When I do consultations with people getting ready to sell, there are some issues I see regularly. Here is some of my top ten home staging tips I give most people to help them sell fast and for more money.

Clean– Make it spotless! Particularly kitchen, bathrooms and master bedroom. No time? Hire a professional. A clean home looks well maintained.

Repair- Fix all those little things like leaky faucets, squeaky door, loose knobs, lights that do not work, etc. A home that looks well maintained on the surface will be less likely to have buyers wondering about the condition of all the things they can’t see such as your wiring, plumbing, etc. The first thing the buyer sees that is broken or not working properly breaks the magic that can get that buyer to fall in love with your home.

Declutter– Remove 50% of what is in your closets, bookshelves and cabinets. You are selling space, if it looks like you do not have enough of it, buyers will be worried they will not have enough either.

New bedding– A new bedding set can transform a bedroom. Definitely go for new bedding in the master bedroom. Even just new pillows (4 per bed plus throw pillows) can make a bed look fabulous, as pillows flatten out over time. Go for a fresh, modern style.

New towels and shower curtain– Fresh clean towels of various colors in a spotlessly clean bathroom that coordinate with a fresh, simple shower curtain will make your bathroom look great. They do not need to be expensive, just new and clean! Hide all personal items including soap when showing.

Let there be light! – Nothing screams dated in a house louder than outdated lighting fixtures. Lighting is easy to replace and simple, attractive and inexpensive lighting fixtures can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes. Rooms should ideally have overhead lighting, several lamps and some task lighting. A room with only an overhead light looks unattractive and dark, and can appear smaller. Have several matching lamps with high wattage bulbs and have all lights in the house on for showings.

Check out these beautiful. modern lighting options that are neutral enough for staging or to update your outdated lighting. Some may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission for sharing at no additional cost to you.

Paint neutral colors (beige, tan, grays)- Although colorful paint jobs can be great for living and for spicing things up in kid’s rooms, it can turn off buyers with different tastes and who worry their belongings will not match your paint job. Painting everything white will make your house boring and unmemorable. Add color in the décor rather than the paint. Paint is cheap and can make everything look new, fresh and clean.

Remove heavy curtains– Replace heavy curtains with sheers or no curtains (if there is a good view). Keep all curtains or shades open for showings. You want everything to look as bright, airy and spacious as possible. Sheers are inexpensive, let in light, soften the room and can downplay a poor view if needed.

Remove personal photos and items– Buyers get distracted by these items and feel like they are invading your territory. Make it easy for them to picture themselves living in the home. It is also good from a safety standpoint not to give them information about you or your family.

Improve curb appeal– Declutter the outside, make sure vegetation is trimmed, cleaned up etc. Make sure lights are always on outside and house number is visible. Something decorative near the door and a new welcome mat is a great touch.

Use these home staging tips to sell your house fast and for more!

 

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Looking for Helpful Tips on Finding a Great Home Stager? Watch this video to help you consider what to look for.

Selling a home today often comes down to first impressions. People want to know how to sell their house fast and for top dollar!  What’s the secret to making a property outshine everything else on the market?  A house needs to first attract buyers online with great photos that make them want to see it in person. Once inside, a buyer can then make an emotional connection with the property.  The secret… is home staging!

Finding the right person to stage your home is easy if you know what to look for!  Hire a professional stager with education, training, experience, and a great reputation.

Here are a few tips to finding a great home stager to make your house look fabulous, both online and in person so it will sell fast and for more money.

Visit their website and social media pages. They should look professional and project a dynamic business with frequent updates on current work. Not having a web presence could mean they are not an industry professional.

Verify their education, training and experience.  There are no legal requirements for education or training in the home staging industry. “Certifications” only mean a person has taken a course and is “certified” as having completed it.  Do they have extensive training in home staging? Do they have an education in Interior Design? Do they have experience? If a realtor offers staging, are they trained to do so?

Ask to see their portfolio.  Look at before and after photos from their past staging jobs. Is there a big difference?  Do the after pictures convey a home that is warm and inviting? Would it be easy for a buyer to picture themselves living there?

Check out their online reviews.  Were other home sellers or realtors happy with the results, and did they enjoy working with the stager?

Finally, understand the costs. Staging typically costs less than 1% of a home’s value, providing a nearly 300% return on investment.  A low-cost stager may cost you tens of thousands of dollars in your first price reduction—much more than you will ever spend on the best home stager.

Northern Lights Home Staging and Design is an award-winning company that specializes in home staging and Interior Design in the communities in and around Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. I’ve received the Best Customer Service Award in 2016-2020 from Houzz, and have many glowing reviews from realtors and home owners.

