A couple of weeks ago I attended a 1 hour seminar offered by the Southern Crime Prevention Task Force. Commander AJ Gywn of Atlanta, Georgia gave a fantastic presentation on safety for stagers, although the main focus of the seminar was Realtor safety.
I STRONGLY recommend that all real estate offices contact the SCPRF and schedule a FREE seminar for their offices, especially with the holiday season just around the corner. (A minimum group of 25 or more people is required.) As Commander Gywn told us, the holiday season, combined with the current economy, is a sure recipe for increased crime rates across the country. From their website:
The task force has one of the best training seminars in the United States on real estate agent safety!!
"The Southern Crime Prevention Task Force has seen the crimes against real estate agents increase over the last five years. Crimes are being committed against male agents also, as criminals now are not as gender-specific. Our Real Estate Agent Safety Training Seminar is a 60-minute seminar, and 25 different topics on agent safety are covered. Agents who attend the seminar will learn how and why criminals often target a real estate agent, and agents in attendance will also be provided with different ideas and strategies on how they can become safer while on the job. The instructor will also be available after the seminar to interact with agents who may have questions, and for those wishing to discuss any situations they may have been involved in the past. This training seminar is in huge demand by real estate companies, boards, and associations."
The seminars are offered free of charge, and are only 60 minutes long. But the amount of information provided is invaluable! We learned why real estate agents are targets, how to market yourself safely, how to communicate safely yet professionally with people you're meeting for the first time, how to protect yourself during open houses, how to identify suspicious activity, and how to defend yourself if you find yourself in a difficult situation. And that's just the first 20 minutes! At the end of the seminar, a handful of safety items can be purchased, all of which are thoroughly explained and demonstrated.
You can contact the Southern Crime Prevention Task Force in Gainesville, Georgia for more information at 678-947-5914, or by email at scptf@aol.com.
As we were told, you have to be pro-active, and not re-active - so be pro-active and schedule your seminar soon!
The national average cost to stage a house is approximately 1% of the asking price of the house.
This is true on some levels, but not for every house. First, this sort of number really only applies to vacant houses, where furniture and accessories have to be rented. Second, I've staged many a million dollar house and the cost was no where near $10,000. On the other hand, I've staged mid-priced vacants where this formula comes close to being on target - it all depends on what the homeowner and Realtor want.
I'm asked by virtually every new client with a vacant to stage for a ballpark estimate. It is a professional policy of Preferred Staging's not to give estimates without first having seen the property, as there are too many variables to take into account (room size, layout, natural light, etc.). However, I do offer the 1% formula as a starting point for the client to understand the cost of staging.
Another number:
"Preferred Staging's proposals to stage vacant houses generally fall between 0.5% - 0.8% of the asking price of the house."
I quickly follow up the national formula with the above statement. It doesn't have to cost a lot to stage your house. Remember, all of the above numbers refer to VACANT houses. Occupied houses are a completely different story.
We staged this very sweet house in Arlington, listed by Anya Macklin. The first step was a 2 hour walk-through consultation, which was paid for by the Realtor as a value added service to her clients. Home owners know they have to declutter, but they often don't know what the next step is in presenting their house for sale. In this case, we talked about moving some furniture to open up spaces, replacing some larger furniture with smaller furniture to allow easier access through rooms, removing and/or switching some wall art, using their own decorative pieces for display, and the addition of a couple of lamps, art work, and greenery from Preferred Staging's inventory.
One week later we came back and spent just 2 ½ hours at the house; the home owners had done the bulk of the work themselves already. The only items they had purchased were 2 new lamps for the master bedroom nightstands on my recommendation after a brief tutorial on table lamps and suggestions of where to buy them. I generally don't encourage home owners to buy new items for staging a house unless it's something they really need and can use in their new home, in which case it becomes an investment, not just a purchase.
The final staging cost to the home owners - including the cost of new lamps - is just about $500. That's 0.001% of the asking price of the house. The Realtor was very pleased with the results, and the open house had over 20 couples. The house is priced right and shows well - and I'm sure to hear back soon that it has sold.
Before and after photos of this property can be found on the Preferred Staging gallery.
Preferred Staging firmly believes that every property is unique, so when we approach a house for staging, we need to take into consideration all of the wonderful features that the house has to offer. We stage each house to highlight its best features, and work with the challenges. Each house, therefore, is staged a little bit differently.
