Meet Your Client’s Opposition to Staging Head-on
By Charlene Storozuk
Recently, I had the pleasure of exhibiting at the REALTORS® Without BORDERS Convention & Trade Show, Southern Ontario’s largest annual conference on real estate.
I must say that I was very impressed by the number of REALTORS® who are advocates of home staging. There are still a few sitting on the fence about its merits, but in time, as home staging grows in popularity, I’m confident that even more will become believers.
In speaking with REALTORS® at the show, I learned that the apprehension voiced by some was out of fear of offending their clients. They felt that the suggestion of bringing in a home stager would be met with resistance. Admittedly, this is a legitimate concern, but one that can be overcome. For that reason, I decided to touch on it in this blog post.
Undoubtedly, you have come across many home owners who feel their home is perfect just the way it is. How do you tactfully tell them that the life-size portrait of dear old Aunt Edna in the front hall is downright frightening or that the beer fridge in the bathroom has to go? Offering your client a complimentary staging consultation alleviates that problem for you since you don’t have to be the bearer of bad news. Don’t worry though; a professional home stager will be very diplomatic. Read more
Need Help Climbing Out of That Clutter?
By Erica Christoffer, Contributing Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Every day I learn something new from the folks I follow on Twitter. Today I learned that Nov. 15 is National Declutter Day. Who knew?
The occasion, which was started last year by Kijiji.com (@KijijiUS), eBay’s free online classifieds site, is a great way to get sellers motivated to prepare their home for showings.
Plus, we could all use a little decluttering in our lives, couldn’t we?
In honor of the occasion, I’ve scoured the Internet for some resources you can pass on to your clients. What I’ve come up with are three handy Web sites and one clutter-busting San Carlos, Calif.-based business that can clear out a room in minutes. Intrigued? Read on.
This Web site is all about organization, plain and simple. Organizing your life; organizing your home; organizing your office. The Washington, D.C.–based author Erin Doland is a recovering pack-rat who once “held on to objects like her third grade math assignments and every note she passed in high school.” Her book Unclutter Your Life in One Week, which went on sale this week, is a testament to her reformed, uncluttered lifestyle, and a helpful tool for anyone looking to declutter their home. Read more
First Impressions: Get Instant Curb Appeal With These 10 Must-Dos
By Christine Rae, Staging Expert
The Internet is the first source for viewing a property for most buyers, even before talking to a real estate professional. That means curb appeal is important because they are “driving by” the listing, and you don’t know it.
Here are 10 things to consider when assessing the curb appeal of your listing:
1. Pressure wash siding, decks, and walkways.
2. Clean windows and gutters, and check downspouts.
3. Check the growth of trees and bushes–ensure they don’t block light from any window.
4. Kill any mold or mildew around the property. Read more
Room Makeovers: What Could You Do in 2 Hours With $250?
Three real estate pros accepted REALTOR® Magazine’s staging challenge: They had 2 hours to transform one room for under $250. They tackled a home office, living room, and master bedroom. See how they transformed these rooms by being budget savvy and smart with their accessories and placement of furniture. Get ideas for your listings!
Are You a REALTOR® and Master Stager?
In February 2009, REALTOR® Magazine launched the Masters Series, a video diary of top-producing practitioners, who represent expertise in a certain field within real estate. We traveled all over the country to meet some of the best real estate pros, followed them around for a day, and learned their trade secrets.
We’re planning for the 2010 series and we want to hear from you. We’re looking for a pro stager who also practices real estate.
Do you have at least a decade of experience with a high sales volume?
If this sounds like you, and you’d like to be considered for a 2010 Masters Series video, please contact senior editor Katherine Tarbox at ktarbox@realtors.org.
Pop Quiz: Name This Architecture Style!
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
Hint: This architecture style is often known for being square or rectangular with one or one-and-a-half stories and steeply pitched, gabled roofs. In the mid-20th century these small homes were popular in suburban developments.
ANSWER: See if you are correct >
Bathroom Update: Maximum Impact on a Minimal ($71) Budget
By Charlene Storozuk
Let me start out by telling you that our home was the recipient of this quick and easy facelift. My husband and I bought our home as a fixer-upper. It’s taking longer than expected to finish because little things such as life, time, and money seem to get in the way. When it came time to update the bathroom, we had a decision to make. Do we totally renovate it, or spend the money on a new patio instead?
Since both of us love the outdoors, the patio won out. Here’s what I’ve done with the bathroom temporarily and something you can pass along as an inexpensive fix for those selling their homes.
You’ll see that the cupboards looked tired and were starting to peel. The previous home owner painted them before listing, but he either didn’t clean them thoroughly, or he used the wrong paint. Read more
Picture It: Create a Character to Guide Your Design
By Mary Cook, Mary Cook & Associates
Now more than ever, model homes are key sales tools for developers. In the current housing market crisis, people are weighing every factor in their decision on buying a home.
Beyond the typical questions on the quality of the finishes, school districts, and mortgage rates, those who are looking to spend their life savings on a place are looking for deeper psychological reasons to sign on the dotted line.
Does this home speak to me? Can I imagine my lifestyle being a fit here?
That’s why my firm spends so much time getting to know the prospective audience for which we design model homes. We design for specific people, often taking the time to create fictitious characters such as “John the Wall Streeter,” who lets his girlfriend decorate his place. Read more
Guiding Your Clients Through Home Modifications
By Erica Christoffer, Contributing Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Home modifications are an important step in getting buyers with disabilities into a new home. That’s why it’s important for real estate practitioners to be educated on the needs of their clients, where they can find specialized contractors, and the availability of financing programs.
According to the U.S. Census, 51.2 million people have some level of disability, which accounts for 18 percent of the population. Of those, an estimated 1.6 million Americans residing outside of institutions are wheelchair users.
Stephen Beard is a sales associate with Keller Williams Realty in Oakland/Piedmont, Calif. who specializes in accessible housing for people with disabilities. He has developed relationships with contractors who specialize in building wheelchair ramps and other types of home modifications and accessibility architecture. This is especially important in more established markets with older homes that typically do not easily lend themselves to modifications.
Beard understands the issues around mobility challenges as someone living with Cerebral Palsy who uses a cane.
“I saw an opportunity to specialize in real estate in a way that would allow me to serve this community that has not had many advocates in the real estate community in the past,” Beard says. “I am always thinking, ‘Are we going to be able to build a ramp here? Or is the bathroom big enough to do a 360-degree turn around in a wheelchair?’ because there are so few properties that are accessible to begin with here [in the Bay area].” Read more
Pop Quiz: Name This Architecture Style!
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
Hint: This style of home is known as being narrow and rectangular with one and one-half stories, low-pitched gable or hipped roofs, and small covered porches at the entry. This home style was popular in the 1880s until the Great Depression.
