Home Staging For Seniors

Home : Blogs : Michelle Minch Home Staging Los Angeles & Pasadena, CA : Pasadena, California Home Staging & Interior Design Blog

Home Staging For Seniors

Home staging for Seniors

This past Thursday, I was invited along with Annie Pinsker-Brown and Karen Ann Thornton to do a presentation on home staging for Los Angeles seniors. There were 90 audience members. I didn't know Karen prior to the event, but I do know Annie from a few Round Tables and Active Rain. It was an incredible event, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Karen and I sent Annie examples of what we would each be speaking about, and Annie kindly compiled the whole into a PowerPoint presentation. Karen spoke about painting, repairs and landscape issues as they apply to home staging. Annie did the introduction and spoke about staging kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. I spoke about staging living rooms, dining rooms, family rooms and staging vacant homes, an aspect of home staging with which my company Moving Mountains Design Home Staging has a lot of experience.

Apparently, the Marketing Director of the consulting company did a Google search to find home stagers in Los Angeles. She found my staging web site and several weeks ago I received the following email:

My firm does consulting for the retirement industry. We are currently working with the Los Angeles(XXXX) on construction of a full-scale senior living community in the San Fernando Valley. We have our monthly Charter Member luncheon (where we host all seniors who have placed a deposit on an apartment) on Thursday, October 23 and our topic is "Staging Your Home for Sale." I'm wondering if you would be willing to speak to prospective residents about the best ways to stage their homes for sale in the current economic market. We will have three speakers, and would really like for you to be one of them. Please call me at your earliest convenience if you are interested in participating.

Obviously, I was very interested. I love public speaking and getting the word out about home staging. I am also interested in working with Seniors as I feel this is an under served market for both Seniors and home stagers. As Baby Boomers age (of which I am one:o)), many of them are considering options for retirement living, which may entail the sale of their long time home. The group who invited us to do the presentation, acts as a consultant to builders of retirement living communities, helping with development, marketing, management and staff training among other aspects. They work to ensure these not-for-profit groups create vibrant communities that help to improve the lives of seniors who live there - a very important cause in my book.

Each stager spoke for about 20 minutes about home staging and how it can help these seniors prepare for moving, and to prepare their home for sale. I felt like our audience hung on our every word - they were hungry to hear the information we had to share. Most of the Seniors in our audience have seen the equity in their homes drop in recent months and they sought assurance that there were things they could do to pro-actively help sell their homes and get the most money out of them. After our presentations, we fielded questions from the audience for about 15 minutes. We then reconvened in the lobby and answered questions one-on-one. Everyone of the guests left with our brochures, business cards and hand-outs. I prepared two handouts based upon my blog posts How To Choose The Right Home Stager and Getting Your Home Sold In This Market - 10 Steps to Success . I'm sure each stager will get many consultations and staging jobs from having participated in this event.

Our audience were not the only ones to learn something. I learned a lot too and will be writing about it soon.

*Home Staging For Seniors* Copyright 2008 Michelle Minch and Moving Mountains Design. All rights reserved.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To learn more about home staging in general and home staging for Seniors, please contact Michelle Minch at (626)441-8975 or by email at Michelle@MovingMountainsDesign.com .

Moving Mountains Design Home Staging has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Sunset Magazine and numerous other national and international publications. Don't settle for second best. 80% of the homes we stage sell in 60 days or less, half of those in 30 days or less, and many after the first open house. Contact Michelle Minch today to learn how home staging can help you sell your Los Angeles home quickly and for the best price.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Los Angeles Real Estate Staging

2010 RESA Professional Stager of the Year

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

She works with home sellers, listing agents and asset managers to prepare homes for sale throughout Los Angeles.

Moving Mountains Design provides vacant home staging, occupied home staging, color consultations, corporate and executive relocations, move organization, redesign, and interior design. We also stage model homes, REOs,foreclosures and auction properties for real estate investors and asset managers.

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

Posted by Michelle Minch Home Staging Los Angeles & Pasadena, CA on 10/25/2008 09:42 PM

Comments (50)

Home Staging for Seniors in the Home Selling Channel

home staging for seniors, los angeles home staging, los angeles home stager, continuing care community, senior living, selling a home

Originally posted at: Los Angeles Home Staging Info: Home Staging For Seniors

Generate short URL

This post has been included in California Real Estate News Los Angeles County, CA Real Estate News Los Angeles, CA Real Estate News San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles, CA) Real Estate News
Post is included in group: Active Adult Community Referral Network
Post is included in group: Bright Ideas
Post is included in group: Everything California
Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: Stage It Forward...

50 Comments on Home Staging For Seniors

OCT

2008

This is wonderful Michelle. I have done consults for many seniors and I have found it too be very challenging with many special considerations. I look forward to your post and more information.

