Published Articles
Daily News Journal – April 20, 2008
“Staged to Sell”
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(from the Murfreesboro Post, September 9, 2007)
THE ADVANTAGES OF HOME STAGING
By Kathy Fix, ASP, IAHSP
Every seller has the dream of selling their home quickly and for maximum profit. As a result, more sellers and realtors are turning to a marketing tool that has now begun to impact our area – Home Staging.
As Barb Schwarz, the creator of The Staged Homes concept says, “The way you live in your home and the way you market and sell your house are two different things.” Once a homeowner has decided to move, they need to realize their home is now a house they want to sell for top dollar and they need to make it the best product on the market. A house is usually a seller’s largest single investment, and spending a little money on Staging will on average return almost a 7% increase in sales price and 50% less time on the market.
An Accredited Staging Professional (ASP), can come into a house with a fresh perspective and because of experience and training make the changes to that will make a house more attractive to buyers. A thorough cleaning is an obvious first step, but de-cluttering is critical too. Buyers have a difficult time seeing beyond the way things are to imagine the way they could be, so the Sellers’ personal things (family pictures, collectibles) that have made their house their home, are the very things they need pack away. A kitchen counter full of appliances will cause the buyer to automatically think there is limited counter space. A living room filled with too much furniture will give the impression of a small room.
ASP Stagers can either provide a detailed written room by room report for the sellers to implement, or come in with a crew and do a full house Staging for the seller. Prices will vary depending on house size and how much work needs to be done. The investment in Staging is always less than your first price reduction. You only get one first impression with buyers, and sellers and realtors are finding out that Staging by an ASP helps provide that best first impression.
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Kathy Fix, ASP, IAHSP, is the owner of Staging Dreams, located here in
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(from the Murfreesboro Post, October 14, 2007)
HOW DOES A HOME STAGER WORK?
By Kathy Fix, ASP, IAHSP
You are ready to sell your house. You’ve cleaned the carpets, repainted as needed, scrubbed the toilet and tub, yet still the house doesn’t measure up to those model homes you’ve seen at Parade of Homes or on TV. Someone mentioned the term “Home Stager” but you don’t know exactly what they do or if they can really make much of a difference. How do they work?
An Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) is professional trained to come in your home and help you make that house a top product in the real estate market. Because of their training and experience they can quickly assess what can be done to improve the curb appeal and first impressions buyers will get when they come through the house. An ASP Stager will be honest with you and can provide a variety of services.
One option is a detailed Consultation Report. The Stager will usually spend two to three hours in the house, taking photographs and making detailed notes of each room and the exterior of the property. They then take that information with them, and after reviewing the photos and itemized notations they prepare a written room by room report. This Consultation Report will be very detailed about everything from positioning of a chair to placement of a plant to changing out the color of bed linens. It will also include details about items that should be removed (packed up or put in storage) and suggestions about minor items that should maybe be purchased (new bathroom towels for example). The Stager comes back to meet with the sellers (and their realtor) at another appointment and goes through that report, page by page, to explain all recommendations. It is then the seller who follows through and actually implements the plan. Once the seller has completed the tasks, the Stager will come back and do a final “tweaking” of the house.
Full Home Staging is for those sellers who don’t have the time or don’t feel comfortable making changes on their own. The Stager will personally come to the home, sometimes with assistants as needed, and spend several hours, sometimes over more than one day, and transform the house into a buyer ready showcase. De-cluttering, rearranging, de-personalizing, and minor packing (although any major packing is left to professionals or the home owner) are done during this process. Exterior work may be done as needed, and each area of the house is addressed. An ASP Stager is always careful to respect the homeowner’s possessions and privacy in the Staging process.
Whether the Staging is done by the Stager or the homeowner based on the Consultation Report, the Stager may leave “showing” instructions, and may even return before a brokers’ tour or open house to make some last minute touch ups to the house. In some cases, upon approval by the seller and/or realtor, the ASP Stager will be present during the open house to help point out the newly revealed assets to interested potential buyers. The ultimate goal is of course, to do everything we can to sell the property quickly and for maximum dollar!
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Kathy Fix, ASP, IAHSP, is the owner of Staging Dreams, located here in
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(from the Murfreesboro Post, December 9, 2007)
USE STAGING TO BRING THE HOLIDAYS TO LIFE
IN YOUR HOME
By Kathy Fix, ASP, IAHSP
It’s that time to “Deck the Halls” again! Every year we all have special decorations and touches we pull out of storage to bring the holiday spirit into our homes, but at some point we often want to bring a little more polish to the look, especially when we are doing holiday entertaining. Staging your surroundings bringing in a coordinating theme or color scheme you can add elegance that will impress your guests.
Using a common color and texture theme throughout the living areas allow you to create a harmonious atmosphere. With the expanding holiday color palettes available you’re no longer limited to bright red and green and you should be able to find ribbon, ornaments, and other décor items that compliment your home’s existing style. Try some of the new ambers and golds with ivory, burgundy and forest green, ice blue and silver, or even the hip lime greens and turquoises. Using similar textures, whether matte or shiny ribbon and ornaments, keeps the theme flowing.
You can also carry a consistent theme from room to room by using a holiday object as your motif. Pick a simple item like an angel, bell, Santas, musical instruments or stars to add to garland, centerpieces, and wreaths and to accent the tree. For the kids use a candy cane and gum drop theme or have them make special trimmings themselves. Snowmen and snowflakes scattered from room to room can even be left up into January to keep the fun going long after Christmas.
Don’t limit your decorating to the tree and a wreath on the front door. Banisters bedecked with garland, ribbon, lights and ornaments provide a festive greeting when guests first enter the house. A glass hurricane filled with glass balls on a coffee table adds color and shine. And no one ever said you can have only one tree! The variety of shapes and sizes of artificial trees allow you to put trees in multiple rooms.
If time constraints or insecurity about how to implement a decorating plan have you wanting help, there are professionals out there, including Home Stagers, who will come in and use what you already have or help you purchase those decorations to make your home festive and welcoming for your family and those special visitors. They may even provide services for packing all those trinkets away after the holidays. Save your time for shopping and doing the fun holiday activities so you can enjoy the season!
Kathy Fix, ASP, IAHSP, is the owner of Staging Dreams, located here in
