I have said it before and I will say it again: Staging is NOT decorating! Staging is a strategic marketing plan to highlight the very best features in your home, so that buyers can see the house, not your stuff! Remember that you are moving.... you don't need to keep everything out, some items are best stored away early, so that people can better see your house! So get a POD or a storage unit and get your clutter out!
Staging doesn't need to cost a fortune, but it is part of marketing your home effectively. I like to think of staging as getting ready for the day- you wouldn't go to work in the morning in your pajamas and slippers - no... you get cleaned up and ready for a professional day. Your house needs to do the same thing - it needs to put on its best 'selling' outfit!
Your house should feel homey, neutral and move-in ready!
Good luck and happy selling!
to contact me direct please go to my website: http://www.lightbrightandairy.com/ or send email to: shannon@LightBrightandAiry.com
Showing posts with label Templeton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Templeton. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Spring is Here!
Spring means 2 important things to home sellers on the central coast!
- The rains have come and watered the weeds, and now the sun is shining and making every weed in sight take ahold of your yard! So get the weeds under control before your house is hiding behind a jungle of weeds.
- Spring is a rare time in real estate when potential buyers have a renewed faith in the real estate market, if you are a seller.... don't miss it!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Home Staging on a tight budget
I hear a lot these days that home staging is too expensive and my house doesn't warrant the expense!
Let me first dispel the first part of that myth: home staging costs too much. If you use the right stager, it can be done on a VERY tight budget. Maybe as little as $100 if you have some good stuff to work with. Of course you can always spend $5,000, but in many cases that isn't necessary. YOU set the ground rules and the budget, and a smart home stager can work within your budget, as well as prioritize for you the most important places to spend those dollars.
The second part of the myth: my house doesn't warrant the expense of home staging. If you look at the simple math of letting your home sit on the market for 2 or 3 extra months and make 1 or 2 more price reductions, you have probably already lost $10,000 with those 2 options alone. Most price reductions in most markets around the country today are going to be at least $5,000 and even 1 extra month of mortgage to pay will probably run at least $1,000. As compared to maybe $500 worth of home staging for a furnished home and about $1,000-1,500 for a vacant home. That is not even taking into consideration that if your home is looking its best, buyers will probably ask for less money off and fewer repairs than if you list the home in its current state.
Great home stagers have lots of tricks up their sleeve about how to make your home look great with a few easy trade secrets that can really help your home look its best! Plus home staging is now a tax write off, just like realtor fees, it is considered part of the expense of selling your home! I urge you to at least call a home stager and get a quote before you list your home, most stagers should give you a quote free of charge, no strings attached. So why not see if having a professional make your home look its best is a possibility for you?
Let me first dispel the first part of that myth: home staging costs too much. If you use the right stager, it can be done on a VERY tight budget. Maybe as little as $100 if you have some good stuff to work with. Of course you can always spend $5,000, but in many cases that isn't necessary. YOU set the ground rules and the budget, and a smart home stager can work within your budget, as well as prioritize for you the most important places to spend those dollars.
The second part of the myth: my house doesn't warrant the expense of home staging. If you look at the simple math of letting your home sit on the market for 2 or 3 extra months and make 1 or 2 more price reductions, you have probably already lost $10,000 with those 2 options alone. Most price reductions in most markets around the country today are going to be at least $5,000 and even 1 extra month of mortgage to pay will probably run at least $1,000. As compared to maybe $500 worth of home staging for a furnished home and about $1,000-1,500 for a vacant home. That is not even taking into consideration that if your home is looking its best, buyers will probably ask for less money off and fewer repairs than if you list the home in its current state.
Great home stagers have lots of tricks up their sleeve about how to make your home look great with a few easy trade secrets that can really help your home look its best! Plus home staging is now a tax write off, just like realtor fees, it is considered part of the expense of selling your home! I urge you to at least call a home stager and get a quote before you list your home, most stagers should give you a quote free of charge, no strings attached. So why not see if having a professional make your home look its best is a possibility for you?
Monday, July 7, 2008
Staging for Living
So many people these days fall into the trap of over spending on remodels and over personalizing their construction decisions because it seems like the thing to do at the time. I am here to tell you - in order to have a fighting chance at getting that remodeling money back when you sell - make choices that will hold value and think of budget saving choices everyday!
I watch too many remodeling shows and see too many displays at home improvement stores that seem to express that everyone should spend at least $15,000 remodeling their kitchen. I am not sure where all those statistics come from, but in a declining market $15,000 is a lot of money to spend out of pocket on any house, even the very best neighborhoods should check all of the numbers before spending that kind of money.
