Staging the Stager’s House

One of my favorite home staging jobs was when I staged another home stagers 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. Even home stagers become blind to these things in our own homes.

A home stager can see your house for the first time as the buyer will see it. They will notice all those things you no longer see and can give you great advice on changing those things, not just to look nicer, but to also appeal to your target market.

Target market? Whether you realize it or not, your house, based on its location, price, neighborhood, local schools, and other data will appeal to some buyers more than others.

A lower priced home near good schools may appeal more to first time home buyers with children. A professional home stager will know your market conditions, who your target market is, and will stage the house to appeal to those buyers.

Staging the stager's house- Northern Lights Home Staging and Design

A home stager is also a member of your home selling team, along with your Realtor and photographer. As part of your team, your home stager is there to support you, offer you advice, serve as a coach and provide support. Selling your home can be very stressful and having a good support team can make all the difference in making the process as smooth and stress free as possible.

Staging the Home Stagers House

In this home staging project, I helped another home stager by providing that objective view, by staging her home and serving as part of her support team. I also developed the social media advertising for her home sale, and provided support when times were stressful! Check out the before and afters in this video.

So how did it go? Here is what the seller had to say about the process.

Mary Ann deserves a “stellar” rating for her home staging services, talent, experience and knowledge as a Professional Home Stager. A home stager myself, my husband & I enlisted Mary Ann to take on the oversight of staging our home when a new job and relocation required us to sell our $575,000+ home in a lagging real estate market, & a very busy time in our lives!

Her perspective helped us make decisions that were hard to make but that were in the best interest of our home sale. When the home staging was competed and a professional real estate photographer captured the essence of our property for an excellent Internet presence, Mary Ann also created a fantastic Face Book Page & a video to help boost our online marketing and show the property in a way that real estate listings could not. We had immediate requests for home showings, and fantastic feedback from home buyers and real estate folks during the entire listing period.

In addition to Mary Ann’s staging talent & knowledge, she provided us with constant professionalism and personal service by staying in regular communication with us during our home listing; by being on time and meeting deadlines; by reducing our stress because of ongoing support and her experience; by completing all work, then following up with our additional requests; by reducing our staging costs by using furniture & decor we already had; by updating, & increasing our Face Book Page presence & audience; by ensuring that we were satisfied with her staging, costs & marketing services; and by being part of the team that successfully got our home sold in a bleak real estate slump .

Because our home was staged to show all of it’s features and to attract home buyers, our home sale was solid, and profitable. Had we not staged, or had we poorly staged our property that was in competition with other homes, it is safe to say we would have been forced to drop our sales price, significantly, and received less profit for a future home purchase.

Mary Ann was not only a home staging contractor, she was, for us, a coach, a mentor and a great support in a very stressful and high anxiety time in life! Home staging is worth every dollar, but hiring Mary Ann Benoit, of Northern Light Home Staging & Design, was more than worth every dollar and lead us to success, and a new future. Stacy Goade- President of Alaska Premier Home Staging

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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 profession”, the answer I received was “designer”. I started playing the “what if” game in my head, wondering what my life would have been like if I had stuck with Interior Design as a career. And then I thought, why not now? I decided it would be the focus of my new business, Northern Lights Home Staging and Design.

While researching how to start a design business, I came across information on home staging. I really knew nothing about it and the whole concept of decorating a house to sell sounded fascinating. I thought it would be a great aspect of a design business.

Home Staging Training

After researching various home staging courses, I decided to take Debra Gould’s Staging Diva course because it seemed to be the most focused on how to successfully run a home staging business, rather than just teaching how to decorate. And I am so glad I did!

The course was fantastic and I continue to stay connected with Debra and other stagers from the class through coaching and conference calls. Part of the journey I love is the wonderful generosity, community and friendships I developed with this group of amazing creative people. Some have taken me under their wing and served as mentors when I was just getting started, and others I continue to collaborate with, developing products, articles and brainstorming ideas to make our businesses better.

Life as a Home Stager

After starting Northern Lights Home Staging and Design, I found my life as a home stager is fun and rewarding, and it feeds my creative soul with the great benefit of helping others. I love walking through a house during a home staging consultation, and on the fly determining all the things that can transform the house, make it look beautiful, connect emotionally with buyers, and help my clients. It is like an improvisational home staging dance. I also love staging vacant homes, where I have a blank slate and can do whatever I want! I love working with occupied homes, where I can see the story of the home owner, and bring out the beauty that is there by bringing a fresh eye, highlighting the important things the house wants to show. When you listen, the house speaks to you and tells you what makes it special. I love it when I am done with the staging and the home seller says “Wow, I wish we had been living like this all along…maybe we shouldn’t sell”!