I have a B.A. In Interior Design, am a graduate of the Staging Diva Home Staging Training program, and am a Certified Color Strategist. I love to help home owners make magic happen by combining my marketing skills with home staging to sell a home fast and for more money.   

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As a professional home stager, I often see home owners and realtors make three home staging mistakes that can cost the home seller more time on the market and lower offers on their home sale. These home staging mistakes can be easily avoided!

Listing before staging the home

Home sellers often do not want to spend money on staging and list first, assuming they will stage it later if it does not sell.  In other cases, in a rush to get the house on the market, the staging happens after the home is listed.  Sometimes realtors tell their clients they do not need to stage the property.  Later, the home sellers contact me to stage it after it has been on the market for a while without receiving any offers.

Why is this a home staging mistake?

Buyers look for a house online before they ever visit it in person. If the original photos are not appealing, staging later and then updating the photos will not attract buyers that have previously viewed the listing. You have essentially lost that part of the market that could have been interested in your home sale. The longer the listing has been up, the more likely buyers are going to wonder what is wrong with the house or submit a lower offer, thinking the sellers may be getting desperate for a sale.

Staging after listing is better than not staging at all, but statistics show that the time on the market will be longer than if had been staged prior to listing. The longer a house is on the market, the more price reductions you will likely have, causing you to lose money on your bottom line as well as costing you money in mortgage payments, utilities etc.

Not using professional photos for the listing

Professional photos of a beautifully staged home are critical to attracting buyers and making your property outshine the competition so buyers will come to view the property in person. Then, they can make an emotional connection with the house, which is what causes them to make an offer!

Home owners or realtors that post unprofessional photos online will not generate the same interest that professional photos will.

Altering the home staging

If you have paid for professional home staging, trust your stager!  Decorating a home for sale is very different than decorating it to live in. Home owners or realtors at times want to modify the staging by adding, removing or re-arranging things. Well-meaning as this may be, it can undo key aspects of the staging that the home stager had good reasons for doing.

Staging is not about the personal tastes of the home owner or realtor, which of course are all different. It is about appealing to the greatest number of buyers, making an emotional connection with the target market and highlighting key features of the home.

As an example, I had a client who was concerned with my staging plan which included red sofas because they were not to their personal taste. We stayed with my plan which was meant to appeal to a younger target market. The house sold the first day on the market for full asking price.

Do it Right the First Time

Stage before listing, trust your home stager and do not modify the staging, and get professional photos to show off your beautiful house! Happy Selling!

Home Staging Consultation- In Person or Online- Learn More

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Home staging is the art and science of decorating homes for sale. The purpose is to make an emotional connection with buyers so that you sell your home fast and for top dollar.  The principles of home staging also work for other spaces that you want people to make an emotional connection with. Whether you plan to sell or rent the space, home Staging is not just for homes!

The science of home staging includes finding the balance between appealing to the largest number of people and keeping it interesting enough to remember! Going too neutral, taking out too much or staging by non-professionals may often lead to non-memorable homes. Not good when you want to sell fast!

The art of home staging includes creating an atmosphere that people will fall in love with so they want to buy it or enjoy spending time in the space.

Home Staging is not just for homes!  Try it to sell other spaces.

Home staging can be used in other ways besides just selling homes! As an example, I staged a WeatherPort for the Alaska State Fair. WeatherPorts are tent structures  used for events, base camps, greenhouses, carports and a variety of uses. In this case, the point was to show how the WeatherPort could be used as a temporary living structure.  I used the art and science of home staging to help potential buyers visualize how they could use the space.

Try Home Staging to promote rental properties.

Home staging is also a great way to update the look of your rental property, whether it is a Bed and Breakfast or full time rental. As a Bed and Breakfast owner, I staged my own property and increased my bookings, was able to attract the clientele I wanted and paid for the value of the home staging the first season!  Find out more in my articles “Increase Your Bed and Breakfast Income with Home Staging” or “Home Staging Boosts Demand for Rental Properties”.

Whether you are trying to sell a home, a WeatherPort or rent an apartment or vacation rental, you will have much better success attracting buyers or renters if your space is not vacant!

Vacant spaces do not make an emotional connection with buyers or renters. Here is an example of a vacant home that I staged. Although this was staged to sell, this property had also been on the market for years as a vacation rental. Staging your space to get great photos that you can use for online marketing will make a big difference in your bottom line.

During this time of social distancing, you might consider virtual staging of your professional photos instead of in person staging. Learn more.

