A Touch of Whimsy (Perspectives on Real Estate and More From a Home Staging Pro)

        Any talented Home Stager will tell you that Home Staging is much bigger than just placing furniture.  Everything done is for a purpose.  Not only are we trying to draw attention to the features of the house, we are also distracting (not hiding) from features that may be perceived as negative.  Our goal is to draw buyers in so that they become emotionally involved with the house.  Emotion results in offers.

         One of the ways I use to emotionally draw buyers into the house is with little bits of whimsy.  My friend Donna, who is also a Home Stager, calls them “pockets of emotion.”  These are very subtle, smile inducing, yet not distracting, ways of causing a buyer to smile and remember.  After a day of looking at houses, it can often be difficult to remember the specific features of the house you were impressed with when you saw it.  Not only can a touch of whimsy associate your house with a happy moment, it can also help Buyers to remember the house just a bit more clearly. 

         I use a flamingo holding a wash rag in a stand-alone shower to encourage buyers to remember the great master bath.  It is also completely unexpected and silly so I hope the buyer will smile when they see it.  In a house I staged last week, there was an area between two floors that would be perfect for an office.  Rather than add a high tech gadget or sleek set of bookends to the desk in this ultra-contemporary house, I placed and old school globe on the desk.  You know, one of those globes you probably had in your room when you were a kid.  My hope was to subtlety connect a fond memory for the Buyer with the house.

         Home Buyers shop with logic, but they buy with emotion. Buyers will linger in a house that makes them feel comfortable.  If Buyers feel comfortable in your house, they will want to make it their home.  If you would like to know more about the subtle ways Memorial Staged Homes can assist you with selling your home, we should talk. 

Wishing you a quick sale!

 Kathy Strader, ASP

www.MemorialStagedHomes.com

Kathy@MemorialStagedHomes.com

 We Stage Ourselves, Why Not Stage our House? (Perspectives on Real Estate and More From a Home Staging Pro)

         After reading Walethia Aquil’s blog about personal branding it occurred to me that Home Staging and Personal Branding (a.k.a. Self-Staging) are very similar.  After all, when we present ourselves to the world in a real estate business capacity, aren’t we striving to appear warm and welcoming?  Don’t we want to appear capable for the job?  Isn’t our goal to be accepted and chosen?  That is exactly what Home Staging does for a house.

         In her very first point, Ms. Aquil writes, “Determine the "look" you want. Your physical appearance sends out a message.   What message do you want to send?”  Home Staging is no different.  Choosing the right “look” for the house is critical and the appearance of the house definitely sends a message to buyers.  If your house is jam packed with furniture, it will appear small.  If the cabinets and closets are stuffed full, Buyers will believe there is not enough storage space.

         Ms. Aquil goes on to explain that Personal Branding will “reflect your internal values” and we should “know that a good physical appearance is important to every aspect of your lifestyle.”  Well of course a house’s appearance to buyers reflect value in that, if Staged properly, Buyers can see that the house is family friendly or is great for entertaining.  As our personal appearance is important to personal lifestyle, a home’s appearance is important to every aspect of the sales process.    Home Staging will cause buyers to connect emotionally with the house.  Home Inspectors and Appraisers view staged homes as well cared for properties. 

         I could go on, but the point is that if you dress to be successful, why wouldn’t you do the same for your house in order to prepare for a successful sale.  Personal Branding is about attracting clients that will choose you.  Home Staging is about attracting a Buyer that will choose your or your client’s house.  See what I mean, we stage ourselves, why not stage our house?

 
         One more thing, in point 15, Ms. Aquil reminds us to “Invest time in creating an outstanding appearance.   You may have to rise 30 minutes earlier.”   It takes work to prepare ourselves to meet the world.  We must invest both time and resources to present the image that will invite success.   When preparing a house for sale, we must also invest time and resources, but by doing so we increase the odds of a successful sale!  Want to know more, we should talk.