Unexpected Benefits of Becoming a Home Stager

And there were some totally unexpected benefits as well. I have another business, a bed and breakfast which I started in 2002. Once I started learning how home staging is an amazing a marketing tool that connects with buyers, I wondered if I could apply the same concepts to my bed and breakfast. I did some experimenting and found that it at least doubled my bookings and income and helped me attract my ideal customers. It transformed my business. And, doing this added a specialty niche for my staging business to help others with vacation rental properties with home staging.

My life as a home stager- Mary Ann Benoit of Northern Lights Home Staging and Design — My life as a home stager

From my home staging course, I learned or was inspired to learn all kinds of new things including designing my own word press websites, creating video for advertising, how to write a blog and create a newsletter, how to publish articles for magazines and do radio interviews. I also was inspired to continue my education and become a color expert and strategist, and add color consulting to my list of services. The home staging training opened so many doors to learning that helped me in numerous aspects of my life. And I think it is just the beginning!

It all gives me joy. And like any business, while there are times when business can be slow or clients can be difficult, it is all worth it and I am so happy this is what I am doing. If you are someone that has wondered about being a home stager, I say, GO FOR IT!

My life as a home stager — Mary Ann Benoit- President of Northern Lights Home Staging and Design

Call 907-362-0065 today

info@northernlightsstaging.com

Northern Lights Home Staging and Design awards and credentials

Free Home Staging Workshop-Sell Your House in any Market Fast and For More with Home Staging

Join us for a free home staging workshop on March 12, 5:45-6:45 pm at 12*100 Cpffee and Communitas in Anchorage located at 12100 Old Seward Highway.

Thinking of selling your house? Stop by for coffee and learn how to sell quickly and for top dollar in any market with home staging. Potentially increase your selling price up to 20% and sell 79% faster. Learn what you can do yourself, and how a home stager can help you. Learn how and why home staging works and how to find a great home stager. Find out about the process and what it costs.

Your home is probably your greatest investment. Home selling is a stressful process. Make sure you get the most for your home and learn the tools to sell fast, reduce stress and costs.

Sell Your House in Any Market Fast and for More- Free Workshop by Northern Lights Home Staging and Design

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Free Home Staging Workshop with Northern Lights Home Staging and Design

Mary Ann Benoit with Northern Lights Home Staging & Design – Not The Usual Success Story

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.

Staging for a Quick Sale- Mary Ann Benoit is the President of Northern Lights Home Staging and Design at northernlightsstaging.com. — Mary Ann Benoit is the President of Northern Lights Home Staging and Design at northernlightsstaging.com.

Using Social Media Marketing to Sell Your House

A PICTURE’S WORTH A MILLION WORDS…& HOME BUYERS LOVE IT!

There’s a lot of hype these days about the value of Social Media in promoting an event, an idea and; how about this – a home sale! And why not; social media reaches a larger and younger audience of home buyers. Its smart selling!

If you are planning on selling a home, you are smart to use social media to capture the attention of potential home buyers. Include social media in your marketing arsenal for a faster home sale. And for sellers who will use the For-Sale-By-Owner strategy; social media is a must.

If social media is not your thing, find someone who is skilled in using Facebook. As the seller, you can provide the other key elements of packaging your home sale and see that it is part of your social media marketing. Doing this will positively shape home buyer perceptions and emotions; those psychological triggers that prompt buyers to make you on offer on their future home!

MARKETING TOOLS FOR HOME SELLERS

Professional home staging by an expert home stager with real estate knowledge
Professional photos of the inside and outside of a property for use on the Internet, in social media & on marketing flyers
A real estate “listing” (agent’s advertisement) which accurately describes the home’s features
A “Facebook Page” that home sellers can capitalize on to do the following;
Capture the “essence” of your home through photos, video and messages
Promote your home sale through Face Book “Ads” so a larger audience is aware of your sale. Target your home buyers using location, age, income, demographics, and more.
Send “invitations” or advertise your home sale “events,” such as an Open House
Create and post videos or virtual tours of the interior and exterior of your home that highlights property features. A video helps make the home come alive for home buyers.

Facebook Pages, ads & videos offer powerful marketing photos, messages and information to home buyers that they won’t see in a typical real estate agent property listing (the Multiple Listing Service, or the MLS).

Together, these additional photos, videos and messages can portray the “essence” of what makes your property stand out from other properties (your competitors) with authentic marketing highlighting the best your house has to offer….something you as the owner know more about than anyone else!

Use links to these Facebook Pages, Ads, Events and videos in real estate listings, For-Sale-By-Owner websites, yard signs & flyers, marketing brochures, online Pay-Per-Click ads (PPC), newspaper ads and emails. Link them to other social media sites such as Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus to expand your advertising even more.

Call 907-362-0065 to launch your home sale with my social media tools and services. I can create a great Facebook page and video that captures the ‘essence” of your home for sale and do social media marketing of your page. Combine this with my home staging services and you will have a winning combination to sell your home fast and for more!

Purchase an Online Home Staging Service

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