Last week we staged a fabulous house in the Evermay area of McLean, Virginia. It's a split level house with a large and open front foyer, which is very welcoming. However, from the foyer you can see into every main room of the house - the dining room, kitchen and family room, living room, and finished basement. What a view! And this was our main challenge - to stage each room visible from the front foyer so that it was warm and welcoming, but also with focal points that would invite buyers to walk into the rooms to experience each space further. The longer a buyer will linger in a room, the more interested they can become, and hopefully envisioning themselves living in that room. This is a major first step in the buying process.
Our team staged this large house in just one day, and when the Realtor stopped by as we were finishing up, he stood in the foyer and looked around him and into each room. He was thrilled with the results!
The Broker's Open the next day was a huge success, and we are expecting a sale in the very near future! Before and after photos of this property can be found on the Preferred Staging gallery.
This is the last of a 3 part series that addresses many of the questions we receive from Realtors and home owners who are calling a stager for the first time. In the first article, we talked about the first steps Preferred Staging takes when you call us and schedule an appointment to see your listing, including consultations and proposals. In the second article, we described how we present our proposals and generally how the staging process works. This week I'm going to tell you how Preferred Staging keeps working for you after the staging is completed.
Preferred Staging offers a variety of services to our clients, from staging occupied homes to vacants, color consultations, and redesign. Add to that list the use of our "after" photos for your MLS listing and marketing. My advanced degree in Architectural History and working for over five years with architectural photographs and documents for the National Park Service contribute to my knowledge of taking a good interior and exterior photo. All of my photos are taken at a high resolution with a wide angle lens, and all photos are perspective corrected, as well as color corrected and balanced prior to printing or posting. At this time, we offer these photos to the listing agents for free.
Preferred Staging is also a big believer of using technology to market properties, especially blogging. We blog about every property we stage on two different blogs as well as in local blogs, and we also highlight each property in our newsletter, which reaches about 5,000 Realtors in the Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC metro area.
Besides our own website, we also list your property on Preferred Staging's web page on StagedHomes.com, which gets over 10 million hits a day. That's even MORE exposure for your listing in places that are complimentary to your Realtor's web listings.
We look forward to working with you to stage your house and help it sell quickly and for top dollar.
Last week I wrote about the first steps Preferred Staging takes when you call us and schedule an appointment to see your listing, including consultations and proposals. So, now what happens when you have the proposal and we're good to go?
Well, let's start with the proposal first. Preferred Staging's proposals outline what rooms and areas are to be staged, and how much time we believe it will take us to stage the property - from loading the accessories we bring to the house to de-staging when the house has sold. We also provide a general list of accessories from our inventory that will be used, which runs the gamut from lamps, mirrors, rugs, and wall art, to place settings, floral arrangements, towels, and those extras that really make a room feel welcoming and inviting. The final part of our proposal includes the cost of rental furniture, if necessary.
If everything is acceptable, then Preferred Staging emails the client (whomever is paying for the staging) a Letter of Agreement for signing. If rental furniture is needed, then the rental company will email a separate contract. Preferred Staging only facilitates the contract, which is between the client and the rental company.
Once all signatures and deposits are received, then a delivery and staging date is scheduled, usually about 3-5 business days after signing the contract. We usually arrive at the property in the early morning (around 8am), unload the accessories, and then start to create wonderful rooms and spaces that will entice potential buyers to linger and envision themselves living in the house - a crucial first step in the buying process. Along the way, we also manage the furniture delivery and set up, hang pictures, set tables, make beds, create spas in the bathrooms... we virtually move in!
The time it takes to stage a house depends on how big the property is and how much staging is needed. A 2 bedroom condo can be completed in about 8 hours or less, while a 4,000 square foot house can take 2 days. Each house is unique - in its layout, square footage, price point, what rooms need to be staged, etc. - which is why it's virtually impossible to provide an estimate over the phone.
Next week I'll tell you how Preferred Staging keeps working for you, even after the staging is completed.
Well, yes and no. I guess it depends on what you're looking for. When I think of Georgetown, I think of a historic town that was there before Washington, DC, cobblestone streets, and elegant homes with tall ceilings and fabulous crown moldings, decorated in the latest fashions from England and France. Of course, that's the architectural historian in me coming out. But we all know that's not what Georgetown is really like. It's certainly not the experience of some of my family members who attended Georgetown University. For them, it was more urban with trendy stores and great restaurants.
So when you're looking for a new home in Georgetown, what are you looking for? Well, it goes without saying that you're probably going to end up with an old house. But does that mean you have to decorate it like a museum? If you walked into a Georgetown row house up for sale, what would you expect to find?