Here are some easy steps to insure success:
1. Evaluate!!! Check the values in you neighborhood before you start any home improvement project. There are lots of places to estimate home values these days, 2 good options are local Realtors and zillow.com. Make sure that your updated value after the price of your remodel is still at least 10% more than you owe plus what you have spent!!
2. Check the neighbors! Look at the houses in your neighborhood, is yours already the nicest? If that is the case then spend very cautiously! If yours has room for improvement to catch up to the neighborhood, you have a little more room to spend, but in today's market, spend cautiously.
3. Paint!!! Remember that paint is something that many home owners can do themselves and it can make big changes without much expense.
4. Do-it-yourself... If you can. But keep in mind that if you don't have the time, patience or know how to make it look professionally done, you might be wasting your time and money. You can really save on labor costs by doing some of the hard work yourself, but a poorly done remodel is worse than an outdated house!
5. Always get at least 3 quotes!! And always get referrals from happy customers!! You are the only one who will keep your budget in mind! Most contractors get paid a percentage of how much you spend, so keep in mind that the more you spend, the more they make. They have a vested interest in getting you to spend top dollar, whether its right for you and your home or not.
6. Stick to your budget! Most importantly make a realistic budget from the beginning! Make sure budget at least 10% over what you expect to spend, because there are always items that will come up that were not accounted for. That doesn't mean find something on the first day to spend that extra money on because its in the budget!!
7. Neutral, timeless choices are best! Keep the materials and colors modest and timeless. Don't spend over the top or on ultra personal touches unless money is NO object and you know that you are for sure going to live there for a VERY long time. Odds are high that your job could change or you will need to move for some reason and ultra custom touches cost a fortune and don't always help you on the resale. Too custom can narrow your marketability when selling or become a sticking point that buyers see as an expense because they will need to change it out.
Good luck with your property remodeling on a budget! If you would like to contact us for more info or specific questions or to view photo examples of remodeling on a budget please visit our website @ http://www.lightbrightandairy.com/ or if you live in our area: Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero or San Luis Obispo county please feel free to have us out for an evaluation of your project.
I watch too many remodeling shows and see too many displays at home improvement stores that seem to express that everyone should spend at least $15,000 remodeling their kitchen. I am not sure where all those statistics come from, but in a declining market $15,000 is a lot of money to spend out of pocket on any house, even the very best neighborhoods should check all of the numbers before spending that kind of money.
Here are some easy steps to insure success:
1. Evaluate!!! Check the values in you neighborhood before you start any home improvement project. There are lots of places to estimate home values these days, 2 good options are local Realtors and zillow.com. Make sure that your updated value after the price of your remodel is still at least 10% more than you owe plus what you have spent!!
2. Check the neighbors! Look at the houses in your neighborhood, is yours already the nicest? If that is the case then spend very cautiously! If yours has room for improvement to catch up to the neighborhood, you have a little more room to spend, but in today's market, spend cautiously.
3. Paint!!! Remember that paint is something that many home owners can do themselves and it can make big changes without much expense.
4. Do-it-yourself... If you can. But keep in mind that if you don't have the time, patience or know how to make it look professionally done, you might be wasting your time and money. You can really save on labor costs by doing some of the hard work yourself, but a poorly done remodel is worse than an outdated house!
5. Always get at least 3 quotes!! And always get referrals from happy customers!! You are the only one who will keep your budget in mind! Most contractors get paid a percentage of how much you spend, so keep in mind that the more you spend, the more they make. They have a vested interest in getting you to spend top dollar, whether its right for you and your home or not.
6. Stick to your budget! Most importantly make a realistic budget from the beginning! Make sure budget at least 10% over what you expect to spend, because there are always items that will come up that were not accounted for. That doesn't mean find something on the first day to spend that extra money on because its in the budget!!
7. Neutral, timeless choices are best! Keep the materials and colors modest and timeless. Don't spend over the top or on ultra personal touches unless money is NO object and you know that you are for sure going to live there for a VERY long time. Odds are high that your job could change or you will need to move for some reason and ultra custom touches cost a fortune and don't always help you on the resale. Too custom can narrow your marketability when selling or become a sticking point that buyers see as an expense because they will need to change it out.
Good luck with your property remodeling on a budget! If you would like to contact us for more info or specific questions or to view photo examples of remodeling on a budget please visit our website @ http://www.lightbrightandairy.com/ or if you live in our area: Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero or San Luis Obispo county please feel free to have us out for an evaluation of your project.
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