Wishing you a quick sale!

Kathy Strader, ASP

www.MemorialStagedHomes.com

Kathy@MemorialStagedHomes.com

SPRING BRANCH, TEXAS(Harris County). Spring Branch is in the Memorial Villages area of the western edge of Houston in west central Harris County. It began as a religious community settled by German farmers, many of whom owned dairies. The earliest settler was Karl Kolbe, who arrived from Germany in 1830 and settled on the banks of Spring Branch where it joined Buffalo Bayou, nine miles from Houston. In 1848 farmers cleared the surrounding forestland for farms and built St. Peter's United (Lutheran) Church with lumber set aside from one of three local sawmills on a site donated by the Bauer family, who owned the mill. The Spring Branch school district began with the Spring Branch School Society, sponsored by St. Peter's Church in 1856. The first public school was opened in 1889, and in 1905 the local white school had forty-nine pupils and one teacher and the local black school twenty pupils and one teacher. In the mid-1950s, when efforts to form a corporation known as Spring Branch failed, a group of affluent communities known as the Villages, including Hedwig Village, Bunker Hill, Piney Point, Hunter's Creek, Spring Valley, and Hillshire Village, were formed from the town and its surrounding area. In 1973 the Spring Branch Independent School District, which represented the six communities, had 40,200 students and 2,276 teachers. By the 1980s more than 80 percent of Spring Branch graduates continued their education at the university level.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Big Town, Big Money (The Business of Houston) (Houston: Cordovan Press, 1973). Hedwig Village Gazette, July 4, 1986.

Diana J. Kleiner

The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/hrsrj.html (accessed March 14, 2008).

Recently at an inspection of home built in the 1950's I noted that the natural gas lines to many different major appliances were connected to a proper main line with copper auxiliary lines. A big red flag came out because it is a known fact that copper and some of the additives that the gas company place in the natural gas to be able to recognize a leak can create a sulfate crystals that can clog the regulators and even go into the burners. This can create a poor burning furnace, water heater or other appliance that uses the natural gas.

After stating some of the codes that restrict or are not code compliant with respect to the use of copper pipes for use in the residential communities, the seller had a person come to try and repair/replace the tubing. My recommendation was to have a licensed Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning professional evaluate and repair this defect. I did not state to change the system with a "Handyman".

After this was done by seller, fortunately for the buyer, he had a licensed HVAC professional go  back and at minimum inspect and give him a price to repair and replace the gas line and other items that the licensed professional found were wrong with the system.

The house is being sold to the buyer that the inspection was done for. They are asking for an allowance for the proper repair of the natural gas lines leading to the appliances. They will get about 95% of what they are asking for. 

The point is, when an inspector recommends a licensed professional, go with an experienced well rounded licensed professional. It may cost a little more, but at minimum you know that the recommendations will be within the most recent codes and be properly functioning. Cheap is cheap work and can back fire.

An experienced professional usually does a good job that can be reliant. Look around in the yellow pages. Don't always go for the largest advertising. Don't go with the cheapest. And most of all, get a minimum of three quotes from reputable professionals. 

Here are a few hints that can help you evaluate the professional. If they charge for their own bid, you don't want them. Make certain that if the professional tells you a time that he will be at the site and make certain that he is at that site at that time. Do not allow  fifteen minute unless this is expressly told to you prior to the appointment or he/she calls and tells you otherwise.  If they are late and do not call and tell you why, you may be choosing the wrong professional. Make certain that they know what you want to be done (i.e: inspect and repair the water heater) prior to showing up at the site. Do not allow them to sell you on other periferals (a water treatment or filtering system) unless that is what the inspection report calls for or you would like to know more about it. Tell them up front, i.e.: "I need the an evaluation of the water heater and the gas lines leading to it."

These are just a few helpful hints on what a person should do if they are selling or buying a house.

If there are any questions please feel free to write them down and I would be happy to answer them. I check my bolg about once a month.