When Selling Your Home...Make the Joneses Keep Up With You

Yes! And How You Can Benefit as a Seller When They Don't!

 

I cannot count on both hands and feet the number of times I have staged a home and then perused the listings nearby to see what the other sellers' homes looked like...only to see how great the staged home looks vs. the un-staged ones.

 

YIPPEE!!

 



I know my staged home will always win out because buyers want fresh, up-to-date, functional and stylish homes. Even before I started working on the home I am about to show you,  I knew this but I just love to look at my competition after staging. I know my client, the realtor and I will be laughing all the way to the bank soon. For more info on this home, click this link

Here's a few pics from a home that we recently staged in West Islip NY...

The Kitchen...

The Master Bedroom

And here's a competing home - $20K more than the one we staged. The living room...

 

 

 

Bedroom (I am assuming it's the Master - not really sure! They only showed 1 bedroom!)

First of all, you shouldn't have any religious items displayed when you are selling your home. I guess the sellers are praying for a quick sale! Not much room in there to pray though...

 

Lovely kitchen, huh? There are too many things wrong with this space to go into detail but I think you can see that it's dated, crowded, dark...the dog is pictured (what...you couldn't move that crate out of the way while you took your picture with your Instamatic camera or Smart phone Mr. Realtor?) And the 2 garbage cans??? The boob lights??? And, what are you selling - a kitchen or PLATES!!

Oh please!

 

 

I guess that sellers just don't look online to 1) see how their realtor is marketing their home and 2) they don't even bother with seeing what their competition is doing. Big mistakes.



 

NOW HERE'S THE KICKER...

 

This home has been for sale since March of 2009. Yes, you read that right - since March of 2009...over 6 1/2 years! It's been de-listed a few times and has had multiple price reductions. I can't even wrap my head around how much time and money has been wasted trying to sell this home. The carrying costs alone for that many years have to be astronomical. 

 

 

This home is in a great area...it's a farm ranch with a great backyard and a pool (what my staged home does not have!) But, in a honesty, this home should have sold a long time ago - but a lot of people (and, sad to say, people in the "know" supposedly) were asleep at the wheel. Some minor renovations...some editing...some paint...some updating (and updated accessories!) and, of course, some staging could have gotten this home sold back in 2009. Yes - even during the worst part of the recession.

 

Home Sellers - you do not have to keep reducing the price of your homes. If that's the only marketing tactic that your realtor can come up with - you are with the wrong realtor. Get a good home stager to give you a consultation. For a few hundred dollars, a home staging consultation will give you a step-by-step blueprint of what you need to do to your home to be ahead of the competition...ahead of the Joneses...and on your way to a successful sale.

 

Don't waste time and money. Call someone who can give you an honest assessment of your home. If you are in the Long Island or Queens area, call me at 631 793-1315 for a consultation or email me at Linda.Leyble@gmail.com.

 

Making your life and listings more beautiful...

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Uninvited Stager Series

Happy Easter and Passover to everyone!

Taming Odd Architectural Details in Your Home
It'll be a quiet weekend in the real estate market.  But, for those of you with homes for sale, perhaps you can take some tips and suggestions from this post to improve your listing.  This week I found some photos of homes for sale that could use some help...and not even much help to improve their online appearance.  I'd like to focus on how to tackle corner fireplaces and other odd details in your home that may put off a potential buyer.

Corner Fireplaces: When you have an odd architectural detail, like a corner fireplace, you should try to have some furniture in the room.  It's best if the room is staged professionally, but you need to show the buyer where to place furniture.  Most people looking at this room will be baffled as to how to use the room and furnish it. This room would look great with a TV over the fireplace, some tall vases on the ledge above it...plus a sectional in front of the fireplace and perhaps a game table and two chairs and some artwork on the wall on the left and maybe a tall bookcase on the right side of the room - with a chair and small side table in front of it.

Corner Fireplace and Odd Window in the Corner: This room below would look so much better furnished.  It's a dual purpose room - living and dining area.  At first glance you may not notice that. Some carpeting and an angled sofa with a sofa table in front of it - plus a TV or a colorful piece of art over the fireplace - would start to warm up the space and show how it functions.  For the odd window - I would add sheer window treatments to all the windows - then to the left of the odd corner window, I would place an off white bookcase - with a height that is similar to the window - it would give the room balance.  Then I would add a round table and chairs in the dining area and some bar stools for seating at the counter. You need to give a prospective buyer a picture of how to live in a house.  Most people do not have the vision to do this.

