MAKING YOUR MOVE LESS STRESSFUL

BY KELLY WILLIAMS

If I were to ask you to name three things that set off your stress meter, I would bet one of them would be getting ready to sell your house.  You are not alone.  Many people find the whole idea very daunting.  There are so many things to think about that need to be done.  Where do I start?  What improvements should I be making to my property so that it will attract buyers?  Who can tell me where I should be investing my time and money?  When should I be talking to someone?  How do I find the right person to assist me with this process?  These are very good questions, and all can be answered by an educated and trained Home Stager.

Be aware that staging your home for sale is vastly different than decorating your home to live in.  When decorating a home, we consider how you live in the space and your design preferences in order to personalize it to best represent you and your family.  When staging a property for sale, it is no longer home but a commodity to sell.  We want the property to appeal to many prospective buyers who can envision their family living in the space.  Depersonalizing your space is very important because we are not selling your stuff; we are selling the space.  Furniture placement that best showcases the space and allows for efficient traffic flow may not be how you like the room to be set up to live.  Remember that when selling, it is not about what you like or want, but rather what buyers will like and want.

I have been staging properties for over 21 years.  I started in the business before most homeowners, builders, and Realtors® had even heard of staging.  I work with amazing Realtors® who know the value of staging a property before it goes on the market.  I enjoy this business so much that I not only run my own successful staging company with many great team members, I am also a Realtor®.

As a Realtor® my questions to you are:  How quickly do you want your property to sell?  How much money are you willing to leave on the table if the presentation you’re your property is lacking?

As a Stager, my question to you is simple, “If you were a buyer coming to see your house, would you want to buy it as it is currently showing, for the price you hope to get?”  Remember that you must detach yourself from your property. You have to look at it critically from the judgmental standpoint of an unattached buyer.

A Stager’s job is to showcase your property so that the buyers can envision themselves living in the space and calling it home.  The job of a Realtor® is to get you top dollar for your property in the shortest time possible.  When everyone works together, homeowner, Stager and Realtor®, a positive outcome will be achieved.

How does a professionally trained and educated Home Stager benefit you as a homeowner that will reduce your stress?

A CONSULTATION

Before you list your home, invest in a consultation.  The rate varies from Stager to Stager, as each one works differently.  My consultation includes a detailed written report.  This report includes suggestions for what should be edited in each room, how each room should be shown, the repairs and improvements that should be done, and suggestions for different paint colours and window treatments.  A successful Stager is one who sees outside the box.  Not only do they see what the space currently looks like, but can envision its potential and know how to execute it.  My clients appreciate the report and take the suggestions seriously.  They claim it makes the process easier because they learn exactly what should be done in each room.  I leave the report with the clients after the consultation, which means they can get started right away.

A client called me recently to tell me that he did everything that was suggested at the consultation, and his property is now SOLD.   He credited the quick sale to the consultation, and said that it was the best investment that he made.  He appreciated that I recommended where he should concentrate his efforts for the greater return, and what areas required less attention.

I had another client who chose their Realtor® specifically because she wanted to bring me in for a consultation.  Our ideas for how to improve their condo are what impressed them most, and ultimately earned us the job.  The other two Realtors® that this client interviewed did not suggest hiring a Stager, made no suggestion for improvements or modifications and based their price solely on the home’s square footage.

CONTACTS

After several years of working in the field I have made many contacts such as painter, floorers, electricians and handymen.  It is sometimes difficult to find someone trustworthy and dependable who will do work to your property, who will finish the job on time and on budget.  I am thankful for my many reliable contractors. 

Renovating a property for sale is vastly different than renovating to live in, and homeowners must be conscious of this when looking to make significant changes.  In the housing market there is often a window of opportunity, and if this window is missed it can make the difference in how quickly the property will sell and for how much. One client hired a contractor that did not meet his deadline and did not understand that we had a small window before the market would change.  Although he did a spectacular job, he finished 6 weeks later that the original agreement.  The homeowner, who acted as the general contractor, didn’t emphasize the importance of keeping to the schedule.  This caused him to miss the market and his property took much longer to sell.  It is very important to listen to your Realtor® and keep in mind what the market is doing at the time you want to put your property on the market.

SENIORS

A big stressor the many seniors is moving from their home of several years to a smaller condo, assisted-living facility or retirement home.  Unfortunately, some seniors do not have family members available to assist them with packing up belongings and moving to their new home.  A Stager can help with this.  We will help choose what can be sold or donated, hire packers and book a moving truck.  We can also help them unpack and set up their new home.

