Saturday, November 8, 2008

Feng Shui: Clear the clutter!


I've been studying the basics of Feng Shui (fung shway) to see how it might impact the sell of your home. In the little bit that I do know about it so far, there are some things that could have a huge affect. For example clutter. Clearing clutter is one of my main rules for staging and makes a world of difference not only to the seller living in the home, but for potential buyers. Have you ever noticed a difference in your thinking abilities when your office is cluttered compared to when it's not? Or have you noticed a more rest full sleep when your bedroom is clean. Well the same type feelings are there when a stranger enters your home for the first time. Do you want them to feel welcome thinking they could picture themselves living happy their? Or a first impression of chaos, thinking the only about the sellers and their cluttered living habits? As well as all the changes they would need to make before they could picture themselves living there.
So do yourself a favor and start clearing out the clutter! Don't let it be a factor on how much someone is willing to pay for your home! Make them want to live there now and want it so bad they are willing to pay full price to get it!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Another one SOLD!




Well another success story! I staged this home with Paisley's furniture and it sold in 30 days!



Saturday, November 1, 2008

One of my favorite projects!


One of my favorite projects! Would you like to see more pictures?

Thursday, October 30, 2008

How much does staging cost?

How much will it cost me to stage my home?

Typically in Utah, you will first do a consultation. A basic consult will cost you anywhere from $50-$75 per hour. (depending on location) Usually only consisting of some basic staging ideas. Remember we can't give away all our ideas in just one hour!

The most common consultation is the working consultation. This typically consists of 2 hours of beginning the staging work, and typically start at $200 for the first 2 hours and around $75 each additional. We start to re-arrange furniture, choose the items that need to be packed away as well as suggest paint colors etc. As well as leaving you with a detailed action plan to finish the staging.

Next is vacant staging. Costs for the vacant staging fee alone (furniture rentals extra) start at $450+up depending on the size of the home, how many rooms to be staged as well as location of the home etc.

Then you need to add furniture rental on top of that. A basic example in Utah for a 1200 sq ft condo staging the family room, dining room, master bedroom and 2 bathrooms would run you right around $1200 up front and anywhere from $600-$800 each month for furniture and accessory rentals.

Every staging company varies a little on price. But remember that usually, you get what you pay for. Make sure you see photos of past work so you know that your stager has experience. You might even ask to see current staged projects from the stager you are considering hiring!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

before and after photos

These are a few before and after photos for occupied homes. It usually doesn't take a whole lot to make a big difference!




Friday, October 24, 2008

Wow! Today's real estate market is so crazy!!! If you want to sell fast or even in some cases at all you need to stage! I just did a consultation and the home was SO outdated. The seller is still very much attached to the home and I could tell she was of the mind set that someone else will love her home as much as she does in it's current condition. NOT TRUE! I like to use the hotel room analogy. If you get to your hotel room and it hasn't been cleaned very good doesn't it totally gross you out? It's the same with selling your home. Even though your has been lived in buyers don't want to be reminded that you've actually used your toilet! Anyway, long story short, hire a stager, and be prepared to spend a little money to prepare your home for sale. A good stager will not steer you wrong and suggest the minimum upgrades for the maximum results! If you want top dollar for your home be prepared to make some changes and do some updating!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008



For all those fellow stagers in Utah wondering if there is another furniture rental option besides Cort, well it's your lucky day! There is a local (Utah) company called Paisley Home Staging. They offer a great selection of furniture at affordable rates! I've rented their furniture several times and been extremely impressed with not only there professionalism but the quality of furniture and their flexibilty to help me pull off the last minute staging jobs!

Q & A

I wanted to answer some of the questions I’ve been hearing a lot of lately. I think they they are all great and valid questions. I hope after reading this that you feel excited about home staging and understand that staging a home for sale in any market is a MUST!

What is home staging? Well to put it simply, it is decorating a home for sale to appeal to a broad range of buyers. As quoted by Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, ”the guiding principle of staging is deciding which efforts make the most significant difference in the sale of your home”.

Why would I hire a home stager when my house looks great and I can decorate it myself? It’s extremely difficult to view your own home objectively. Even if your house seems perfect to you, there may be something you’ve missed because you are used to your surroundings. When you bring in a new point of view, especialy a professional, you have a higher chance of finding the things you need to change to make a bigger profit, or in some cases get your home sold period!

What are the benifits of home staging? There are many benifits. The main benifits and motivation behind most staged homes is the fact that because more people are likely to feel emotionaly connected to a staged home they do sell faster, and for top dollar. So not only is the seller happy, but the buyer is moving into the home that they really love!

Is home staging expensive? NO! In a lot of cases home staging is one of the least expensive investments with the highest return you can make to prepare a home for sale. Home stagers vary on their pricing, but typicaly most sellers plan on spending at least somewhere between $500-$1000 to prepare their home for sale anyway. So why not hire a professional home stager and spend that money were you will see the highest return!