How can hiring an Interior Decorator or Home Stager help get my home sold?

English: Subject: Home staged for resale - Family room, kitchen :Location: North Phoenix, Arizona, USA :Date: August 2006 :Photographer: Andwhatsnext :Credit: Work completed by Steve Price/JesmondHomes.com :Original digital photograph, resized :Photo copyright (c) 2006 by Nancy J Price (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not all, but most Interior Decorators have additional training in home staging. The biggest challenge in home staging is getting your client to let go of what they currently have tried that has failed and trust that your knowledge in home staging will only help their home sell.

What you can do
As a homeowner you have to be willing to be flexible and give your stager the ability to work with your home. If you don't understand something they are doing ask them to explain the concept to you. Most  stagers have a strategy in place and can tell you exactly why this items needs to be removed, or placed elsewhere. You may have to accept a little constructive criticism as well. If you have a light fixture or piece of furniture that is extremely dated, your stager needs to be able to point that out to you and possibly cover it or remove it. Dated fixtures, furnishings, etc all can be potential deal breakers for buyers. Leave your personal feelings, and tastes out of the equation for the best results.

Français : Exemples de Home staging virtuel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What to expect
A good Interior Decorator/stager will sit down and spend a little time just getting to know you. Home staging is not a one day deal in most cases. The first meeting is usually about interviewing you and accessing your homes needs. That may include asking questions about your general habits during the day and evening, what your expectations are with regards to the results of any staging, and what your limits are regarding what you are willing to let a stager to do get your home sold. They will usually take the information, measurements and come up with a floor plan and strategy to present to you on the next visit. Please make sure you discuss what your budget is and see if your stager can work with it. Most quotes a stager/decorator give you are flexible, especially if they are independently employed.

The benefit of depersonalization
When a stager comes into your home and begins removing your personal effects, it is sometimes traumatizing to the homeowner. However each personal object that is taken away allows for the buyer to imagine their own decor in the space. This is ultimately what you want. The more your home looks generic, the easier it is for a buyer to envision their life in the house.



 Français : Exemple de Home staging virtuel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)













The outside should reflect the inside
Many potential buyers will do a drive-by of your home before actually committing to go inside to take a look. If your home lacks curb appeal, you may miss a lot of traffic when you have an open house. At a minimum, keep your lawn cut and watered, and hedges trimmed. It bears mentioning as well that a yard and/or front porch can be just as cluttered as the interior of a home. Treat the outdoor space the same way as the interior space and remove unnecessary, distracting things from your yard.

Eye on the prize
Keep remembering what the goal of the staging is, to get your home sold. The sooner you can cut your personal ties to the home, the easier it will be for someone else to love it, and that means buying it. A stager is not there to resell your home back to you. That is what they do as an Interior Decorator, but when they offer staging services the approach is different, and the goal is different. Always think like a buyer when you work with a stager, not like a homeowner. Your refusal to detach temporarily can mean long term failure and many possible price drops in your home.

The good news
Homes that are properly staged sell faster for more money. By removing your excess during the staging process you have also cut your moving time in half as well. This means getting into your new home that much faster.  Keep in mind, no stager can produce miracle results, and there is no guarantee that your home will sell just because you hired a stager/decorator. However, the odds are that you will sell sooner and for more money with the help than without it. Consider the experience as a valuable learning tool and it will no doubt help you the next time you have to sell your home and that alone will make it worth it.

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Renovation points to ponder

Image via WikipediaRenovations in a down market are a scary thing. You often wonder if you are making the right choices and if you are only throwing good money after bad. With the real estate
market in such dire straits, how do you know which renovations are worth it? Do you invest in high end upgrades with the hopes that it will boost your home's value? Or, do you let your home
stay as it is and ride out the market.

If you aren't selling-  The real estate market and design industry spend a great deal of time telling the homeowner and consumer what to have in their homes. Often times you will see a real estate show where as a couple won't even consider a home without the typical bells and whistles of stainless steel and granite. However, this is what the industry has spoon fed into the mouths of the consumer. There are plenty of alternative  counter tops out there that can be used. Don't shoehorn yourself in by what the design industry dictates. You never regret what you love and if you love Butcher block, and black appliances, by all means have it. Especially if you aren't interested in selling within the next ten years. After ten years, reassess your situation and go from there. Design that you love, is never regretted. Upgrades that are part of a media induced trend could come back and bite you, so please yourself first.

