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Home Sellers, Are You Getting a Lot of "Lookers" But No "Takers"? It Might Be Time For A Staging Makeover!

By
Home Stager with Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA

Are you getting a lot of "lookers" but no "takers"? A lot of showings but no offers (or mostly low ball offers)? Your home probably needs the help of a Professional Home Stager.

Preparing a home for sale is a lot like getting ready for a first date. When preparing for a date you may ask yourself "Do I look good?", "Do I smell good?" "Will he/she like me?" "Could this lead to a long term relationship?"

It is the same with putting a home on the market. Ask yourself:

Have I done everything I can possibly do to get a potential buyer to like the home enough to lead to a long term relationship (aka a sale)? Does my home look good? Does it smell good?

Santa Monica home staging

 

Santa Monica kitchen after staging by Moving Mountains Design Home Staging

 

 

 

 

 

As with dating, sometimes it takes an objective   observer to tell you if your home is ready for it's first date with buyers. Thats where a professional home stager comes in. Home stagers are trained to inspect your home with "buyer's eyes". They can spot all the small and large items that need to be addressed so that your potential buyers are not turned off by the condition or appearance of your home. For less than $500, in most cases, a professional home stager will prepare a comprehensive staging report that will act as a road map for preparing your home for sale.

Some of the questions that might be addressed in a comprehensive staging consultation are:

Is the home sparkling clean? Really? What about those mineral deposits on the shower door or that pesky mildew stain on the grout?
Does the home smell good? Really? Do you have a cat? Did you make curry for dinner last week? If a home stager can smell it, so can a potential buyer.
Is there a working lightbulb in every lamp and fixture? What about the missing light bulb in the patio light?
Do the hinges squeak? Do all the door knobs work?
Has that leaky faucet been repaired?

Has all the dog poop been picked up in the yard?
Do the walls or trim need to be painted?
Does the wall paper need to be stripped and the rooms freshened up?
Are your walls painted a color that will be attractive to most potential buyers, or just buyers that share your particular taste?
Is your furniture arranged in a manner that makes your rooms seem larger than they are?
Is there too much furniture? Too much clutter? Too many personal items?

Pasadena Craftsman before staging

 

 Pasadena Craftsman before staging

 

 

 

 

 

 A home stager can also help you find a handyman, professional painter, carpet installer, cleaning service and mover. Don't forget, experienced home stage have helped many home owners prepare their homes for sale. They have a lot of tricks up their sleeves that will make your move easier.

Most home stagers offer a full menu of staging services to suit almost every home seller's needs. Once you have your comprehensive staging report in hand, you can then do the suggested work yourself, do some of the work yourself and hire the stager to do the balance or hire the stager to do all of the work.

staging a Pasadena craftsman

 

 

Pasadena Craftsman after staging by Moving Mountains Design Home Staging

 

 

 

 

 Professional home stagers are trained to help you take the guess work out of preparing your home. We help you make your home more appealing to the greatest number of potential "lookers" so they become "takers". For a faster sale at the best price, call a Professional Home Stager today.

Moving Mountains Design was recently featured in the Sunday Los Angeles Times Real Estate section in an article about the benefits of staging a home. Don't settle for second best and don't trust the sale of your home to just anyone. Choose the Los Angeles home staging company with the experience and knowledge to help you get your home sold faster and for the best price. Call us today at (626)441-8975 or visit our Los Angeles home staging website.

Posted by

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Los Angeles Real Estate Staging

2019 RESA Top 10 Professional Home Stager Vacant

2015 RESA Professional Stager of the Year

2014 RESA Top 10 Professional Home Stager

2010 RESA Professional Stager of the Year

Michelle has staged thousands of Los Angeles homes, many of which have sold with multiple offers, above listing price.

She works with home sellers, listing agent, builders, flippers and asset managers to prepare homes for sale throughout Los Angeles and North Orange County.

Moving Mountains Design provides vacant home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations,  and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs, foreclosures and auction properties for real estate investors and asset managers. Builders hire us to stage their models or to help move inventory when sales slow down.

For more information about our Los Angeles home staging services, contact Michelle at (626)385-8852 or by email.

Click here to see our Los Angeles home staging portfolio

Click here to go to our Los Angeles home staging blog

Click here for more information about home staging in Los Angeles and how we can help sell your home faster and for the best price

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Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Thank you, Connie. I have been doing more and more staging consultations recently. I really enjoy them - not as much as staging a nice big vacant, but almost;-)

Jun 22, 2008 02:32 PM
Kathleen Garvey
HomeSmart Cherry Creek - Denver - Denver, CO
Denver's Neighborhood Expert - Listings & Sales

Hi Michelle! Great blog!!  I am totally loving that homeowners are calling me to get a consultation BEFORE even the listing papers are signed!  If the Realtors only realized what an opportunity it can be to partner with a stager more often....they would be blowing kisses to us! LOL... 

