Photograph by Mert Carpenter
Those who put their houses on the market are turning more and more to professionals to 'stage' their homes. The goal is to give the home the look of a model, such as this study in one of the models in the Heritage Grove homes by SummerHill Homes on Blossom Hill Road near Union Avenue.
Realtors advise 'staging' homes to sell
By Sue Stone
According to experienced Realtors, even in a seller's market where buyers compromise on their choices, in some cases purchasing homes "as is," sellers should make every effort to show their home in the best possible light. Many real estate professionals advise their clients to "stage" the home since experience has taught them that inviting and move-in ready homes tend to sell faster and for more money.
"The old saying, 'you never get a second chance to make a first impression' is especially true in the resale market for homes," said Elyse Barca, Realtor, Fine Homes and Estates, for Seville-Contempo in Menlo Park ."Homes that are staged command a higher asking price and a higher selling price."
Barca adds, "A home should be done in a wonderful neutral pallet of colors and textures so that a potential buyer can visualize their furniture and accessories in the home."
Realtor.com, the consumer information website sponsored by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), advises homeowners to focus their attention in the following areas:
* Curb appeal--How does the house look from the outside? Is the lawn mowed and trimmed? Are bushes and trees cut back to allow light in around the house? Does the house need painting or, at minimum, a touch up? Untended gardens or flower beds can be spruced up with new flowers and ground cover to give the home additional touches of color. Outdoor tools, toys, bicycles and equipment should be stored away and out of sight during buyer visits.
* Make the home clutter-free--Real estate agents say that buyers won't purchase a home they can't see. Too much furniture, overstuffed closets, crowded kitchen counters, and crammed bookshelves make it difficult for a buyer to visualize his or her own belongings in the home. The objective, according to NAR, is to make the home as spacious as possible by removing any unnecessary items that detract from the size and ambiance of the property. They recommend storing items in a rented storage facility rather than the garage since most buyers want to see the garage area, as well, and if it is packed the property will not show as well as possible.
* Rid the home of any pet odors or offensive smells--NAR recommends that sellers bathe their pets, freshen the litter box daily or remove it altogether, shampoo carpets, dry-clean drapery and bedding, empty trash cans, and place open baking soda boxes where odors have lingered for some time. Placing fresh-cut flowers or potpourri around the house, especially in kitchens and bathrooms, also will help disguise offensive odors. One common practice in home staging involves baking a fresh batch of cookies or bread just before an open house or placing scented candles at strategic points throughout the house.
* Make all necessary repairs--Buyers expect appliances, faucets, electrical outlets, etc. to work correctly, so sellers should thoroughly inspect their home and fix anything that is not up to standard. Leaky faucets, burned-out light bulbs, broken windows or inoperable appliances should be fixed or replaced before the home is listed.
Introduce accessories, color accents and texture into main living areas--turning a home into a model-home look-alike is a simple yet effective marketing tool. Set the dining room table with a nice tablecloth, linen napkins and fine china. Put out the "nice" guest towels for the bathroom. Hang fresh curtains. Put some logs into the fireplace and soft music on the stereo.
* Walk through the home and look at it as a prospective buyer--What is noticed first? How does the home feel? Warm? Cold? Light and cheery or dark and closed? Does it look well-maintained? Is it clean? Does the home show 'pride of ownership'?
"One question sellers can ask themselves before spending thousands of dollars in remodeling costs just to get the home sale-ready is 'what is the standard of care and design for homes in the area,'" said Mitch Bigger, partner, the Appraisal Advantage. "Homeowners who feel that they will recapture costs for granite counters and tile floors should be aware that only a portion of that overall cost may be realized in the final sale price. It is better to spend a little to refresh the home rather than pour money into remodeling efforts that will never pay off in the end."
According to Bigger, dual-pane windows, landscaped yards and neutral paint colors are valued items to most buyers, but they don't guarantee a high selling price. "What is still commanding a buying frenzy mentality in the Bay Area is a feature no amount of decorating will help--good school districts," adds Bigger.
Some homeowners are heeding the advice of their Realtors and hiring professional home stagers to redecorate the home before putting it on the market. Professional stagers are interior designers who evaluate the home's design, color scheme and accessories and then either remove, replace or add items to brighten up the home's interior.
"Probably the fastest way to sell a home is for the seller to put unecessary or outdated furnishings into storage, hire a professional home stager to redo the home and move out until the home is sold," said Christine Manuma, owner of Stagers in Menlo Park. "Vacant homes that are staged properly sell very quickly as the setting is never disturbed while the home is on the market."
Manuma's company is one of many professional staging companies in the Bay Area. In Manuma's case, the seller's Realtor will recommend using a stager if the home is in need of refreshing. She then provides the seller with a single room-by-room consultation, recommending which items should be removed, replaced or repaired. The initial consultation will provide the seller with do-it-yourself ideas, such as rearranging furniture in order to make a room appear larger or eliminating clutter and personal belongings. For homes that require a fairly extensive overhaul, Manuma recommends full-staging services.
"Probably 85 percent of our clients move out of the home altogether and allow us to restage the entire home," adds Manuma. "If a seller can afford to do this, the 'model-home' affect created by staging usually sells the home almost instantaneously."
Many professional home stagers, such as Manuma, are interior designers or ex-real estate agents with a talent for design. They maintain small warehouses of furniture and accessory items and in most cases, transform a home in just a day or two. Fees for staging services varies based on the number of rooms that will be redone and level of complexity required to make the home market-ready.
"I had one case where the sellers returned to the home after we had finished staging it and they wanted to move back in and take it off the market because the redecoration had changed their home into the one they always wanted," comments Manuma. "Obviously our intent is to help sell homes, but you never know how a seller will react once they have seen their home completely transformed."
For more information on home staging, contact your local Realtor for referrals and recommendations.
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