If you may sell-  What does your neighbor have? If the bulk of the neighborhood has laminate counter tops, and you run out and install granite, don't expect a whopping return on your investment. Consider a high end laminate upgrade. Laminate has come a long long way in its visual appeal and many offer the exact same look of granite, but at about 45 percent less per square foot installed. If you are selling, recognize in a down market, any upgrade is a good upgrade it doesn't always have to be the high end choices. Don't over improve for your neighborhood, that doesn't mean make no improvements, just make smart ones.  If most of your neighbors have hard wood flooring, by all means you should probably follow suit. If they have carpeting, make sure your carpeting is newer, and of good quality and that will give your home the edge of the neighborhood competition. As always, all upgrades to heating, cooling, roofing, electrical and plumbing are always recommended in every instance.


Older home renovation-  If your home is an older home, think long and hard about which renovations will help, and which will hurt your home. Example, older Victorian style homes
lose their appeal if they have been overly modernized. Always think in terms of what works with your homes style. If your home has a specific Victorian style, don't muck it up with a lot of contemporary changes if you are looking to sell in the next ten years. Instead think of the upgrades people won't see, but will appreciate. New air conditioning, roof, upgraded energy efficient windows, electrical updates, plumbing, heating etc. Older homes are notoriously known for not be energy efficient, so these upgrades will be a real eye opener if you sell and won't mess with your home's design and character nearly as much as contemporary lighting, or zen inspired decor for example.

New home improvements-  Most of us may think a new home would not need any improvements, but a lot of first time home buyers can't always afford the upgrades, or may change their minds
about what they like after living in their new home. Some choices made earlier on may not work any more and it calls for a change. The question is should you make costly improvements on a new home?
If you have bought a new home within the past five years, you may have discovered that you have fallen prey to the real estate market. Some new home owners may be dealing with an upside down mortgage due to small down payments and long mortgage terms. If your home is already in this predicament, you may be well advised to hold off on any major renovations, especially if you are thinking about charging improvements, or tapping into some assumed equity you may not have. Make sure that any renovations are warranted and not just on a whim. Check your homeowners warranty to make sure you aren't waiving your coverage, and don't expect a return on your investment any time soon. If you still wish to go forward with renovation to a new home, do so, and make sure you research your project well. If you are in doubt, hire a architect before ripping down what may be a weight bearing wall, and make sure you have all the necessary permits, as well as checking to make sure your home owners association will allow for changes to your home.

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What does your homes appliances say to your potential buyer?

Image via Wikipedia

It seems that in spite of the wealth of information out there on how to get your home sold,  there are always a fraction of society unwilling to get on board with the program. One area in particular that is most prevalent is updating old appliances. Many homeowners use the logic that they do not want to invest more money into a home they are selling. Another segment of society believe that the potential buyer will not be deterred by the outdated appliances as long as they work. Yet another think it just isn't important enough to be a deal breaker. Perhaps they bought the home themselves and it didn't bother them? The truth is, you're looking at it from the wrong pair of eyes and with the wrong wallet. Here is the perspective from the buyers eyes on your home.


Where's the incentive?
If you are aware that new construction exists, and in those newer homes exists newer updates and upgrades, where is the incentive for a buyer to choose your home over theirs? Is it the knowledge that possibly soon after moving in they will have to replace major appliances due to breakdown and old age? The knowledge that your old appliances put a drain on the energy bill, forcing them to pay more for the same electricity they'd be getting in a newer home with energy efficient appliances? A buyer is already being asked to make a major purchase on your home. The idea of having to shell out additional money to update is a deal breaker for many, especially when they are viewing other homes besides yours. Lets face it, the same things that make a car a lemon, make a home a lemon. Old worn out parts red flag the buyer that there is problems ahead.