The first senior I worked with was moving from her home of 35 years into a senior’s residence.  This was a move that she didn’t want to make, but because of her failing health it was a necessity.  I went to the house and I worked with her daughter to choose the furniture pieces that she wanted moved to the residence.  Then I went to the residence to see the room in order to make a plan for what would go where.  Just days before we were set to move her, she got sick and went to the residence early for medical assistance.  We were able to move the moving day up to accommodate her being released from medical care.  She couldn’t go back to her house.  On the day of the move, I met the movers at the house and we packed up the pieces we were taking with us.  We arrived at the residence and moved everything in and set it all up.  By 5 o’clock everything was done.  The furniture was in place, the clothes were put away, the bed was made and all her pictures were hung up on the all.  When she saw her new home, she was so happy.  She walked in with a big smile on her face and when directly over to the family pictures that were hung up.  Her daughter commented that the move was very hard on her mother, but the moment she walked into her new room she was very happy to see that all of her belongings had make the move with her.  Hiring my company made the move much easier for both mother and daughter.  The daughter said she didn’t know what she would have done if she hadn’t hired me, especially when her mother got sick.  She was able to concentrate on her mother’s health and not stress about the impending move.

TIME SPENT ON THE MARKET

Homeowners and Realtors® alike feel reduced stress when their property spends less time on the market, and a staged property shows well and has proven to sell quickly.  Each room must be showcased to its best potential.  It is important that each room has a definite use and its intended purpose is easily determined by potential buyers.  If you are using the dining room as an office, it must be converted back to its original purpose before placing your house on the market.  Bedrooms should be shown as bedrooms – not offices, dens or craft rooms.  Buyers want to see the room as it is meant to be, not as what you are currently using it for.

The goal of staging your property before it goes on the market is to attract buyers.  Buyers don’t know what they can’t see.  Repairs should be completed before the property goes on the market.  Be very cognizant of odours, because strong cooking smells and pets could deter a buyer as soon as they walk in the front door.  Cleanliness is a very important factor when selling a house, especially in kitchens and bathrooms.

Once your property has been staged, this is how it needs to show on a daily basis.  Beds should always be made the way they were on the day of the original staging, and laundry should be put away or in baskets. 

Once your property has been staged, this is how it needs to show on a daily basis.  Beds should always be made the way they were on the day of the original staging, and all laundry should be put away or in baskets.  All dishes need to be in the dishwasher or in the cupboards; nothing is to be left in the sink or on the counters.  Organization is a key factor when selling.  If your house is well organized – cupboards and closets – it will appeal to potential buyers.  It is less work and stress on you, the seller, if you keep on top of everything while you house is on the market.  It may not be how you live but it will make it easier to sell.  I have been to properties that were staged and looked beautiful for the photos but were not kept up.  Buyers were interested in seeing the houses when they saw it online, but were very disappointed when they viewed the house because the sellers didn’t keep the property tidy.  Remember that your property is your largest investment and first impressions are lasting impressions.  Your property is a commodity to be sold and it is competing with all the other properties in the area.  I have shown properties to clients and in some cases we don’t advance past the front foyer because it was tired, worn and dirty.  In some cases the house odours from cooking, laundry or pets was so strong they just walked out.  Plug ins can be very strong and they may mask the odour but turns the buyer away from its own pungent smell.  You can’t sell your home if buyers don’t even want to view it.

BUT I STILL HAVE TO LIVE HERE

Realtors® and Stagers understand this concern, but how you live in a hoe and how you sell your house are two very different things.

A recent staging client was very reluctant to have me come over.  She told her Realtor® that she didn’t want how she lived to be affected by the selling process.  She believed that her home was fine the way it presently showed.  The Realtor® told her that there was no need to worry because she didn’t have to anything that made her uncomfortable.  As I walked around her stunning condo, I noted some changes that I deemed necessary for a successful sale.  I explained my suggestions after the walk through, and she listened.  Removing large, excess furniture would open up the room, simulate the feeling of more space and allow for easy access to all areas of the condo.  After the consultation she remarked that the process was not as stressful as she had anticipated.  She liked and understood the suggestions, and chose to implement them.  As a result of these changes, her condo sold only two days after listing.  She was very excited about the quick sale and credited my expertise and that of the Realtor® to the success of the sale.  She commented that although it was a lot of work to get the place ready, she had fun making the changes and loved the end result.

DO THE WORK NOW AND REAP THE BENEFITS

There is no question that it is a lot of work to prepare a property for sale.  However if you put in the effort before it goes on the market, you benefit from a faster sale.  Another benefit is that a lot of your packing will have already been done, so it will take less time to get ready to make the actual move.  You will have already packed away excess items, donated unwanted items to family members or charities and sent things to the dump that could not be used.  Many of my clients comment on the fact that now that the house is sold and all the rental items have been removed, they have very little left to do in preparation for moving day.

Most people can only visualize what they see in a space, and not its potential.  Many buyers are unable to see past bold paint colours and dated fixtures even though they can be easily changed.  I had a client who hired me to stage her home because she wanted top dollar.  She told me that she got a great deal on her new house because it “wasn’t staged”, and wanted to avoid a similar situation with the sale of her current home.  I hope that the above suggestions and stories reinforce that selling your home does not need to be stressful – because there are many qualified Stagers and Realtors® available to help you through the process.