It is fairly common from my experience to enter a Master Bed Room and find that the children's belongings have spilled over into the parents' room. I suppose some people would find it convenient to let the little ones play whilst they dress for the work day. Others believe in "co-sleeping". What ever the reason, when it comes time to put the house on the market, one of the most important things you will hear me stress is: The Master Bedroom (suite) must be cleaned of ALL evidence of children. You are selling Sanctuary!
When buyers see a Master Bedroom that contains your kids' stuff, it sends the message that the house is small, and there's not a lot of storage. In this house, I was brought in for a Basic Stage Coaching (consultation) and made many recommendations. But the owners needed a World Series of Interventions with Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, and the Super Nanny to get their stuff straight. They did get the Master cleaned up for photos, but within a couple of weeks, it was right back to where they started. And, sadly, after six months the house never sold.
I am not trying to say that the house did not sell because of the Master - but I do like to stress to the sellers that I work with: Lots of little things can do you more harm than one or two big things. The Big Things can usually be negotiated. The Little Things will build up in the buyers' minds, and lead them to feel that your house in not the house for them.
When preparing the Master Bedroom/Suite: Think Sanctuary! It sounds bad, but make the room a place where parents can escape the kids, and leave all of their worries behind! You want the room that most adults will spend almost 1/3 of their time in to really tug at the senses. It is pretty common to find the Sanctuary technique used in Master Baths, but it most definitely needs to carry over into the bed room!
So get those toys and children's books out! Replace them with scented candles and a trashy paper back on the night stand. Keep the end tables to the basics: Lamp - Clock - Phone - Remote - Book. But only keep three items on each night stand. Make sure you have lots of pillows on the bed - at least Six, plus decorator pillows. Bedding should be Updated - no floral prints - beds in a bag can be found for less than $100. Have a nice throw available to accent. Heck, if it makes you feel better, do the Cliche Staging Vignette: a tray with champagne bottle and glasses - maybe a silk rose to top it off.
During a Basic Stage Coaching visit to a home, I ran into a wall with the home owner in regards to what I call a "Butt." There's no easier way to say - it's undeniably a painting of a man with his rear end exposed. Never considering myself very artsy, I would still have considered the painting to be in good taste - but it still needs addressing in preparation of the home to sell.
I'm sorry - I'm not a prude, but some buyers might find this kind of artwork offensive. And in today's market, you need every possible buyer to be interested in your home. That's how homes sell quickly!
In addition to the "Butt", there were several suggestive sculptures in the room that may have gone unnoticed had the picture been taken down. Against my recommendation, the owner is refusing to remove any of the sculptures or the painting from the wall.
Artwork is a very personal purchase - beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all! Getting some sellers to understand that their personal taste is not under attack can be difficult. This owner is particullarly difficult and the discussion is not over. Overcoming Seller objections is a major component of being a Good Stager and I learn more every time I am in a home.
If the REALTOR and I are unable to break down this particular wall, I am going to be watching the home very carefully. Odds are, the house will get some cheesy nickname, like, "The Nudie House" or some thing similar. But, every once in a while, even a blind squirrel gets a nut, so maybe it well sell quickly. I plan to post a monthly update to see how the sale is going, and what feedback I'm hearing from the REA.
In the meantime, head over to Facebook by clicking on the link below to take my survey:
Now that the local MLS system supports up to 25x Photos, it leave me wondering, "Who needs 25 photos?" It is always my recommendation that 10 good quality photos is all that is needed to make potential buyers interested in seeing your listing.
I found this picture today, while looking at some homes for sale near an appointment on Monday. This is what I call the "Junk Room". Many homes have one - it's a catch all for what to do with stuff you don't want to throw away, but have no real place to put. I would have guessed that this home was professionally Staged based upon the other photos. And I may have done some thing similar to this if the sellers' budget could not swing rental furnishings.
But the reason for my Blog: Why include this photo in the MLS? It's one of 17 photos - the majority of which I think are appealing. Then this.
Personally, I would have left this photo out - it does not add to the appeal of the home nor does it provide much in the way of selling points. There were already around 15 good photos. I would always recommend to sellers that they leave out Children's rooms. The listing info tells me there are three bedrooms. I don't need to know if little girls or little boys live there. Knowing that factoid will determine whether this house is for me. Or not.
Quality photos will trump quantity photos any day. Personally, I'd rather flip through 5 or 6 good photos that show great features of the house, rather than sift through 25 photos of the laundry room, the art niche, the view of the front door from the top of the stairs, the doggy-door in the back door, etc...
Applying the KISS principle to online photos is a great way to think about. Another way: use photos that emphasize what you are selling. If you did not include the details of the photo in the description of the house, then the photo is probably not needed.
