nc: Before and after pictures - 06/30/10 02:36 PM
Wow, this was such a fun project.  For the first time I actually did the painting instead of hiring someone to do it.  I painted the master bed, master bath, master sitting, family room, dining room, and stairs.  Then I did a lot of cleaning and staged it.  I'm going to share one picture with you, the rest will have to wait for Andrew Mayon with Triad Real Estate Photograpy.  He will be photographing the house Friday! 
Before, there were renters in here.  You can't see it but they painted the accent wall and didn't cut in around the molding, so it … (20 comments)

nc: A builder that hated everything I did, now understands why I did it!!! - 08/10/09 09:12 AM
Last month I blogged about a floor plan that had me stumped.  The living area, which is the only one in the house, had the strangest layout.  Buyers that were coming through had a very hard time invisioning how they would lay out their furniture in this space.  The Realtor convinced the builder to have the home staged.  After MUCH hesitation, he agreed.  Here is a picture of the room. 


After we staged this home, the builder and I did a walk-thru where he had pointed out everything he didn't like, which was almost everything.  He couldn't understand why … (21 comments)

nc: Small budget, small changes, big results - 08/08/09 12:38 AM
 
Even on a small budget, staging can make a difference.  When a potential buyer walks into a vacant home, 90% of them cannot visualize how to place furniture or the scale of the room since there is nothing in it to compare the size of the room to.  By simply placing a few pieces of furniture and some colorful accessories, the room feels more livable and gives the buyer a feel of the scale of the room and if their furniture will fit.  Buyers buy homes based on how the home makes them feel.  Leaving it empty and colorless is a little depressing.  Adding … (13 comments)

nc: UPDATE: A win, win, win for everyone. - 05/03/09 01:11 PM
If you had a chance to read my blog An experiment that will hopefully be a win, win, win for everyone.  We approached a furniture company and asked them if they would help us with furniture and in return, at close the builder would purchase a $5000 gift certificate to that store for the new home owner.  It seemed like a great plan that would be a win, win, win for everyone involved.  The builder had no money to spend since the home has been on the market for 3 years.  Well, here is  an update:
My sales guy was onboard … (16 comments)

nc: A new house $350,000...furniture to go in the house $5000.... a professionally staged house (PRICELESS) - 04/20/09 03:03 PM
Literally...You save money when you stage your house. Sometimes, you make money.  How you might ask? 
Say you put your house on the market for $350,000.  After 3 months with no bites you lower the price to $340,000.  Three more months go by and you lower it again to $335,00.  You finally get an offer for $329,000. 
Next scenario.  You hire a stager to stage your home BEFORE it goes on the market.  It costs $1,800.  You list your home for $350,000.  After 9 weeks you get an offer for $345,000.  If you subtract out the $1,800 you spent on staging, you saved $14,200.  
Studies show that … (18 comments)