A Corner Fireplace and a Glass Sliding Door: Below you'll find a very difficult room situation.  Having both of these elements in a room make it difficult to design a functional room.  But when you are selling your home (or marketing it for someone), you need to turn an obstacle into an opportunity.  I would place the TV over the fireplace and I would have the sofa angled directly across from the fireplace and I might switch the chair to the other side (where the TV is - but angled so that you could see the TV).  Perhaps I would add a small chair and table where the large chair is - just for a little reading spot. I would place a sofa table behind the sofa. I'd angle the carpet the other way...and place it in front of the sofa (it makes no sense the way these owners have it) and then add a coffe table. On the right wall (where the fish is - and I'd take the fish off the wall!), I might place a small desk. I would also remove the tacky palm tree.

So - before you market your home, make sure that you show a buyer how to live in your home.  This is especially true if you have odd architectural features.  Remember, most buyers do not have the vision to see what a room can become and that's especially true when it's vacant and when there are some problematic features like corner fireplaces and oddly placed windows.

If you need some help arranging your funriture in a room or if you'd like to learn more about renting furniture from my company, please give me a call at 631 793-1315.

So What's Wrong With These Photos: How to Improve the Marketability of Your Home for Sale

"Uninvited Stager" Saturday

It's Saturday and it's time for "So What's Wrong With These Photos." Here are the images of today's post.  If you see anything else wrong with them - write a comment so we can all learn "what not to do when selling your home."

1) Turn the flash off...and more: If you look on your camera setting, you'll see this sort of lightning bolt type of symbol - that's the "turn off the flash" indicator.  It's best if you leave your camera on that setting all the time and you won't wind up with those shiny bits on your pictures.

The above photo is a pic of really a lovely kitchen - but it doesn't show it off like it should. What else could be improved?  I would have taken this picture from many different angles. Plus I would have made a vertical pic - the ceiling is cut off and so it's not showing the wonderful height of this kitchen. I would also have taken the curtains off - they are doing nothing for the kitchen - plus they are distracting and they are blocking the light.

The floral arrangement in the corner does nothing for the room either. And what they are sitting on top of (to add height supposedly), doesn't do a good enough job.  I would have put something high here - and colorful to catch the eye. Staging-wise, there could have been more interest in this room.  A colorful tea kettle would have been a better cloice on the cooktop...and perhaps a bowl of red apples and a colorful cookbook on a stand would add a welcoming note.

It also looks like the pendants are not square over the island.  I also would have done a quick faux wood graining on the island's switchplate - it's just glaring in the white (I know - most of you can't do this...then switch it out for a darker color).  The cabinets are in shadow and they don't show off their beauty enough.  More lights on would have helped this - plus even putting some lamps on the floor (but outside of the shot) would have given more light to the shadowed area - to show off these beautiful cabinets.

2) Why bother putting this picture online?  What are they selling here - the silver tea service?

The subject of this photo is all wrong.  I'd have taken this photo from several angles - not this one.  Taking a vertical shot from the right would have shown the beautiful, tall window (it would be beautiful - minus the cheap cutains that do nothing for the picture). The curtains also cut off the room.  A buyer's eyes go to the height of the curtain - and they stop there.  If you have tall Palladian windows (or just tall windows in any style), you want to show that off.  Don't cut it in half with draperies (even nice, expensive ones!!) If your rooms have height - show it off.  It's a plus...something that buyers are looking for.

The photographer (most likely the realtor and not a professional) should have, again, turned off the flash.  A sunnier day would also have helped.  And the snow on the ground is a little troublesome - is this photo from last year?  That shows the buyer that the property has been on the market for a long time.  You always need to revise your photos if the home has been on the market for awhile. A potential buyer looking at this photo would not be impressed and would wonder what's wrong with the home because it hasn't sold yet.

That's it for today.  I welcome your comments and other ideas that you have about these photos and how you would improve them.  Any professional photographers reading this?  Please comment on how you would improve these shots!

If you are having trouble selling your home, give me a call at 631 793-1315.  I can help you get it into top selling shape. 

Does Your Home Have a "Hook?" How to Make Yours Memorable

Just like a popular song that you recognize and remember easily, your home needs a "hook" - something that makes your home different, in a positive way, from the other houses in your area or price range. What's your home's "hook," the emotional tug that will have a buyer remembering your home fondly? Do you have one...or two...or three or more??

We added a memorable faux chandelier decal over the bed - with some black and white cameo plates.

