Tag: home staging

Virtual Home Staging and Design- The Pros and Cons

When it is time to sell our home, we all want to sell fast and for the highest price. One of the best ways to make that happen is to stage your home. Home staging uses decorating to highlight the home’s best features and helps buyers visualize how they can use the space while making an emotional connection with them so they can see themselves living there happily. When it comes to home staging, there are several ways to go about it. You can: Get a consultation with a professional home stager Read more [...]

How to Flip a House and Make a Profit

Have you dreamed how to flip a house and make a profit? The first step is buying a great property with good potential to make a return on your investment. Then it is important to invest wisely in your repairs and upgrades. Finally, prepare the home for sale by having it professionally staged, create great curb appeal, get professional photos and sell it fast and at the high end of the price range for similar homes before you have any price reductions. Invest Wisely We have all heard the Read more [...]

My Top Ten Home Staging Tips

Here are my top ten home staging tips to help you appeal to the greatest possible pool of prospective buyers so you can sell fast and for the price you want. First, get an “objective” idea of how buyers may view your house. We all have problem areas that we no longer “see” because we live with them every day. Also, consider who your likely “buyer” is and what they want. A consultation with a professional home stager and advice from your realtor can help you determine and appeal to Read more [...]

5 Steps to Attract Your Ideal Customer and Increase Your Vacation Rental Income

Would you like to attract your ideal customer and increase your vacation rental income? Whether you have a Bed and Breakfast or other vacation rental, it is important to have your property stand out online to attract the guests you want and make the income you want. Learn more by listening to this interview with Mary Ann Benoit on Seward Public Radio's "Market Minute" with Nicole Lawrence. For additional information, see my blog articles on  Increasing your Vacation Rental Income and Bookings Read more [...]

Cinch Your Home Sale with Great Outdoor Living Space

A growing trend with home buyers in 2018 is the desire for outdoor living space. Over 51% of buyers say this is really important in their decision to buy. Creating a great outdoor living area will give a great return on your investment when preparing your home for sale. Younger buyers in particular are looking for patios and outdoor areas. Outdoor living space increases the functional square footage of a home so is even more important in small homes.  Sliding doors or French doors leading to Read more [...]

Staging the Stager’s House

I recently spent time staging the stager's house. What???  Yes, even home stagers can benefit from home staging when selling their house! Why? Two reasons: One of the most valuable aspects of home staging is getting that objective view of your for-sale home that a home stager can give you. When you live in a house every day, it is easy to no longer see that pile of stuff in the corner, notice the smell of cat litter or notice that squeaky door. A home stager see’s your house for the first Read more [...]

Increase your Vacation Rental Income and Bookings with Home Staging

Did you know that you can increase your vacation rental income and bookings with home staging? Home staging highlights the positive and downplays the negative aspects of homes for sale. A professional stager creates a look and atmosphere that buyers make an emotional connection with and they want to buy through decorating and market research. It’s the emotional connection that cinches the deal. Sellers then market their properties to attract buyers online with great photos of their beautifully Read more [...]

My Life as a Home Stager

Ever wondered what life as a home stager is like? How I Became a Home Stager Many years ago I got a degree in Interior Design, and although I used it on some jobs and always loved it, my life took a different path and I became a wildlife biologist. Three years ago, I decided I wanted to start some type of creative business. Working for the government as a scientist was not exactly feeding my creative spirit!  One day when taking one of those fun quizzes on Facebook, called “What is your true Read more [...]

How much does home staging cost and who pays for it?

How much does it cost is usually the first question I get from home sellers! A better question might be can home staging help me sell faster and for more! Think of home staging as an investment, rather than a cost.   That investment will depend on the size of your home, if it is vacant or occupied, if the stager will do everything or just a consultation, followed by you, the seller, doing the bulk of the work. It also depends on whether suitable furniture and accessories are present Read more [...]

Will Younger Buyers Love Your For-Sale Home?

Will younger buyers love your for-sale home? The majority of staging projects that I do lately are for older sellers and the target market is younger buyers. The sellers  are retiring and moving to a new location. Many have lived in their home for many years, which were often built in the 1970's-1980's. Based on the price they are selling these older homes for and location near schools, the target buyer is often a young family buying their first or second house. The styles that appeal to these Read more [...]