Pet Peeves of a Home Stager
(or: Things that Make Me Go "Aaarghhh!")
I'll admit that I've never owned a Peeve so I don't know what they're like as Pets, but I DO know what drives me nuts as a Home Stager:
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How to Tell a Home Stager, "No!"
…signed, The Gorilla House
Someone posted this question on a buyer/seller bulletin board and at first it made me laugh. Then it became a little disconcerting that someone needed help to say "No" to a stranger in their home, home stager or otherwise. That's because the first thing I tell a seller who has allowed me into her home to work my magic is, "I don't want to offend you in any way. My only goal is for your home to sell quickly and for you to get as much money for it as possible, preferably without spending a dime."
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Date House or Dated Paint Colors?
Remember when the turquoise-and-mauve color combination was in style? It was about the same time when people were decorating with plastic cacti and coyotes, and heavy stone lamp bases. Dated decor often creates an impression that the house itself is dated, and a dated house makes buyers think that it'll cost them more in time and money to update it. "Perception Is Reality" after all.
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Lights! Camera! Action! Set the Stage for Better Photos
If your Internet photos are missing, few, or bad, don't count on many showings of your home. Buyers will just click to the next home. Rule of thumb: the first three photos should show the BEST aspects of your home, even if that means the photos are "out of order." Often, the photos begin with the exterior front, followed by a walk-through of the home, ending with the exterior back. However, if you just spent big bucks on an outdoor kitchen and pool (and your competition is lucky to have a newly-stained deck), a wide shot of your back yard should be one of the first three photos that buyers will see!
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Five Do's and Don'ts for Accessorizing Surfaces
I believe that there is a Universal Law of Surfaces: If you have a surface it WILL get covered! The trick is to cover it in a way that looks good and makes us feel good when we see it. Here are some tricks for five areas that I regularly "tweak" when staging.
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How to Choose the Right Home Stager
One of my Realtor® clients said to me recently, "I can always tell when I'm touring a home that you've staged. It's like recognizing an artist's paintings." I beamed, of course, but the reality is, Yes, I tend to arrange furnishings in a specific way, but style isn't the only way to distinguish one Stager from another.
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Where to Place the Marketing Flyers Inside the Listing?
I probably shouldn't care about this, but I do. Staging is often about controlling the buyers' experience when touring a home. For example, I prefer that the bedroom closet doors be shut. I want buyers to enter the room, turn the doorknob and see the closet up-close, rather than pass over it with their eyes from the room's entry, seeing hangers and shoes and multi-color clothing.
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Feedback: "Buyers were turned off by the smell of stale cigarette smoke."
We're the land of the free and home of the brave, so we should be able to smoke in our own homes, right? Correct, until you decide to sell your home. When that happens it's no longer your "home" but a very expensive product that you're trying to sell.
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Trash or Treasure: What to keep? What to toss?
On New Year's Eve my husband and I have a tradition of walking around our neighborhood at midnight, sipping champagne, listening to firecrackers, and leaving things behind in the old year that we don't want to carry into the new year. We name disappointments, bad habits, unpleasant memories, the same 10 pounds (some items refuse to cooperate), forgive grievances, and announce that they cannot accompany us into the new year. Rather than add resolutions to our plates, we prefer to scrape off stubborn crumbs and start clean.
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Do you REALLY want it? Really?
(1) Jetted Tub: Most sellers I work with say they HAD TO HAVE the large jetted tub when they bought the home, but after years of living with it they can count on one hand the number of times it's been used. It's dusted more often than scrubbed. Better to have a bigger, tricked-out walk-in closet!
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When You Cannot Keep Your Pet Try This Idea
It's heart-breaking to be with sellers and meet their pet only to hear, "We can't take Fifi with us; do you know anyone who wants a pet?" First, I cannot imagine being in that situation, but sometimes it happens and for many reasons beyond their control. This is what I did when we couldn't bring home the cat from my husband's work place when they closed, resulting in a new home for "George" in less than one week!
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Because I often shoot photos for Realtors® after staging their listings, I polled recent home buyers:
(1) Did you tour homes with NO or very FEW Internet photos?
(2) Do you prefer photos or virtual tours?
(3) Close-ups: useful or annoying?"
The answers have been grouped and edited for brevity and redundancy (don’t miss the Additional Comments at the end!):
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To Furnish or NOT to Furnish a Vacant Home with Rented Furniture?
While it is true that vacant homes appear cold and unremarkable while their furnished competitors appear warm and inviting, it is also true that not all vacant listings are created equally. If you are a seller considering rented furniture to stage your home to sell, you should know that not all vacant homes are good candidates for rented furniture:
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Garage Sales Made Easier: No Prices on Anything!
Twice now I've done this and both times it has been successful: I didn't put a price tag on one single item. I mean, does anyone ever actually pay the price on the tag anyway? And that's the most time-consuming part of the process!
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Sell Quicker in Any Type of Market
Did you know that the best chance of getting an offer closest to your asking price occurs within the critical first two weeks of when your home hits the market?
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What’s the difference between Home Staging and Interior Decorating?
One of the most common statements that I hear at a Home Staging appointment is: "I wish I’d known about you five years ago!" Sadly, many sellers finish their Wish-List then barely get to enjoy their home that now looks the best it's ever looked. The next question I hear is, "Do you do this for people who aren't moving?" Of course I do! My approach is different, though, because the goals are different.
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Is Interior Decorating Your Passion?
"Do what you love and you'll never work a day of your life." The idea is that if you love what you do for a living, it never really feels like work.
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Giant Paint Chips Exist in Your Closet!
Thinking about changing the paint color of something but are wondering how it will look? Check out your closets for giant paint swatches–shirts, pants, towels, blankets…whatever you own that is a color.
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Hang Collectibles on Your Christmas Tree!
When my grandmother died my father asked my sisters and me to take turns choosing pieces from her costume jewelry. These were not items I would wear, but among them were glass-bead necklaces with matching earrings, cut-glass brooches…and they look fabulous on my Christmas Tree!
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Cute Keepsake Idea To Do Before You Move: Film Your Children as Tour Guides
While staging the home of a precocious 8-year-old who had all kinds of things to share about her home, it occurred to me: Wouldn't it be interesting if homes tours were conducted by children? I thought about how the home would be presented from their perspective–their memories of each room, what would stand out as important, and how it might not be the granite counters or upgraded light fixtures!
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Are You Selling Your Home and You Have Pets?
I staged a seller’s home who mentioned that she interviewed an agent who insisted that the low-key sweetheart-of-a-dog be permanently removed from the home until the clean and neutral-smelling home sold. It prompted me to poll Buyers with the following:
"Buyers, assuming that a listing is clean and smells neutral, how do you feel about seeing pets when you tour the home? Would they affect your decision to buy? Would it make a difference if you knew that allergens neutralize roughly 30 days after the pet is removed?"
The many responses have been edited for brevity and redundancy, and categorized as "I love animals…" "I have allergies…" "Only under these conditions…" and "Regarding dogs…" My favorite comment is the last one. Enjoy!
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