I was going to call you and ask how this went - sounds like it was a huge success! Can't wait to hear more.

Very exciting stuff Michelle. Working with seniors can be very rewarding. I'm keeping an eye out for more on this subject.

OCT

2008

Glad to hear partnering up with Annie & Karen was such a success for all of you. Sounds like you were able to provide them with some great information that will prove helpful to them. Having experience in working with seniors many years ago I know there are additional considerations to take into account. I know while working in the retirement home we also had even more considerations such as fire code, etc. It was a great learning experience for me as we refurbished the public areas of the home. (dining rooms, lounges, libraries, etc.)

Hi Ginger: We have been seeing more and more Seniors in our staging business, too. But I had never done a presentation to a group like this before.

Connie: I think it was very successful and I really enjoyed it. Thanks.

Magi: I think it is a great opportunity for us to pioneer a new market. Real Estate Agents would do well to pay attention to this group as well.

Michelle Hess (there are so many of us Michelle's here on AR now) You should put some of that past experience to good use and start marketing to Seniors. They are an under served market with great potential.

Michelle, Congratulations on a successful event! There are more and more senior living commuities being built as more seniors down-size. And seniors need all types of services, like packing and cleaning, re-designs for new living space. It's an awesome market to tap into.

I love it when stagers WORK TOGETHER to educate their market and offer their services in their communities!!!!

Nothing is more effective to represent the need and professionalism in staging.

Good on you, and great teamwork!

~Michelle

Hello Michelle M - Thanks for sharing your talk experience! Yes, working with the seniors in the community is an important market to consider. Down-sizing as well as selling their long-time home with this real estate market may seem daunting to many. Helping guide these seniors is worthwhile and Los Angeles seniors in SFV and other areas are lucky to have your available expertise! Regards-Kathleen G

Tanya: I agree. It is a good market to tap into. We offer many of those services already and I am going to add a few more as a result of talking to all those seniors.

Michelle Molinari: There is no reason not to work together. Yes, our areas of expertise and geography overlap a little, but we are so much stronger and better business women working together than against each other. These are stagers I respect. Why not work in concert?

Kathleen: I imagine that you have a lot of work with Seniors in your area so you know the challenges. Thank you Kathleen for your kind comments.

Hi Michelle, What an excellent opportunity to share staging knowledge with seniors, Also, congrats on being found on the internet! I am sure you will be seeing some great business from this. God bless,

What a wonderful opportunity for you three! I have found Seniors to be very gracious and kind to work with-very grateful for our help!!

Cathy: I don't think I have ever spoken before a group who paid attention so well. They were all polite (except for the one woman who's cell phone rang and she answered it right in the middle of the presentation!) and very gracious.

Michelle, what a wonderful experience to help others particularly seniors. It is so tough and extremely emotional for seniors to leave the memories of a home. I am sure you, Annie and Karen gave them valuable information and reassurance.

Thanks Terri. We tried to give them good practical advice. They didn't want it sugar coated. I'll let you know the next time we do one.

Michelle,

Glad you had a successful presentation. We really need to get the word out about professional home staging and the senior market certainly is a place where we are much needed! So many of our seniors are coming into the stage where they are having to transition from their homes to a senior center or retirement home. Educating them on how to prepare their homes for the market and how professional home stagers can be of service to them is a great thing. Congratulations to all three of you!

Michelle Pimentel: Thank you. I'm glad it was successful too. I really loved spending time with those Seniors and helping them navigate the rocky waters of staging and selling their home.

OCT

2008

Seniors are a wonderful group to work with, and we'll all be one someday. It takes patience but they are most interested, willing to learn about this "new" concept of staging and will do almost anything most of the time if they feel respected and kept in the loop, They just don't like feeling that decisions are being made without their consent. Good for you and good day Michelle.

I just met with a fellow today at a patio home in Sun City, AZ. It's a huge retirement community. His Mother who is 90 just moved to a retirement home. He lives out of state and wants to furnish the property for winter visitors that we'll be here Jan through March, then list the property for sale. I am furnishing it down to the silverware, dishes, pots, pans, coffee maker, and all of the furniture, real TV, cards, games, magazines, and everything except linens.

Anyway, I met with the son and discussed everything and I thought it was pretty cool that the elderly Mom wants to see what furniture is going in ahead of time and what I'm planning. She wants to be sure it's fitting for her visitors and portrays the "condo" properly.

So I've really put the thought and effort into what all to provide for the visitors from a book that will have a list of all of the great reataurants near by. The shopping in the area, map quest to all places like the hospital, grocery store, pharmacy, and places like Grand Canyon, Lost Dutchman's mine and so on.

