & not! A good stager will be able to hit the right emotional buttons with the buyer and make that connection. You want to the buyer to say - “I don’t know why but I just love that house, hope we get it!” The have to fall in love with the luxurious lifestyle they see at the house. And who knows, even in this current market, you might be able to start a bidding war and get your property sold way above asking price.

Staging is not just for condos or properties that don’t show well. Even if you have a great property, don’t think you don’t have to stage since it’s already a great property. This is where staging can really help accentuate the highlights of the property & suck those buyers in and get that bidding war started

Jaya

www.increasehomeappeal.com