If appliances are this old, what else has to be replaced?
Buyers instinctively know that if a home owner hasn't bothered worrying about their appliances, that they may have neglected other issues too. The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality becomes apparent and it is a buyers worst nightmare. They will interpret your lack of updates as a sign you haven't made your home's appearance or it's condition a priority. This leads buyers to wonder about hidden issues you haven't even bothered looking into. Plumbing, electrical, septic systems, even termites and rot could all be lingering just out of site, and it will all be looked for all the harder if the homeowner suspects you haven't done a lot to your home in 20 years. Home inspections usually will be used as a bargaining tool for the buyers benefit, so making sure your home is in great shape can only benefit you in the long run. Most offers placed on homes are contingent upon the home passing inspection. Do yourself a favor and spend a little now, or lose a lot later.
I'm going to offer a lower price on this home...
Homeowners will no doubt see an outdated home with old appliances and immediately start thinking how they are going to offset the expense involved with updating. This could mean getting offers well below your asking price. It also could mean a home that sits on the market for an extended amount of time which will force a few scenarios that are not desirable to the seller. Lowering the homes price, taking the home off of the market altogether, or updating the home way after it has been sitting and getting less traffic because it has been for sale so long that buyers will be suspicious about the reasons why.
Selling your home requires savvy, determination and strategy that is effective. If your home has spent over 3 months on the market without a bite, it's time to come up with a new strategy. Do your research, check out your competition by visiting real estate websites in your area, and ask for honest feedback from your real estate agent, family and friends. If you have to spend a little in advance to get the price you need, you will never regret it. If you have lost a possible sale because you didn't take the time to make the changes, it could impact your life for a long time to come.

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The best pricing strategies for home sellers

Selling your home in a down market is a scary thought. Home listings are everywhere and the competition is at an all time high nationwide. If you have made all the upgrades and your home screams of curb appeal and you are still not getting any bites it may be the price that is hurting your chances.

Coming up with an effective pricing strategy will assure that you have not only a good start to your home getting sold, but will expedite your buying the next home.  There are lots of errors people make when pricing a home. Most often it is pricing the home above current market conditions. These strategies will help you price your home well, especially if you have opted to sell your home independently of a realtor.

1. Do your comparison homework-
Check current real estate websites in your town and do a run down of what the comparables are in your area.  To get the best overall idea, use homes that are in a five mile radius of where you live. Pay attention to square footage, number of baths, number of bedrooms, size of the lot, year the home was built, and whether it has a garage. These are key factors most people look at primarily when purchasing a home.  Gather the data, and list down each homes price. Add all the prices up and then divide by the number of homes for sale, including your own. This gives you an average price of the homes in your area. Is your home above, below or right on target?

2. Strategy-
If you are selling your home yourself, you need to use every possible available resource to your advantage.  Price your home just under what the average home is for sale for to give your home that little edge and then let the bidding begin. Use free advertising where you can get it. For instance, Ebay has a classified section online that will let you post anything you have for sale. Since it is free and you can write up your own home advertisement, do so, what do you have to lose? Utilize sites like Zillow.com. Zillow will let you post your home on their site and you can list, and include the best photos of your home on the site to generate offers. Place ads in the paper on a regular basis stating your open house dates and times. Remember you are competing with real estate agents so be aggressive in your selling strategy. Pass out flyers in your neighborhoods as well as have your friends post them in their place of work.  A viral marketing strategy can  only help.

3. Know your competition-
Knowing what the other homes have to offer in your area is important. You can usually highlight whatever attributes your home has above the competition. Point out your updates, and make sure to convey all of your homes pertinent information at all Open houses.

4. Create a home facts sheet- 
Print up copies of you home facts and info sheet that includes home square footage, yearly taxes, insurance, home owners fees, lot size, special features, number of bedrooms, and make sure the home fact sheet you create includes great photos of your homes kitchen, bedrooms, walk in closets and bathrooms. Try to anticipate what buyers questions will be and include that in the fact sheet. List recent replacements and updates.
5. Have a plan-
If your home doesn’t sell in a months time, 3 at the most, you may have to come up with a new plan. That plan can be in the form of a price reduction, or it may be finally calling in the realtors to have them put their resources to work for you. Once you commission a real estate agency, there is no reason you have to sit back and wait, you can still actively pursue your home selling. It simply means that regardless of whether you found your buyer, or the agency does, you will still have to pay them their commission. However, you will increase your odds by actively finding buyers yourself. Just remember to them the name of your listing agent to let them show your home to the potential buyer. The end goal is always to get the home sold as fast as possible.