We hope you enjoy this article and podcast on Anchorage Advice Givers about Mary Ann Benoit and Northern Lights Home Staging and Design. Learn about what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur and to start your own home staging and design business.

Mary Ann, the foremost home stager in south-central Alaska, provides an award winning, versatile, and unique one-stop shop for home staging, Interior Design, Edesign and color consulting for homes and vacation rental properties.

Learn more about Mary Ann  on her About Me page or see her full biography here.

View the full video interview with Mary Ann  here.

Meet Mary Ann Benoit, Owner of Northern Lights Home Staging and Design, and Arctic Paradise B&B. Mary Ann was/is an artist and a scientist before she became an entrepreneur. She has been an artist since childhood and today she designs and sells one of a kind jewelry and stained glass. Mary Ann is also a performing artist in both music and dance. As a scientist, she pursued a career as a wildlife biologist for the last 30+ years based on her love for animals.

Mary Ann became an entrepreneur in 2001 in addition to her work as a biologist and artist.  Her first business was Arctic Paradise Bed & Breakfast, Jewelry and Stained Glass in Seward, Alaska, The business continues to run smoothly and is very successful. Her second and current business is the Northern Lights Home Staging and Design.

What does Northern Lights Home Staging and Design offer?

In simple terms, home staging is decorating and preparing a home to sell. Staging helps buyers to get connected with home emotionally so they see themselves living there, which helps the home sell faster and for more money.

Challenging factor:

Some homeowners and realtors worry about spending money on staging because they think of it as a cost, rather than an investment which will help them sell their home faster (saving them money) and for more money.  Staging increases the value of the house generally 1-20% and usually only requires 0.5% to1% of the home’s value to complete the staging process. Cutting costs through partial staging or not having it done by a professional affects the end result and hurts the home seller.

Love for the business:

She loves to see “the magic happen” when she transforms the house so beautifully during staging.  This gives her a lot of personal satisfaction and appeals to her creative spirit.  Some home owners don’t want to move after seeing their beautifully staged home! Mary Ann loves it when homeowners and buyers love the way the house looks.

What is Your Global Design Style? Find out!

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See My Online Design, Color and Home Staging Services.

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Low Cost Home Staging Can Cost You Money

We have all experienced a time when we were “penny wise but pound foolish” and regretted buying something because it had the lowest price, only to find out the item broke too soon, was not the quality we were looking for, had maintenance problems or other issues. I know I have with a few vehicles I have purchased!

If we had just purchased a higher quality item, it would have saved us money in the long run and we would have been much happier with our purchase. It is easy to make decisions quickly based on cost rather than stepping back and considering the “bigger picture”.

As a home stager, color consultant and designer,  one thing I do is help home sellers sell their house as fast as possible and for the highest possible price. I know your home is probably your biggest financial asset and that selling a house is stressful. Helping you get through the process fast and with great results is my success story too!

How Cutting Costs can Hurt Your Bottom Line

I have seen many cases where a home seller has been “penny wise but pound foolish.”  It makes me sad to think of how things might have been different for them. They try to save as much as possible during the sale by cutting “costs” but it hurt them in the end with a much lower sale price. Home staging is an investment, rather than a “cost” that can give you a great return on your money.

As an example, I had a call from a seller that said “Our vacant home has been on the market over a year with no interest. We have to do something! I would like you to come and do a consultation and then stage it for us”.  Great! We made plans for a consultation in a few days. At the last minute, they called and cancelled. They said their spouse had decided not  to spend money on staging as they were already strapped paying a second mortgage and would just leave it on the market vacant.  I noticed a few weeks later on the MLS that they dropped their price $35,000.00.  Staging the home would have cost less than 1% of that cost and they would have had a great chance of selling it quickly for their asking price. A loss of $35,000 is a lot of money!!! See how staging could have made a difference in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzkF3bccgmI

Stage it Before You List

Another example was a call from a realtor a few weeks ago wanting to know the cost of staging for a couple that had had their occupied home on the market eleven months without interest. They got back to me that the couple did not want to spend the money on staging because they could not afford it since they were paying two mortgages. I feel their pain and wonder why their realtor did not suggest staging to them a year ago before listing? Here is an example of professional staging of an occupied home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAqW37LSkRI&feature=emb_title

Hire a Pro to do Your Home Staging

Other common examples are sellers who have realtors willing to pay for a consultation (bravo to those realtors!) but the sellers do not want to invest in the actual staging and decide to do it themselves. They often do not want to pay for a final visit from me to check on or help polish their final product. I always follow up to see how these properties look when listed. In all cases, the property looks much better BUT it does not have the same appeal for buyers as if it was professionally staged. Home owners do not have the ability to be objective about their own property, or “see what the buyer sees” and are not professionally trained in the art and science of home staging. This will definitely affect the final sales price. Saving a hundred or a couple thousand dollars may have cost them tens of thousands of dollars at closing.