An emergency sheet, with the address, phone number there, police, fire, etc. I'll include a list of the cable TV channels to refer to. An information sheet regarding the golf club house, fees, carts, etc.

List the trash and reclycle days, and major rules regarding the community about having to park in the garage, no street parking, etc.

I'm also leaving a new photo album with a card signed by the Mom that welcomes her guest on their vacation. I'll include the first few pictures of the property. I hope it will all be one less thing for them to worry about. In my fee I've inlcuded 2 visits requested by the tenent or the owner. In case the washer or dryer breaks, plumbing, whatever and I have to meet up with repair man or do or get something for the tenents.

She strikes me as a very thoughtful woman who just can't do what she used to do. I can help! There is a need for what we do out there for sure.

So true, Terrylynn. No one likes to feel like things are going on behind their back. Everyone at the luncheon had an active mind and was fully capable of making decisions. I look forward to working with them.

Robyn: Wow, that sounds almost like staging with a strong dose of property management. They are lucky to have someone (you) who is willing to take that on.

Michelle ~ The group working with builders of retiremment communities who invited you to make this presentation was thinking ahead. Most seniors do need to sell their home and they need staging advice. This is a win-win partnership for everyone involved and as you said it's really an under-served market that needs our help. Thanks for sharing your experience.

What a great opportunity to get the word out about home staging and to promote your company as well. So true what you said about this being an under serviced market. Glad your speaking engagement went well. I'm sure it will bring you lots of new business.

Maureen: I thought it was very good business for them to put on these lunch and learn seminars. At previous events they had real estate agents, movers, orgainzers, etc. This is the first time they involved home stagers.

Charlene: Yes, it was a great opportunity. This opportunity found me, but I intend to go looking for similar opportunities now. I hope you are right.

Aloha Michelle,

Anything that includes our Kapuna(elders) is a good thing and an excellent marketing opportunity for your business to boot.

Peace,

Hi Kimo: I always learn something when you comment on my posts. Thank you. Mahalo!

What a great target market - helping seniors get their homes staged is a critical piece of their marketing.

Laurie: I think this is a niche with incredible potential for both stagers and real estate agents. Thanks for commenting.

OCT

2008

Michelle- What a wonderful opportunity! I would have loved to hear you guys! I am sure it was great and I hope you all get new business. That is a niche to expand on..........

Wendy: Thank you. It was a "by invitiation only event" so we couldn't have guests. I'm sure you'll get enough of me at the Roundtable. November 14th!

OCT

2008

Hi Michelle, great job covering that presentation. I am so glad you posted about it! It was great seeing you again and speaking on the panel with you. :)

Hi Annie: I would have like to have posted photos, but I was told I couldn't take them without permission (which I never received with all that was going on:o)) Thank you again for putting together the PowerPoint. And it was great to speak on the panel with you as well.

OCT

2008

Great post Michelle. I was an interior designer prior to real estate and very sensitive to the subject. One day, please post about barrier-free living for the disabled...you'll likey get loads of comments becuase most have not been introduced to the concept. Thanks for sharing.

Greg: It is always so interesting to learn the path people take in their life to get where they are now. Thank you for the great suggestion. I'll work on that post.

Michelle, I too feel Seniors often feel left out of their own decisions because they don't have the information. This is a wonderful group to speak for and I'm sure they enjoyed the presentation and learned a lot of useful information.

NOV

2008

Michelle, thanks for sharing your experience. This is a great opportunity, and something that we others may be able to do in their areas as well. A true win-win for both sides.

Seniors do require some different needs. It sounds like you all had a good seminar. I will watch for your post and your tips.

Hi Michelle~

Just stumbled upon your blog this evening and so glad I did! Such wonderful info for seniors and their agents. Though I've not officially listed a long time senior residence, I'm actively involved in senior life here in my community since last April. Only in the last few weeks have I started fielding questions from seniors or their families regarding selling their home(s). Staging is something I never really thought about for this core group, yet makes so much sense. Think about one who has lived in a home for many years and accumulated soooo much stuff! I just saw an open house this afternoon which, as nice as it was, felt terribly claustrophobic, cluttered, and cramped, due to an older couple residing in the home over 25 years. With so many mementos on their walls throughout, let alone all kinds of various furniture pieces, it was difficult to see through it all.

I'm glad to have discovered you and look forward to reading more. Thank you much!

Carole: I loved speaking to them about home staging. They were a wonderful audience. They were very open to the concept of staging and were full of questions. They also had a lot of fears about being able to sell their homes so they could move into this new community. Our presentation gave them a lot of peace of mind I think.

David: I think Seniors could use our help no matter where they live. I hope other stagers will see this as an opportunity to not only be of service, but to help grow their business.