If you don't have a memorable home - how will your buyers ever remember it? Think about adding something distinctive to the outside of your home. It could be a colorful bird house, a beautiful garden statue (not religious though) or two black urns holding some red geraniums. Inside you could have a stunning orchid on your entry table, a large colorful oil painting in your living room or a large bowl of red apples (with a note that says "take one!") on your counter in the kitchen.

Master Bedroom Before...not memorable

After...This bedroom will be remembered.

In the above example, the homeowner's Master Bedroom was tired looking and uninspiring. It just needed a little creativity to bring it to life.  The homeowner was a seamstress - so I put her to work to make a beautiful bedspread with some leftover fabric.  I switched the window treatment from over the window to over the bed.  I added a lovely mosaic mirror in the center and some bedside table lamps that were more proportionate. So, for very little money, we really changed the look and feel of this Master Bedroom.

In recent staging that we did, I added some great accessories to give a dining room a special look and feel that will help homebuyers remember it.

In this vacant home, we provided all the furnishings and accessories.  In this dining room, the floors were glossy (as opposed to the satin finish on the rest of the floors).  If my contractors had finished the floors, this would not have happened - but the real estate investor hired the company that made the mistake.

So, to counteract the glossiness, I added this beautiful bamboo area rug with typography on it.  It's memorable and it diverts a buyer's eye. I also added a lovely, tall birdcage with an orchid inside it - another memorable feature.  The sleek leather chairs give the room a younger vibe - that's who will most probably buy this home.The glass table does not take up much visual space in the room - so the rooms looks more spacious.

When your home goes on the market, it's no longer your home...it's a product.  And a product needs to be merchandized.  Staging is the act of merchanding a home for sale.  If you don't know how to make your home memorable, hire a home staging company like mine to help you.  Even a staging consultation (which is very budget-friendly) will help you get your home buyer-ready...and memorable...and SOLD!

My company also does e-staging.  What is that?  We will look at photos of your home and we'll give you our best staging ideas, tips and advice by email.  Call me at 631 793-1315 to learn more about this!

We Participated in a Designer Showhouse in Centerport NY

Designer Showhouse in Centerport NY

We participated in a beautiful Designer Showhouse in Centerport NY.  We did the art and wall finishes on the stairway and we also did the beautiful stried wall finish that's in the living room.

You will get some great ideas for your home in this Showhouse - so I hope that many of you will take a ride out to see it.  The Showhouse is located right across the street from the Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport (on Little East Neck Rd).  It will be open until October 16th.

Here's a video of the Showhouse that gives you a sneak peak of what you'll see!...

Whether you are selling your home or staying put - we can help make your home look like a million dollars.  Call me today at 631 793-1315 for a free consultation.

Another Great Tip to Repair a Peeling, Cracking Ceiling

Bad Ceiling in Your Bathroom or Elsewhere?  Try this!

I have repaired many a ceiling in my career - with sheetrock, with plaster - and with styrofoam ceiling tiles,  and other products.  But I just came across this website and company called Ceilume - Better Than Tin and I have to say that I think they have a great product.   Especially if you are "pressed" - pardon the tin joke - for time, this product can repair your ugly ceilings in a flash (oh...almost a tin pun...just an aluminum pun!)

Take a look at this Before & After from their website (sent in by a homeowner)...

Before...oh boy I've seen that many times

After...so much better!

So, please check out their website and think about using this great product - especially if you are thinking of selling (or are selling) - it's a quick and beautiful fix!

The company's president - Ed Davis (and he has to be great - that's my mother's maiden name!!), sent me a great video that they have posted on YouTube. Click below.

They also have replacement tiles for drop ceilings - which are more beautiful and so much easier (and safer and cleaner) to replace than mineral tiles. I think that this company has some great ideas to make your home's ceiling truly a standout!

They also have other video...so check them out here

If you would love to have your home beautifully staged so that you can sell quickly and for more money, please contact me at 631 793-1315 or Email Me

Getting Your House Ready for the Spring Selling Season

Getting Ready for the Spring Selling Season. When ever we get close to the spring season, my mind starts to race with spring colors, floral motifs and flower pillows and artwork. I can’t get enough of floral designs on tile, carpets – slipcovers – anything that will help to usher in the coming (and much needed) springtime vibe into the home.

