Stage Your Home to Sell
The way you live in a home and the way you sell it are two different things, says home-staging guru Barb Schwarz in her book "Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money." Here are some home-staging tips to share with clients who are readying their homes for sale:
Staging is not decorating. Decorating is personalizing a space, where staging is "depersonalizing" it. Staging is not about displaying a favorite color rug or ruffles someone loves. It's about selling the house. Remember, if your clients are showing a messy house, they're throwing away money.
If you can smell it, you can't sell it. Make sure your clients do a sniff test and understand that odors they might be used to have to be eliminated. It's a sensitive subject, so handle it with tact.
Clutter equates to stress. One of the biggest challenges to home staging is clutter. Remember, it's just as important for your clients to get rid of excess "stuff" as it is to clean their house. Tell your clients that clutter interferes with potential homebuyers' ability to mentally move into the house. They can't imagine their own furniture in a room if it's cluttered.
Consider painting the interior of the house. Your clients might like the navy blue walls and wacky flower-print wallpaper, but homebuyers want the house to have a cohesive, simple color scheme. Drastic color changes from room to room can actually startle potential homebuyers.
For more information or to purchase the book, visit Schwarz's website at StagedHomes.com.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Monday, April 02, 2007
Buyers Time to Get Realistic
I continually hear that the buyers are waiting for the market to settle down. Buyers are waiting for that killer deal. Buyers are waiting....OK. It’s time for a reality check for buyers. In the Central Florida area, as I am sure with many parts of the country, the real estate housing market has settled down. Yes, there is a great deal of inventory out there, but homes are being sold. Granted, not at as fast as the past few years. But let’s get realistic, that was an anomaly. We probably wont see that for quite a few years. Everything in real estate is cylical. Sellers seem to be somewhat more realistic in that they are pricing. I don’t know why so many buyers have in their minds that the market still needs to adjust. The market did that last year and that was really finalized by the end of the year. Prices aren’t dropping. Nor should they. There are some amazing deals out there already. You can actually purchase a home now and walk in their with some equity. Not like what we saw in 2005 with some people even paying over appraised value. This is the way a normal market is supposed to operate.Prices are not going to go down lower & the interest rates have remained quite low, even more of a reason to get into this market. There is generally price and value built into these homes. If there isn’t, then move on to the next property. There are enough out there to choose from.I know some are now blaming the sub-prime market, but then again, these are people that are just always looking for something to blame. Yes, the sub-prime market took a hit. But, then again they should take a hit for all the risky deals they took and the people who over extended themselves just to get into the market. But, there is money out there for people with less then A credit. It can be found. Our market has bottomed out. It’s as simple as that. It has turned the corner. I’m not just saying this because I would like some buyers. The stats prove this. Dont wait til the media tells you the market has turned, if you wait til then, then you already missed the amazing deals. I know the market is still strong because I have sold properties in this market in just 10 days and closed in 20. These were fire sales, but priced right for the market in great locations. These also werent people who got in over their head last year, but had equity built into their homes so they still walked away making $200,000+ . It can still be done and buyers whenever you can evict your landlord and build equity is a good day to buy regardless of the market.
"Exceeding All Expectations"
www.centralfloridaluxuryestates.com
I continually hear that the buyers are waiting for the market to settle down. Buyers are waiting for that killer deal. Buyers are waiting....OK. It’s time for a reality check for buyers. In the Central Florida area, as I am sure with many parts of the country, the real estate housing market has settled down. Yes, there is a great deal of inventory out there, but homes are being sold. Granted, not at as fast as the past few years. But let’s get realistic, that was an anomaly. We probably wont see that for quite a few years. Everything in real estate is cylical. Sellers seem to be somewhat more realistic in that they are pricing. I don’t know why so many buyers have in their minds that the market still needs to adjust. The market did that last year and that was really finalized by the end of the year. Prices aren’t dropping. Nor should they. There are some amazing deals out there already. You can actually purchase a home now and walk in their with some equity. Not like what we saw in 2005 with some people even paying over appraised value. This is the way a normal market is supposed to operate.Prices are not going to go down lower & the interest rates have remained quite low, even more of a reason to get into this market. There is generally price and value built into these homes. If there isn’t, then move on to the next property. There are enough out there to choose from.I know some are now blaming the sub-prime market, but then again, these are people that are just always looking for something to blame. Yes, the sub-prime market took a hit. But, then again they should take a hit for all the risky deals they took and the people who over extended themselves just to get into the market. But, there is money out there for people with less then A credit. It can be found. Our market has bottomed out. It’s as simple as that. It has turned the corner. I’m not just saying this because I would like some buyers. The stats prove this. Dont wait til the media tells you the market has turned, if you wait til then, then you already missed the amazing deals. I know the market is still strong because I have sold properties in this market in just 10 days and closed in 20. These were fire sales, but priced right for the market in great locations. These also werent people who got in over their head last year, but had equity built into their homes so they still walked away making $200,000+ . It can still be done and buyers whenever you can evict your landlord and build equity is a good day to buy regardless of the market.
"Exceeding All Expectations"
www.centralfloridaluxuryestates.com
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