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Mortgage deals first time home buyers should avoid

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeAs the past few years have indicated there has been a huge problem with the housing market. The inventory of homes for sale on the market is huge, while buyers are few and far between. First time home buyers will find themselves being prayed upon in a desperate market if they are not extremely savvy about what is a good deal, and what could be the worst decision of their lives. Read more about, Mortgage deals first time home buyers should avoid

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A Guide for first time home sellers

Lets say you've outgrown your digs and are ready to move. Selling a home in a down market can be a scary thought. Will you be able to pay off the balance? Will there be money left for the next purchase? Will your home sell in under three months, or will it sit on the market for a year with little or no interest? These are all fears a first time home seller may have but knowing what you're up against is half the battle. Consider these strategies when placing your home up for sale.

1. Do your research-
Before you place your home on the market research your area and your homes current market value, to get an idea.  Fortunately people have access via the internet that will allow them to take a look at comparable homes in the area. Knowing what they are currently selling for will help you gauge the value of your home. Knowing a rough idea of what your home is worth will help you determine whether it is a good idea to sell or not. For instance a home that has lost value in the last few years may not clear enough through the sale to allow you to make a down payment on your next home.

2. Be realistic, not greedy-
Its nice to make a huge profit, but it is also nice to make a sale in a reasonable amount of time. Don't overprice your home.  Many homeowners would like to believe their home is worth far more than it may be. However, many fail to realize what they are truly up against. Consider the competition, new construction and other updated homes. Have you kept up with your homes maintenance? When was the last time you upgraded things like appliances, furnaces, air conditioning, even fresh paint? These things will make a difference and in today's economy it is a buyers market. This means buyers have more to pick from than ever before. Your first threat is new homes. They are new, every aspect of them have been updated and curtailed to meet the demands of the current market. Your next threat is the homes in your area that are updated. Maybe their kitchen has been upgraded, or they have recently updated their bathrooms. Take stock at your competition, and follow suit. Make improvements before you place your home on the selling block. Beware, over improving for the neighborhood is counter-productive. Keep improvements within what people would expect for your price point and in your area.

3. Curb appeal-
Potential buyers see the outside of your home first. This is crucial information to have as a seller. What a potential buyer sees and their first impressions can either make or break a sale. What is your objective? Ofcourse, you want your home to say, "hey, take a second look, I'm worth it". How do you achieve this? Common sense strategies work magic in the housing market. Clean up the yard, trim the hedges back, play up the positives, repair and fix the negatives. Add flowers, fresh paint, and little touches like a new welcome mat can make a buyer get a feel for what type of a home you have. Well maintained means less expense for them. Remember to take a drive by your home, the improvements and best features need to be visable from the road. If you can't see it, a drive by buyer can't either.

4. Interior updates-
Not everyone can afford all the new upgrades that  a new home has, but you can certainly spruce up what you do have. Home staging is a crucial part of the selling process. Clean, spacious interiors are more attractive and give a buyer a real sense of the square footage they are buying. Remove clutter, and unnecessary furniture. Place as much as you can into storage and pack up personal items. Remember too, if it is older than 5-10 years old it will hurt your homes appeal. That goes for almost every part of your home, from furniture to appliances. Colors that are non neutral date a home, so if you have hard wood floors under that Hunter green carpet seriously consider unveiling it. Even if it isn't in the best shape buyers are willing have hard wood over dated carpeting. Colors that are date specific and translate into outdated decor are Hunter greens, country blues, brass metals and black lacquer. Make sure do have a friend or neighbor do a trial walkthrough of your home to point out things you may have overlooked. This includes smell, clutter, dusty areas etc. You may be immune to the smells in your home and if you have any pets, this is crucial. Thorough cleaning, steam cleaning carpets, upholstery and drapes can make a big difference. Get your Febreze ready.

5. Use the internet to your advantage-
Even if you sign on with a real estate agency, there's no harm in helping sell your home yourself. Posting links to your home on the internet is a great way to generate interest. Use updated, photos that are well lit, and show the best angles and attributes of your home. Did you know Ebay classifieds will post your ad for free? Post your home on other sites for free as well like Zillow.com and if  you have friends that are bloggers, send them your info and have them post it to their blog. Become active in the sale of your home.