Carin: Many Seniors need help to deal with the lifetime accumulation of their posessions. To some it is a record of their life and they are afraid to lose that. We have to be very patient and sensitive to that when we make suggestions about staging their home.

NOV

2008

Michelle, I'm attendng a seminar later this week on "Hoarding & Seniors" at the Council on Aging of Orange County to gain more insight and understanding of Seniors and their special needs. I agree that patience, sensitivity, and a lot of attentive listening is what Seniors need most. Thanks for sharing your sensitivity in regards to a subject that needs more of it. =)

Hi Michelle

I totally agree that the senior market is a great market and they are a captivating audience for presentations. It takes patience, kindness, and gentleness in dealing with seniors. Plus you need to speak LOUD when you give your presentations. Great work!

Joan Inglis, ASP, ASPM, President Charlotte IAHSP Regional Chapter

www.LakeWylieHomeStaging.com

Carin: That sounds like an amazing seminar. I will have to look for one here in the Los Angeles area.

Joan: Loud and slow, making sure to clearly enunciate your words. Something we should keep in mind for any public speaking presentation.

Always thinking out of the box, another aspect to take a closer look at.

This is interesting. I was invited to be a part of a "moving fair" at a local retirement community here in Greenville, NC a couple of weeks ago. The retirement community sent invitations to prospective residents who are thinking of moving and allowed them to meet with vendors such as myself and others including moving companies, realtors, consignment stores, auction houses, etc. They had about 70 people attend. It was a great opportunity to get the word out about home staging and I realized after talking with the people attending that they have a strong need for help in deciding what things to do and what steps they need to take as often times their children live far away or have busy lives and careers and they need an outside person to help "hand-hold" them through the process. I too found that they were very open and eager to learn about home staging and I also feel that this is an opportunity to be of service and grow our business.

Cindy: As Baby Boomers age (yes, I am one:o)) and their numbers increase, there will be more and more need for staging services for seniors. They need our assistance, so help get the word out.

Becky: A Moving Fair sounds very interesting and like it would be a lot of fun. You should blog about it. I'd like to learn more.

Michelle: It was very intersting and a lot of fun. This was the first time I had been asked to attend one and I think it was very worthwhile for those attending (as well as myself) to let them know of the services that are out there. It was very smart on the retirement community's marketing department to hold the event. Basically in a nutshell, the event lasted for two hours and we as vendors were allowed to set up a booth in the auditorium of the retirement center. Prospective residents would come by our booth to meet us and learn of the services we provided. At our booth, we gave away brochures, handouts and business cards along with ink pens and coffee mugs that I had made up with our name, website, logo etc. I also had my portfolio available and samples of before and after pictures for them to see.

Hi there,

Just found your post tonight in a group. It's an interesting concept, staging for seniors that would be different from staging for anyone else??? I'd love to talk with more more about it.

As a SRES, my senior business is a pillar I've been growing for a while.

Becky: That sounds fantastic. How pro-active of the retirement community to arrange for and provide the venue for the fair. It was smart marketing, and smart of you to participate. Seriously, you should write a blog post about it.

Lynda: The end result of staging would be the same regardless of whom, or what age, the client is - Presenting the home in a way that makes it appealing to the greatest number of buyers. However, my experience is that most Seniors have accumulated much more "stuff" that needs to be dealt with as part of preparing the home for sale, and it needs to be dealt with with a great deal of sensitivity. Also, I think most Seniors would like to find one resource for preparing their home they can trust as opposed to dealing with several service providers. Please give me a call anytime. Let's brainstorm!

NOV

2008

Our senior population is growing by the minute, I have no doubt they were gracious and appreciative about your information.

NOV

2008

Terrylynn: I hope they took away a lot of helpful information. Thanks for commenting.

NOV

2008

I am comment 49 on this one! I should have wated 2 seconds and I would come in at 75! You continue to be an amazing resource! I

think that the increase of Baby Boomers making downsizing (rightsizing) choices makes our services especially important. Ii think though that an increasing number of young senoirs are making this move to the planned communities for couples without children. We will probably see people dipping into their fifties that will begin to make these transitions.

Jo: You are too kind (blushing). I think marketing staging to seniors will help make their transitions easier and help us grow our business. Thank you.

This blog does not allow anonymous comments

Michelle Minch Home Staging Los Angeles & Pasadena, CA

Los Angeles, CA

More about me…

Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, Pasadena, CA

Address: Pasadena, CA , 91105

Office Phone: (626) 385-8852

Cell Phone: (626) 695-1227

Email Me

Listings

Links

Archives

Find CA real estate agents and Los Angeles real estate on ActiveRain.

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.