A couple of things occurred over the last week or so that have made me wonder if email is no longer an effective communication tool. But unlike the article online in the Wall Street Journal today, I do not think Twitter is the new replacement. At the risk of sounding like a dinosaur, I am thinking about going back to good, old fashioned forms of communication: the telephone and the face-to-face conversation. Here's why:
Last week, I finalize a proposal for Furnishing and Accessories rental for an Occupied Home. I sent the contract via email with these instructions:
"Attached you will find a copy of a contract for Occupied Home Staging Services for the rooms specified in the earlier email. Please:
Read all of the terms of the contract
Fill in the appropriate information on the top of Page 2
Sign the agreement on the first page
Return copies of ALL pages via email/fax
Once an agreement has been reached and I have received a copy of the contract, we can schedule. As of today [Wednesday], the first availability is Monday."
I followed up with both the home owner and the REALTOR on Thursday and Friday via email and did not hear back. Sunday afternoon, I receive an email that merely asked, "Should I have a check ready for you tomorrow?" [Note: in this case, the REALTOR owns the client, so I do not have their telephone# yet. And the REA is CC:d on all correspondences.]
Without getting into the terms of the contract that was presented, based upon the above text, was there anything unclear in my statements? Personally, I feel that my writing is explicit - and thus, I think this is the error in the electronic communication era: you think you are communicating the point, but that is assuming that the reader is looking at the communication from your perspective.
Twitter and Facebook may be changing the game some what - and I don't have a Google Wave trial, so I can't comment to this new service. But it may surprise you to know that many people do not check their email on a regular basis. Or that some people do not have email at work. Sounds crazy, I know. I would hazard a guess that the Minority of people in the USA are "Connected" all day.
All of this being said: Is it time for me to do away with email and drive the contract over for signature and scheduling on the spot? I would be able to insure that the contract has been reviewed, get the appropriate signatures, and put on my schedule, without having to wonder if the client received my email. And I would be able to answer all questions on the spot, with out any back and forth... It's sounds more appealing, the more I write about it...
While making coffee this morning, there was a commercial on for a relatively new service that perked my ears up: It's called Bagster and is brought to you by Waste Management. Essentially, it's a Dumpster, but in a Bag - thus, Bagster. Here's the rub:
Go to your local Home Center and buy a Bagster (Retail is about $30, find locations here)
Open the bag up and fill with up to 3 cubic yards of junk - 3,300 lbs max!
Call the local Waste Management group and arrange pick up.
The first benefit here is convenience: Have you ever had to arrange for a dumpster? For large projects, there's so much headache like where to put it, what if it has to be moved, why are you paying for 30-40 cubic feet when you only have 20 cubic feet of waste... The Bagster bag is 8' long by 4' wide by 2'6" tall.
Lastly, you can even schedule and pay for the pick up online, with a credit card or an echeck!
There are certain restrictions that vary by area for the types of waste that can be put in a Bagster. Basic information is available in PDF form on their website. And if you go the the Collection Fees and Pricing Page and enter the Zip code, they will outline types of waste accepted. For example, I entered Austin: 78701 and was shown:
"Mixed Waste Load
Accepted Not Accepted Household junk Appliances Construction debris Electronics Yard waste Tires Dirt/Sand/Rocks* Food waste Sod* Large Stumps
NOTE: These items are NOT ALLOWED in any Bagster bag: Toxic/Hazardous waste such as paint, oil, batteries, asbestos, fuel, chemicals, medical waste, hot materials, liquids, appliances, electronics, tires, railroad ties, propane tanks, and fluorescent light bulbs and ballasts.
*Heavy Materials / Weight Restrictions: The Bagster bag can hold 1 cubic yard of heavy materials. Bagster will not pick up any bags containing more than 1 cubic yard of heavy debris. Heavy materials include, but are not limited to dirt, brick, rock, concrete, asphalt, sand, gravel and sod. Heavy materials should be placed at the bottom of the bag no more then 10 inches up from the bottom of the bag. Load Capacity: Materials can not be sticking up over the sides or top of the Bagster bag. Distribute weight evenly and load heaviest items at the bottom of the Bagster bag."
Sure, you could save a few bucks and load up the junk in a truck and drive it out to the dump. Or find That Guy on Craigslist who will haul trash for $50. For me, time is money, so I can't wait to give this product a test drive on a project and post a review of this service.
On Monday, we moved some furnishings into a condo in downtown Austin that was recently vacated by the owners. For the bedding, two different sets were required: one queen and one king. The king set had been in storage for quite a while, so I did not remember exactly what was in the Space Bag. After the bed was made, it was seriously lacking some thing [see pic on right] - all four King-size pillows were used. But it was just not working for me. The bed looked like it had just been slept in - it "felt" awful. [As a Stager, I am sensitive to the Feel of Staging - I let my feelings guide me - but that's another Blog!]
