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Something to Talk About

By
Real Estate Agent with Integrity FIRST REALTORS 2013024956

On any given Housing Hunt day, lone buyers or buyers working with agents are going to go into many homes. At the end of the day or especially a long weekend search, a lot of the homes are going to merge together in the buyer's mind.

I have experienced it with buyer's myself. We may go to a new subdivision where there are three different builders who build 12 different plans and we walk through the three displays while collecting the plans for all of the homes that meet the client's desired budget, square feet, bedrooms, etc.

At the end of the day we start to talk about them. I have encouraged my clients to write on the floor plans notes that will jog their memory of that particular home. Sometimes it works.

So this hint happened to occur to me quite accidentally while staging my son's home for sale. I saw a table setting at Pier 1 that was the perfect colors to grab attention in photos and really pop in the kitchen. I bought a four place setting of chargers, plates, salad plates and specialty plates that had a peacock painted on them. I planned to use the peacock blue as the repeated pop of color throughout the home since it was a current trend and easy to purchase items to match.Pier 1 Peacock Table Setting

Next I needed to update his comforter which was muted and had lost a lot of its plushness. At Marshall's I found this kind of crazy set in white with little leaves that were the same color of the walls of the room, yet two large embroidered peacocks were boldly sewn into the lower half of the spread. It had the green, the blue and a touch of deep purple. Quite a wild pick for a bachelor's home...but he was not the target audience. I expected a couple to purchase the home and it definitely gave the room a needed feminine touch.

Peacock Bedspread

Then things began to just fall into place. I could have taken the "Peacock Theme" all the way and that is something to hold restraint on for sure. But we repeated the teal in a bench in the bedroom, he already owned a pair of teal and bronze lamps that we used and I found some deep purple accent pillows to add to the depth of the color on the Master Bed.

In the kitchen, my client already had a tall floor vase with some reeds and stems in reds and natural, so we went to Michael's and got a couple of packages of Peacock Feathers to accent it. Barely noticeable, but if someone looks they won't miss it.

There are many great features to this home, unforgetable features like a 135 inch screen in the Home Theater. However, this simple idea of taking a current trend and using it to update the decor has not only made this home show well but truly puts something to talk about in the mind and mouth of the potential buyer.

I can only imagine as they discuss their favorites the words will roll out "Remember the Peacock House:?"

I'll let you know how it works out.

 

Bathroom Towels

Bathroom Towels 

Show All Comments Sort:
Pamela Seley
West Coast Realty Division - Murrieta, CA
Residential Real Estate Agent serving SW RivCo CA

That's a great idea to make the home memorable for home buyers who may be looking at several homes in one day. 

Sep 25, 2014 09:09 AM
Bryan Robertson
Los Altos, CA

Great post! You definitely know how to make a home stand out. I'm looking forward to seeing more posts like this (plus a follow-up on how this sold).

Sep 25, 2014 09:33 AM
Evelyn Johnston
Friends & Neighbors Real Estate - Elkhart, IN
The People You Know, Like and Trust!

Those colors do indeed pop and say great things about you and the home.  All Possitive!  Welcome to ActiveRain!

Sep 25, 2014 12:15 PM
Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

Debbie-- What a great idea.  The peacock house will certainly stand out in the mind of the potential buyer(s).

Sep 25, 2014 12:20 PM
Claude Labbe
RLAH / @properties - Washington, DC
Realty for Your Busy Life

Perfect idea. Because yes, after a day of touring, every home looks the same.  It's as if every stager is using the same palette.

Let's see if we can help you with other ideas....

* the elephant home

* the I Love Lucy home

* the boat captain home

you could truly market yourself as the 'theme queen'

good luck.

Sep 25, 2014 02:14 PM
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Burlington, MA
Metro Boston Homes For Sale

Debbie Stolle Welcome to ActiveRain - you'll find many members who'd love Peacock Blue or Parrot Green (just kidding.)

Great beginning of your blogging career - with a featured post - on ActiveRain. Keep Blogging.

Sep 25, 2014 02:30 PM
Tammie White, Broker
Franklin Homes Realty LLC - Franklin, TN
Franklin TN Homes for Sale

I definitely like to see a pop of color in the house. Who doesn't like peacocks?

Sep 25, 2014 02:37 PM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher
I would think of it as a moment of solitude among the chaos.
Sep 25, 2014 03:39 PM
Jason Potrzeba
Home Loan Investment Bank - Warwick, RI
Senior Account Executive
.50 cents for a box of chalk. Then in one of the rooms, draw the chalk outline of a body on the floor. This is a very inexpensive way to make the house memorable and give everyone something to talk about... Good luck with the sale of this house. I like the theme and the colors that go along with this theme.
Sep 25, 2014 09:40 PM
Than Maynard
Coldwell Banker Heart of Oklahoma - Purcell, OK
Broker - Licensed to List & Sell - 405-990-8862

It should help with a potential buyer remembering the home. Fortunately (unfoirtunately?) we don't have many homes to show buyers. If they are able to see 5 in their price range with most of what they want.....they are doing good!