Well, on one hand, I think you'd expect on some level to find that long ago elegance of a parlor. (Does anyone even use that word anymore?) On the other hand, though, you'd want more modern, urban, livable surroundings. This was my approach to a beautiful, vacant Georgetown row house we staged. When you walk in, you almost expect it to look a certain way, and this was achieved by renting a few antique pieces that really complimented the size and shape of the living room (or is it a parlor?), yet are actually comfortable and not overwhelming, and are OK to sit on and relax. All of the other rooms, however, reflected a modern elegance.
The dining room, which can easily seat 8 comfortably, had updated furniture and contemporary art work. It's a beautiful room with a lot of personality already built into it (see the built in cupboard?). The master bedroom had a gorgeous queen bed with a leather headboard and matching leather cubes at the foot of the bed. Certainly not something George Washington slept on!
All in all, this house as a staged property spoke to a broad audience of potential buyers. It's got a little bit of old and a lot of new, all of which you'd expect in Georgetown, right?
The feedback from the Realtors on this property was fantastic. Virtually everyone who saw the house thought it was lived in by some very neat people. I take that as a compliment, as it tells me that I achieved the warm and welcoming feel that a good staged home - vacant or occupied - should have.
But best of all was that this home, listed for $1.2M, sold in just 26 days! And the new home owners have been in touch with me regarding buying some of the furniture and accessories, and with questions about the size of rugs and tables. They also told me that they are going to copy my layout, as they can't imaging the furniture placed any other way.
There's more to the story of this staging, but that's for another blog! In the meantime, visit Preferred Staging's Gallery for more pictures of this fabulous home!
Last week I wrote about the first steps Preferred Staging takes when you call us and schedule an appointment to see your listing, including consultations and proposals. So, now what happens when you have the proposal and we're good to go?
Well, let's start with the proposal first. Preferred Staging's proposals outline what rooms and areas are to be staged, and how much time we believe it will take us to stage the property - from loading the accessories we bring to the house to de-staging when the house has sold. We also provide a general list of accessories from our inventory that will be used, which runs the gamut from lamps, mirrors, rugs, and wall art, to place settings, floral arrangements, towels, and those extras that really make a room feel welcoming and inviting. The final part of our proposal includes the cost of rental furniture, if necessary.
If everything is acceptable, then Preferred Staging emails the client (whomever is paying for the staging) a Letter of Agreement for signing. If rental furniture is needed, then the rental company will email a separate contract. Preferred Staging only facilitates the contract, which is between the client and the rental company.
Once all signatures and deposits are received, then a delivery and staging date is scheduled, usually about 3-5 business days after signing the contract. We usually arrive at the property in the early morning (around 8am), unload the accessories, and then start to create wonderful rooms and spaces that will entice potential buyers to linger and envision themselves living in the house - a crucial first step in the buying process. Along the way, we also manage the furniture delivery and set up, hang pictures, set tables, make beds, create spas in the bathrooms... we virtually move in!
The time it takes to stage a house depends on how big the property is and how much staging is needed. A 2 bedroom condo can be completed in about 8 hours or less, while a 4,000 square foot house can take 2 days. Each house is unique - in its layout, square footage, price point, what rooms need to be staged, etc. - which is why it's virtually impossible to provide an estimate over the phone.
Next week I'll tell you how Preferred Staging keeps working for you, even after the staging is completed.
Of all the phone calls and inquiries I receive, one of the most common comments I hear is, "I've never used a stager before... so I'm really not sure how all of this works".
Actually, the process is quite simple. Generally, you tell us what you need and want and we take care of the rest. Well, maybe it's not that simple, but that's not too far from the truth, and it really is quite painless.
Each staging company has their own menu of services and fees, so make sure the company can do whatever it is you want. Preferred Staging will do as much as or as little as your client wants, and we offer a full compliment of services, from consultations (walk-through or written), staging occupied or vacant homes with rental furniture and accessories, and hands-on staging. We also do color consultations, and provide Redesign services (a.k.a. Staged for Living).
OK, so now you have a general idea of what we can do for you. But what's the first step? When you call Preferred Staging, we ask a variety of questions about the house so we can have a better understanding of what's really needed, which in many cases leads to a cost savings for your client by avoiding unnecessary staging fees. Generally, a consultation is the first step, and if the client wants Preferred Staging to do the actual staging, then we prepare a proposal for them. For vacants, however, a consultation is usually not needed and we skip right to the proposal.