The next morning, I stopped by Big Lots and purchased four more king size pillows @ $6 each and brought them down to the condo. By stuffing one into each pillow case/sham, I was able to make a significant difference for only $24 in pillows.
I like it so much better that I am picking up four queen pillows for the second bedroom this morning. Of course, I still have to find the throw pillows - those were, shall we say, Misplaced. [I think they flew off the truck when this bedding was last DeStaged. :-O]
Not everyone has the luxury of taking six months to prepare their home for sale. But I have to admit, I love working with them when they come along!
One thing I am pushing with this client is to start working on their curb appeal by planting next month. In the Austin area, hopefully Summer will be turning down the heat a little before too long, and Fall Planting can begin. This is a great time to put in new trees and shrubs so that they are well established before next year's 100+ degree heat. And most importantly, you might get flowers in time for listing!
Your next best resource is to ask at your local nursery. My favorite is Barton Springs Nursery, but we also go to a couple in the RR/PF area. I try to avoid the local home centers when it comes to plants, primarily because we have purchased items from them that were either mis-marked or misplaced. Recently, we bought what we thought was Retama, but turned out to be Pride of Barbados. We got a deal on the price, and wanted the orange flowering plant (see page 9 of Perenials PDF), but if the sun/soil/water requirements were different, we would have a dead plant on our hands right now.
Another reason to work on the curb appeal during the fall is to get a leg up on the local builders. Most will likely be building spec homes into the spring, and landscaping them as they are completed. New homes in our area always have the same, generic, immature landscaping: Nandina, Liriope, Dwarf Yaupon Holly, Indian Hawthorne...[YAWN!] Take a drive through a new subdivision and look at what NOT to do. Then go to your local garden center and ask for help. Ask specifically for Spring flowering items that will work in your area.
While you're at the garden center: look into fertilizer options for your new and existing plants. There are tons of options, including some great organic/non-chem products now. I'm a big fan of the Tree Spikes that are available. If you put them in the ground around you trees and shrubs in Oct/Nov, you can repeat them in Feb/March. On our street, many of the homes were built at the same time, and you can tell which houses regularly use tree spikes.
Winter is a good time to prune back some trees as well. We cut back our Live Oak between Christmas and New Years. The idea being that by pruning away some branches, more water and food resources are committed to less branches, causing the tree to grow better. Also, by thinning the branches, it allows more sunlight to get to other branches.
Lastly, when spring does come around, you can get some flowering annuals in as early as February in Austin if you get a cold-hardy type. Annuals are a good way to add some color to your curb appeal. But given the opportunity to plan ahead, your landscaping will have a bit more character six months from now than it would if you refreshed it in Spring.
This Blog has been brewing in my head for quite a while now: With Austin being the self-proclaimed "Live Music Capital of the World", it should not be surprising to come across many homes with Musical Instruments.
I still recall the home that was Staged by my ASP Class back in 2006. Nice home, no outstanding features, other than an office that was a Gun Room. Steiner Ranch. The formal living room had a Baby Grand of sorts. Never having taken a piano lesson, I am only guessing this based upon the shape & size of the piano. For all I know, it was a harpsichord. But I digress: My memory includes the piano very vividly, as it just happens that there were TWO Concert Pianists in our group who decided they must have a piano duel. While some may think this was exciting, I was personally annoyed because one of them was supposed to assisting me in the Staging of the room, so not only was I working solo, but had to put up with their voluminous rampage.
What does this have to do with Home Staging?
Well - a couple of things. This first home served as a lesson to me: Musicians are in the business of show casing their musical gift. Makes sense. So I feel it is in their nature to sit down at some one else's piano and play a few bars. A little bit curiosity - maybe a little showing off. [Next listing you go into and see a piano, let me know what happens!]
But primarily, I tell home owners the following when I encounter musical instruments in there home: "Odds are people who are looking at your home are going to be curious. And odds are many of them will poke their noses in places you and I would not have thought off yet. But you can bet, that if you have a piano or a guitar sitting out, some people will consider it an open invitation to sit down/pick up and play. If that does not bother you, then, Great."
I do not have a good solution for keeping people from playing your piano: It's probably the largest possession you own, so moving it or hiding it is not an option. I imagine that more damage would be done to smaller instruments. So I am going to recommend every time to put guitars, horns, flutes, etc. into their cases, and the cases be put away in a closet. This will keep your instruments in tune, away from little fingers, and generally safe.