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Older home renovations, things to consider

Older homes have charm and beauty galore, but they also need to be updated in ways that make sense economically and environmentally. There are things to be prepared for before renovation begins. Never go into a home renovation project without some information beforehand.  Otherwise, you could end up spending a fortune in a renovation that has no end in sight.
Priorities - Always factor in what is a priority in renovations with older homes. Is the purpose to simply update old fixtures and appliances? Is your goal to replace heating, electrical, plumbing etc? Think from the outside-in with older homes. Issues concerning energy efficiency should be addressed initially. Don't start something you can't finish. Make sure you know what your own personal limits are with regards to renovation/home improvement experience. If it could get over your head, be smart enough to realize it and call in professionals.

Expect the unexpected- Even well planned renovations can be sidetracked by things that come up that couldn't be factored in. Always leave a buffer in the budget for those unforeseen issues. Sometimes you open a hornets nest when doing a project. This is good and bad. Sometimes a hidden issue like termites or mold could be lurking that you would never have realized until it was too late. That being said,  don't let renovations that make sound economic sense stop you.

Reface or replace?- When doing older home renovations, you may opt for refacing a lot of the surfaces. This could be a bad idea especially in homes that are very old. For instance putting sheet rock over old walls that are poorly insulated and built with plaster and wooden slats isn't wise. There could be underlying issues that you can't see that could come back to haunt you later, resulting in a tear down of the reface and the old layer beneath. New over old usually isn't the best route to take.

Does it fit?- Do not make the mistake of assuming that the new standards fit  the old standards even when the measurements are the same.  Even dealing with homes that are only a few decades old, replacing things like sinks, and tubs in bathrooms will be a challenge. Many homes had cabinetry, tubs and sinks site-built and installed  during the construction. The room may have been built specifically around those pieces. When you go to replace an old tub unit with a new one you may be in for a surprise. Yes the measurements may be the same, but it doesn't mean it will fit into the space. Be prepared to do additional carpentry to make the new unit fit into the old space. This is particularly important if you are replacing a tub/shower single piece unit with a tub and wall set.

How much and how long ?- If you are doing all the work yourself, assume that it will cost around 15-30% more than what your initial budget is. The same goes for how long the project will be. Never assume a weekend project is a "weekend project". Be prepared for it to take several weekends, even if you thought it was a simple renovation. In older homes, there are no simple renovations, especially if you are doing the job yourself.

Safety first- Older home renovations, especially those 30+ years old, have certain risk factors involved. Research the potential hazards, and have your home checked out prior to any renovation for lead paint and asbestos. Make sure to purchase safety gloves, goggles, and filtered masks during renovation. Don't renovate on the fly, do your homework first.

How to Select a Good Real Estate Agent

Image via WikipediaWhen meeting your agent, take time to see if you like them in general. Are you comfortable with them? Does their personality suit you? Do they listen, and are they positive? Do they take the time to explain things to you? These are so important because if your personality clashes, communication will suffer and they will be less enthusiastic about selling your home, and this is not good.

Know what you want and make sure your real estate agent listens. There is nothing more aggravating than being taken to see 12 houses and all of them are not suitable. Have an idea in advance about age, condition, square footage, no. of baths and bedrooms, etc.

Ask your agent beforehand, what improvements you can make that may impact your homes value and asking price. My agent set our price and then had us spend a fortune on improvements after the fact. This actually took away from the profit we made.

If your agent has arranged to come by to take photos, ask them if there is anything special you need to do, or have them walk through your home first before they take photos to suggest and give you a chance to change something you may have overlooked. Your home is going to be shown on websites all over, potential buyers may be turned off by the pictures and what they see in them before they even bother to view your home. A good agent should know this.

Before you commit to your real estate agent and his company, make sure you tell them that for any home you are interested in you expect to be able to make an offer on the property.  If this is something they don't do or discourage in any way, don't sign on with them. You are the boss!  Its your money. You have the pre-approval, you have the power!

Make sure your real estate agent knows you may need more time to move, and have it written into any contract. If your contract states that you are to turn over your keys at the signing, you really have limited time to move out, and in some cases the buyer can charge you rent by the day for every day it takes you to move out. You want to get all of this clear before you sign any agreement to use that real estate agent or his agency.