Whether we meet for a consultation or a proposal, we always take reference photos. Then we proceed with the consultation, or we discuss what's needed for us to stage the house, such as what rooms are to be staged, vignette or full staging or somewhere in between, and most importantly the budget. Proposals are usually ready within 48 hours.
You've probably noticed that I keep using the word "proposal" instead of "bid". We view a bid as a set price - this is what we're going to do and this is what it will cost - period. However, we've learned that a "bid" per se doesn't always work for every client. Time frames and/or budgets change, and the bid may not be what is needed anymore. So Preferred Staging prepares proposals, which we consider a working document. The proposal can be modified to meet the client's needs, and it's not done until everyone is satisfied.
Next post I'll tell you about the staging process once the proposal is accepted and we are good to go.
A couple of weeks ago we completed staging a beautiful contemporary single-family home in Reston, Virginia. The house is beautiful and the furnishings are quite nice, but there were a few pieces missing here and there, and the overall presentation lacked that oh-so-important "wow" factor (or "umph", as I like to sometimes say), especially since you enter almost directly into the living room.
As is the case with virtually all occupied stagings, all the pieces are in the house, but they're just not in the right room or in the right place. In the master bedroom, for example, the bed was placed on the largest bare wall, following the general decorating rule of putting the largest piece of furniture against the largest wall. In this case, however, the wall also had the door, so upon entry into the bedroom a buyer would see the dresser with a TV on it and not the beautiful queen bed with new bedding. By simply moving the bed to the opposite wall, now framed by 2 windows, the bed became the focal point of the room. The sofa from the living room was then placed along the large bare wall, creating a lovely sitting area that emphasizes how large the master bedroom is.
A large curio in the dining room was placed in a niche to the left of the fireplace in the living room, balancing the large chest in the right niche, and a buffet from the family room was then moved to the dining room. And so it went - all the pieces falling into place like a huge puzzle. Rental furniture and accessories from Preferred Staging's inventory were brought in complete the rooms and fill in the blanks.
The most challenging room, however, was the master bath. With its cathedral ceiling, large soaking tub, and gothic-like windows, it required a very special and imaginative treatment. Our solution was to create a magic garden surrounding the tub, with greenery, topiaries, delicate dogwood flowers, a bird cage and a nest, a statue, candles, and even a picture of the Eiffel Tower. Perhaps it sounds a bit like "Where's Waldo?" but in this bathroom, it works. The tub is now a destination spot, the perfect place to soak your cares away, and to enchant a buyer for this house.
Feedback from the Realtor at the Broker's Open and open house was all positive. Realtors and clients were lingering!
A couple of weeks ago we completed staging a beautiful contemporary single-family home in Reston, Virginia. The house is beautiful and the furnishings are quite nice, but there were a few pieces missing here and there, and the overall presentation lacked that oh-so-important "wow" factor (or "umph", as I like to sometimes say), especially since you enter almost directly into the living room.
As is the case with virtually all occupied stagings, all the pieces are in the house, but they're just not in the right room or in the right place. In the master bedroom, for example, the bed was placed on the largest bare wall, following the general decorating rule of putting the largest piece of furniture against the largest wall. In this case, however, the wall also had the door, so upon entry into the bedroom a buyer would see the dresser with a TV on it and not the beautiful queen bed with new bedding. By simply moving the bed to the opposite wall, now framed by 2 windows, the bed became the focal point of the room. The sofa from the living room was then placed along the large bare wall, creating a lovely sitting area that emphasizes how large the master bedroom is.
A large curio in the dining room was placed in a niche to the left of the fireplace in the living room, balancing the large chest in the right niche, and a buffet from the family room was then moved to the dining room. And so it went - all the pieces falling into place like a huge puzzle. Rental furniture and accessories from Preferred Staging's inventory were brought in complete the rooms and fill in the blanks.
The most challenging room, however, was the master bath. With its cathedral ceiling, large soaking tub, and gothic-like windows, it required a very special and imaginative treatment. Our solution was to create a magic garden surrounding the tub, with greenery, topiaries, delicate dogwood flowers, a bird cage and a nest, a statue, candles, and even a picture of the Eiffel Tower. Perhaps it sounds a bit like "Where's Waldo?" but in this bathroom, it works. The tub is now a destination spot, the perfect place to soak your cares away, and to enchant a buyer for this house.
Feedback from the Realtor at the Broker's Open and open house was all positive. Realtors and clients were lingering!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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