And if you have a recommendation for keeping peoples' paws of pianos, please let me know. I'm not sure a "Please do not Play" Sign would be all that effective.
With out going into too much detail on Online Social Networking, Microblogging is a generic term used to describe the Status Update on Facebook, and the Tweet on Twitter. I am currently following 173 people on Twitter, have a paltry 136 friends on Facebook, & am still trying to get my Fanpage custom URL (several on both from here on Active Rain). And, I hate to say, but many of them bore me to death.
Would it kill some of them to put a little personality into their posts? I always says, "If you can't have fun doing it, ask yourself if it's worth doing!"
For example, the other day I was going through the refrigerator making sure we had all of the necessary ingredients for Caesar Salad. When I pulled out the jar of Anchovies, it had written on it, "Best if Used by Jan 11, 2008". So, in the garbage they went. Just then I had a thought, and picked up my phone to send out a Microblog to Facebook and Twitter via Ping.fm. Here's what I typed:
"just looked @ his jar of anchovies for Caesar salad: best if used by Jan 11, 2008. Hmmmmmm... What do you think?"
Now, doesn't that have a lot more character than "I just threw away Anchovies dated Jan 2008..."?
Or, I was getting new tires on my truck because I was told the previous ones would not pass State Inspection. A boring Tweet would have been: "@ Firestone getting new tires." Instead, I posted: "says, "Sorry, Girls: I know you wanted to go to college, but Daddy needed new tires... alignment... oil change... inspection... plates..."
I get immediate feedback from my wife, who thinks I'm a little goofy, and maybe even unprofessional at times. But I find that I enjoying microblogging when I can put my personal spin on it. My primary reasons for participating on these two networks are Exposure and Connections. It is my hope that by interjecting a bit of personality into my posts, that people will remember me. And while posts like, "Austin Real Estate Stats for 78701 for June 2009" might be useful and shed some light on local stats, fankly, I don't recall who wrote it.
So think about those 140 or 160 characters for a couple of minutes. Not so much about what you say - but How to Say it. Put a little bit of yourself in each microblog post, just like you would your A/R blog!
I am signed up for several topics on Google Alerts in order to stay on top of news and posting for a couple of topics. Not to sound paranoid (the black helicopter guys can tell when I'm being paranoid), but I am subscribed for news and blog posts about "Michael Fontana".
One never knows what you will find out about yourself, like when Michael Fontana, former Austin Paramedic, and Nurse was arrested due to several deaths that happened under suspicious circumstances for patients in his care. But I digress...
Today, I received an email for updates on Michael Fontana. One was about the Nurse, the other two were about little old me! I had posted a status update last night regarding my tinkering with Hulu Desktop, my laptop, and our TV. It worked great by the way, but that's another post. (There's also a comment I made about iPhone, but it's essentially the same story)
I clicked on the link in the Google Alert, and it brought me to this page.
Point of my story - looks like some one is now officially watching our Twittering. So, use your head and don't put any thing out there that you don't want to become public knowledge! Back to paranoia: I use Google Alerts to be updated if I am praised [or put down...see paranoia comments] by clients, REA's, etc. If you bad talk a competitor on Twitter, it could be easily found!
Now, back to coating the office with Aluminum foil...
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spilled over into the parents' room. I suppose some people would find it convenient to let the little ones play whilst they dress for the work day. Others believe in "co-sleeping". What ever the reason, when it comes time to put the house on the market, one of the most important things you will hear me stress is: The Master Bedroom (suite) must be cleaned of ALL evidence of children. You are selling Sanctuary!
During a Basic Stage Coaching visit to a home, I ran into a wall with the home owner in regards to what I call a "Butt." There's no easier way to say - it's undeniably a painting of a man with his rear end exposed. Never considering myself very artsy, I would still have considered the painting to be in good taste - but it still needs addressing in preparation of the home to sell. 
today's market, you need every possible buyer to be interested in your home. That's how homes sell quickly! 
I like it so much better that I am picking up four queen pillows for the second bedroom this morning. Of course, I still have to find the throw pillows - those were, shall we say, Misplaced. [I think they flew off the truck when this bedding was last DeStaged. :-O]
than an office that was a Gun Room. Steiner Ranch. The formal living room had a Baby Grand of sorts. Never having taken a piano lesson, I am only guessing this based upon the shape & size of the piano. For all I know, it was a harpsichord. But I digress: My memory includes the piano very vividly, as it just happens that there were TWO Concert Pianists in our group who decided they must have a piano duel. While some may think this was exciting, I was personally annoyed because one of them was supposed to assisting me in the Staging of the room, so not only was I working solo, but had to put up with their voluminous rampage.
;)
;)