Sep 25, 2014 11:41 PM
Debbie Stolle
Integrity FIRST REALTORS - Branson, MO

Than Maynard, thank you...I obviously don't know the OK market, but the areas of MO that I am serving are booming with New Home construction which can really leave buyers in a zoned out place looking at displays, specs and floor plans. And since builders often have only one or two of their plans on display in any one subdivision, we often trek across town to multiple locations to get a walk through of a different plan. Mix a few listings of owned homes and wow. 

Sep 26, 2014 01:08 AM
Karen Baker
Sunset Beach and Beyond Realty - Sunset Beach, NC
Professional Help with Rapid Responses...

Debbie Stolle ~ That is a great idea for staging a home and then naming it the peacock home or the beautiful home with all the teal colors in it!

Sep 26, 2014 01:16 AM
Kevin Mackessy
Blue Olive Properties, LLC - Highlands Ranch, CO
Dedicated. Qualified. Local.

That's a good way to make the home stand out if the buyers are seeing multiple properties in a day.  Much easier to recall.  

Sep 26, 2014 02:54 AM
Christine Yedo Johnson
RE/MAX Unlimited Inc. - Aurora, CO
ABR CRS CNE SFR

Great idea, and good thinking.  Better to be remember as the peacock home that the one with clutter, smells or some other obnoxious memory.  

Sep 27, 2014 08:35 AM
Bill Reddington
Re/max By The Sea - Destin, FL
Destin Florida Real Estate

Pictures look great. Home staging can certainly add value. Lots depend on the price range of the property. Some sellers just don't have the cash to do these type of things. 

Sep 27, 2014 02:39 PM
Debbie Stolle
Integrity FIRST REALTORS - Branson, MO

Thanks Bill, in this situation it was my dime because this is my son's home.

However, as an experienced Stager my clients paid for my services not the merchandise. Services can be anything from a consultation to furnishing an empty home and everything in between. There is a price for every client that they can afford and they start as low as $175 for a consult all the way to $2500 for a home needing furnishings. If they want to do the work, they can save. But they of course need to be motivated.

The statistics have been proven for years, homes professionally staged sell faster and for more dollars than non-staged homes. Consumers will usually more than recoup their investment. If interested, here is a link to a thorough review from 2012  which for most areas was still a struggling Real Estate Market. Home Staging Resource 

I am a firm believer in staging which is why I can easily convince most clients to do it. As time goes on, I will be able to use my own stats in Real Estate Sales to make my presentation which will reflect on me and not the industry. Not every agent is going to feel this way and if their days on market are few, I can't blame them.

My latest experience was a home that had been on the market for two years with another agent. My Broker got the listing when it expired. We came in and did some major work that cost about $2000...painted cabinets and trim white, replaced a worn carpet with wood. Painted some happy but mild colors and did minimal staging with art, dishes, towels and a few pieces of accent furniture. The previous agent had dropped the price by $20K. We were able to put it back on the market at the previous $20k HIGHER price. The home was closed within 5 months and I believe that included the time for a Carpenter to complete work. She more than recouped her dollars spent and more than anything, a property she had been trying to sell for two years was now SOLD. 

I love a happy ending!

Sep 27, 2014 07:52 PM
Susan Haughton
Long and Foster REALTORS (703) 470-4545 - Alexandria, VA
Susan & Mindy Team...Honesty. Integrity. Results.

Love the theme approach - I find myself nicknaming houses all the time, anyway, and this makes it more memorable...love the colors you used, too. 

Oct 05, 2014 08:49 PM
Debbie Stolle
Integrity FIRST REALTORS - Branson, MO

Thank you Susan, you know when I think about it I probably nickname them as well just because I am always wanting to be able to quickly identify for my clients.

Oct 06, 2014 01:40 AM
Mark Don McInnes, Sandpoint-Idaho
Sandpoint Realty LLC - Sandpoint, ID
North Idaho Real Estate - 208-255.6227

Hello Debbie,  Your comment # 35 I found as motivating as the post.  Great hints and thank you for the link.  Also I think quite a few of us are waiting on the results or progress of your Peacock Home.  :~) 

Make it a great day.  Mark

Nov 03, 2014 12:19 AM
Debbie Stolle
Integrity FIRST REALTORS - Branson, MO

Thank you Mark...I had to reread the comment you referred to and re-inspire myself. 

There is another issue at work on this home and that is that I am an out of town REALTOR so the home is not showing up in the local MLS, though it is on the typical sites that the public will view.

I have reached out to 150 agents in the last week and had some great conversations but I have yet to have one agent take a client through. No one has a buyer. I had three agents view it and they loved it said they would recommend it but mostly they just want the listing. 

So that is the dilemma I face here. I took this on because he is my son, but I have talked with him about letting another local agent take the listing so he can get more exposure. He is contemplating it at this time.

New Tour of 3303 Snow Leopard, Columbia, MO

Please share if you have anyone interested in Columbia, MO.

I will let the world of AR know when The Peacock House sells!

Nov 03, 2014 04:17 AM