Varying Shades of Green. Using green when getting your home ready to sell, can help bring you some green! It's a great neutral color that goes with just about anything. There are so many shades of green, from Aganthus Green which is a useful, neutral color, to mossy shades and vibrant citrons.  The color green can feel like a cool walk in a shady forest to eye popping lime and yellow-green pizzaz. The calmer shades of green can give your home a fresh, spring look, while being neutral at the same time.

A calming Benjamin Moore Wales Green on ceiling, tropical motifs and spring colored patterns; House Beautiful

A neutral Benjamin Moore Aganthus Green, design by Phoebe Howard

We did a custom colored sage metallic plaster in this powder room that helped brighten this dark, windowless space.  The home sold in 3 weeks, after a year of sitting on the market

Springtime Accessories. Bringing in spring-themed pillows and accessories can help brighten any sofa or bed.  Your eye always goes to color – and having these colorful accessories will help a buyer remember your home.  A bright, cheery welcome mat will greet a buyer at the door – it says “This is a happy home.”

Springtime pillows from Anthropologie

Or this flower pillow I just purchased from Thai Silk when I went to the New York Gift Show

Bird-themed pillows from Pottery Barn can help brighten up your bedding

Try a special centerpiece for your kitchen or dining room table. From Midwest Living

Garden stools used indoors look fabulous when selling your home.  I purchased several white ones from Overstock, but these from the Big O are more springtime themed

Or ...Bring in some natural elements like coral. From ZGallerie

So dust off the cobwebs and put away the drab colors of winter – and think spring as you prepare your house for the coming selling season.  It will not only make your house look good, but you’ll also start to feel good in the process. Happy Spring Staging!

Why You Should Stage a Vacant Home: It Works!

Here's a link to a short video presentation I did highlighting the success we had with staging a vacant home.  After 9 months of the home sitting on the market, the home sold 3 weeks after we staged it.  Staging vacant homes works! See the video - don't you wish your home or listing looked like this?


http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d5459314d4455774d7a513d0d0a&sb=1
 

If You Can Smell It...You Can't Sell It!

Putting the Cart Before the Horse

I recently toured a home that is up for sale by a house flipper. He had been having trouble selling it. He told me on the phone some of the reasons he believed it wasn't selling: the home's location (across from a fairly busy LIRR train station) might be the problem - or the fact that the home has no furniture and lacks some warmth.

When I arrived to do a walk-through staging consultation, I first noticed that the home's exterior could use some sprucing. Not a big deal - easy to do. But - then I walked into the home. I had just put my foot into the entry and I was overwhelmed by a mildew/moldy smell. It was really pungent...and very obvious. But - apparently not to the flipper. Very proudly (and rightly so), he took me on a tour of how he renovated the kitchen and all the bathrooms. He and his team did a magnificent job. The paint job on the home was well done - nice neutral colors that will go with anyone's furniture and decor. The closet were poorly done - but this was a minor issue.

When we went down into the basement, I felt like we were in a different house. It was unfinished, dank and this is where the smell was coming from. This basement should have been the first thing that the flipper should have attended to. I told him that the first thing he needed to do was to contact a company like Healthy Basements - and have the mold/mildew removed. Then the entire place would need a great paint job - at minimum. Adding a new washer/dryer would be a plus...and something that all homebuyers would want to see. The basement was plumbed but there was a faulty-looking electrical hookup - and I couldn't see where there would be a vent for a dryer. Taking care of this toxic mold, painting and add a washer/dryer would have been the first things I would have done.

The flipper originally wanted me to give him an idea of the costs of staging the kitchen, bathrooms, living room, dining room, the master bedroom and an office. I told him that the basement had to be attended to first before I could ever put furniture in the home.I will know this week whether or not he has accomplished what I suggested he do.


The Moral of the Story

Most homeowners are unaware of smells in their homes. When we live in our homes we become accustomed to the ways things look and the way our home smells. But these very "homey" things/smells can be off-putting to a potential homebuyer.

The adage "If you can smell it - you can't sell it" is so true when it comes to successfully selling your home. Please be aware of some of the chief offenders such as...pets/pet urine, cigarettes/cigars, cooking smells, air condition filters that needs to be changed, heavy perfumes, oil-based paints/stains...and mold/mildew smells. Having a fresh and natural smelling home will be very welcoming to a potential buyer. It's advisable to have an independent person to assess your home for any potential offensive odors. Professional home stagers have access to various professional ways to rid your home of smells - so always ask their advice. If you have mold and mildew problems in your home - this is not only offensive but it's toxic and hazardous to your health. Removing it as quickly as possible will not only keep you healthy...but it will sell your house quickly too.