I had to smile at your words above regarding the consulation report with the many pages of 'items' which usually need to be addressed.  You are correct, the homeowner LOVES those reports...and the home stager providing a thorough job of it all is important.  I may not be a home inspector, however, I review a home pretty closely and look for potential problems which might cost the seller the sale.  Good consultations are worth the small price! Thanks Michelle! Regards-Kathleen G

Jun 22, 2008 11:28 PM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Kathleen: No, we are not building inspectors, but we may be able to make the building inspection go more smoothly by having our clients take care of the more obvious defects. The more the building inspector finds wrong with the house, the more likely the buyer will want to renegotiate the sales price downward.

I am getting more and more calls from homeowners even before they have met with any REAs. And they are asking me for referrals to agents. We are a great resource for any REAs that would like more leads.

Thanks for commenting Kathleen.

Jun 23, 2008 04:13 AM
James Wexler
wexzilla.com - Scottsdale, AZ

Michelle

Great point about sellers thinking staging allows them to price their home above the market.  It does however make the home more marketable while not more valuable.  Marketablity versus value is a distinction that many agents confuse. 

by the way, Do you have an outside blog that I can add to my Blogroll ?

Thanks and look forward to reading your thoughts on the world of real estate.

Jun 23, 2008 05:59 PM
Jackie Peraza
Perceptions AdverStaging(TM), LLC - Framingham, MA
Home Stager - Framingham, Massachusetts

Michelle - Yes, yes and yes to the comprehensive reports.  They can seem a little daunting at first glance, but overall they're like treasure maps.

Jackie

Jun 23, 2008 06:54 PM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Hi James: Staging always works in both the buyer's and seller's favor. The house is more marketable (can sell faster and at a better price) and it is in move in condition for the buyer. I think most Agents understand marketability vs. value. It is usually the homeowners that are being unrealistic.

Jackie: We go through most of what is going to be in the report with the homeowner before we give them the report. That way everything is explained beforehand. We also encourage the homeowner to contact us if they have any questions or if they want us to be their accountability coach. Thanks for commenting.

Jun 24, 2008 01:47 AM
Tamara Perlman
Referral Network Inc. - Truckee, CA

Nice job Michelle.  You do a great job of making it clear to sellers why they need you, or someone like you!

Jun 25, 2008 12:40 PM
Patty Hill, Broker Associate
Local Homes and Land, Inc - Summerville, SC
Local Homes and Land, Inc

Michelle,  you have painted a very clear picture on what sellers need to do. Thanks for sharing your expertise!

Jun 25, 2008 01:14 PM
Kevin O'Shea
Coldwell Banker - White Plains, NY
White Plains, NY Real Estate

Great post Michelle,

Sometimes it is the little things, sometimes the big ones.  Good Stagers look at homes differently and present them better.

All the best

Jun 25, 2008 01:47 PM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Hi Tamara: Feel free to use this info to educate your clients. Thanks.

Patty: Thank you. See above.

Kevin: So true. Thanks for stopping by.

Jun 25, 2008 02:39 PM
Tamara Perlman
Referral Network Inc. - Truckee, CA

Thanks Michelle-- I appreciate the offer.  I will certainly keep a link to your website handy!

Jun 25, 2008 03:32 PM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Oops. I missed this response. You are most welcome. Happy selling!

Jun 26, 2008 02:05 PM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Hi Laurie: Thanks for the feature in The Southern Calfornia Real Estate Forum Group. Exciting!

Jun 28, 2008 11:26 AM
Ronda Ching Day
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties - Honolulu, HI
Call "Help Me Ronda" for your Real Estate Needs!

Your before and after photos says more than a thousand words.  I agree with you.

 

Jul 06, 2008 10:30 AM
Ronda Ching Day
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties - Honolulu, HI
Call "Help Me Ronda" for your Real Estate Needs!

Your before and after photos says more than a thousand words.  I agree with you.

 

Jul 06, 2008 10:31 AM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

Excellent advice Michelle! I think along those same lines too - like a blind date you want to make sure you make the best impression the first time out if you want to make an impact on your date with the buyers.

Jul 06, 2008 10:34 AM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Thank you Ronda (Mahalo!)

Karen: Does Eddie know you're going on blind dates? Thanks Karen!

Jul 06, 2008 10:50 AM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

shush!

Jul 06, 2008 10:51 AM
Todd Clark - Retired
eXp Realty LLC - Tigard, OR
Principle Broker Oregon

I'm in one of those situations that I may actually pay for the staging of a property up front and have the seller agree to pay me back out of the proceeds. This house needs some serious staging as it looks like a home out of the late 60's early 70's, green carpet and all!

Todd Clark, Helping Families Home - www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

Jul 16, 2008 05:11 PM
Michelle Minch
Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA - Los Angeles, CA
Home Staging Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

Todd: Occassionally, Realtors pay us for staging up front when their clients can't afford it. Most houses would sell faster and for a better price if they were staged, which is helpful to both the home owner and the listing agent. Just make sure you will be reimbursed in the event the house does not sell (overpriced, sellers unreasonable about working with the buyer, change of plans, etc.). I worked with one listing agent that paid for the staging, but wrote into the listing contract that the homeowner agreed to lower the price a certain amount every 30 days until the home sold. Fortunately  the house sold after the first open house, so it was never an issue. But the listing agent felt confident that the homeower would agree to a price reduction to get the home sold if the LA felt it was necessary.

Jul 17, 2008 03:11 AM