Light Staging is a Waste of a Home Sellers Money

I sometimes get calls from realtors looking for “light staging”, where only one room is done or a few rooms only partially done. I do not accept these jobs because I think it is a waste of the home seller’s money. The end result looks odd, as if the movers forgot to take all the furniture and left a few pieces, and it certainly does not create the effect that buyers will fall in love with! Sellers, using this method will cost you more in the end!

How Much of a Difference will Home Staging Make?

You are probably wondering, how much of a difference will professional home staging really make in my sales price or in how fast I can sell my home? Information is often published by the Real Estate Staging Association and National Association of Realtors and other publishers every year or two. The numbers vary each year, and there are no guarantees, as every home sale is different and a variety of factors can affect your sale (such as location, condition, realtor marketing, asking price etc.) but here are some guidelines.

• • The majority of Realtors think staging increases the amount buyers are willing to offer between 1-20%
  • Staging usually costs 0.5%-1% of the home’s value (my experience)
  • Staged homes spend 72% less time on the market.
  • Home staging costs vary by the area of the country you live in, the size of the home, time on the market etc. and generally range from approximately $400 for a consultation to $5000 to stage a vacant home.

Let’s Do the Math

Say the median home price in your area is $350.000

1% increase is $3500

5% increase is $17,500

10% increase is $35,000

15% increase is $52,500

20% increase is $70,000

Much of the cost of this can likely be written off on the seller’s taxes as advertising fees on the sale of the home.

Pretty good investment!

Don’t Forget about Price Reductions and Holding Costs

And remember, if your house is on the market a while, each price reduction will likely be $5000-$15000.  Will you also be paying a mortgage and taxes too? You could end up losing 1-20% from your starting price as your house sits on the market. See this recent info-graphic from the Real Estate Staging Association that summarizes some of the benefits and costs of home staging.

At the end of the day, you as the home seller, have the potential to make the most profit (or take the greatest loss) from your home sale, not your realtor or stager. Step back, look at the big picture, and consider the benefits of making an investment in professional home staging for a higher sales price!

References

The Consumers Guide to Real Estate Staging, Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)

RESA Home Staging Statisics InfoGraphic

National Association of Realtors 2019 Profile of Home Staging

Get a Professional Home Staging Consultation Today

The best way to make sure your home sells fast and for more is to start with a professional home staging consultation. Find out everything you can do to prepare your house for market, and steps you can take to get the best return on your investment. During this time of social distancing, virtual staging is also a great option.

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Mary Ann Benoit of Northern Lights Home Staging and Design was honored to be interviewed by Kris Bohman of Anchorage Advice Givers on her experiences as an entrepreneur, and as a home stager, starting and running Northern Lights Home Staging and Design.

The interview gives insight on why she is passionate about home staging and design. It also provides some great advice if you are interested in starting your own business, whatever that may be. See the interview below.

If you would like to listen to the audio recording, check out the podcast.

Mary Ann Benoit is the leading home stager in south-central Alaska and is the only home stager in south-central Alaska trained as a professional home stager and with a degree in Interior Design. She is also a Certified Color Expert. Customers and colleagues describe her as “the best at what she does” and her work as “stellar,” “fantastic,” ”amazing,” “innovative,” “prompt and professional.”  She is known for giving “above and beyond service,” being a “delight to work with,” and “a great coach and mentor.”  “Hiring Mary Ann is more than worth every dollar and led us to success, and a new future.” To find our more about Mary Ann Benoit, check out the About Me page.

Selling a vacant house is difficult, for a variety of reasons. With nothing else to look at, buyers tend to focus on every flaw.

Buyers have a hard time visualizing how big the space  is and it often appears smaller than it is. They can not picture how their own furniture might fit in the space, especially if you have a challenging layout. And most important, it is very difficult for buyers to make an emotional connection with a vacant house! They look a little sad and lonely!

Here is an example of the difference home staging can make.

If you are selling a vacant house, home staging can make a real difference. Help buyers visualize how their belongings will fit in the space and how their furniture can be arranged. It will help them picture themselves living there. Furniture, art and color will add warmth and a sense of home that a vacant house can never have. This is the first step in getting buyers to make an emotional connection with the house so they will make an offer.

Outshine your competition with home staging.

Some times in person home staging is not possible. With professional, well lit photos of your vacant property, your photos can be virtually staged.

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