4th Street, SE, Washington DC Row House Staged and Read to Sell

Staging vacant homes are always a lot of fun for Preferred Staging.  It’s a great creative challenge to walk into an empty house and then envision how it will look furnished and accessorized.  Although it’s not quite as simple as it sounds.  Room measurements, zones (like space between furniture, walking paths, dining versus living, etc.), floor and wall colors, windows placements, and natural light all have to be taken into consideration.

We recently staged this fabulously renovated 1937 townhouse at 714 4th St. SE, Washington, DC.  The builder has really made this a showcase house with a huge kitchen, wonderful modern baths, a spacious master bedroom, and beautiful hardwood floors.  The front and back yards and patio are perfectly landscaped, too.

The builder has really made this a showcase house with a huge kitchen, wonderful modern baths, a spacious master bedroom, and beautiful hardwood floors.The front and back yards and patio are perfectly landscaped, too.

The approach to staging row houses like this one is to consider the long and narrow living space and the presentation.  How we stage to present a house is not necessarily how the new owner is going to arrange their furniture to live in the house.  Our goal is to stage the house with the best possible layout and arrangement so the house shows well, and potential buyers can see not only how much space there is, but also what furniture and how much furniture can fit into a room.

Of course, if a buyer walked in on staging day, they would probably stand there shaking their head wondering how we’re going to make it all work.  It’s CHAOS (or in home owner parlance, Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome). But it’s all creative chaos – yes, we actually know what we’re doing – and at the end of the day the final results speak for themselves. See more before and afters of this and other Washington DC homes

All the best,

Monica, ASP

703.851.2690

Preferred Staging

the art of home preparation

Safety First: Northern Virginia, DC, Maryland Realtors Urged to Take Safety Training

A couple of weeks ago I attended a 1 hour seminar offered by the Southern Crime Prevention Task Force. Commander AJ Gywn of Atlanta, Georgia gave a fantastic presentation on safety for stagers, although the main focus of the seminar was Realtor safety.

I STRONGLY recommend that all real estate offices contact the SCPRF and schedule a FREE seminar for their offices, especially with the holiday season just around the corner. (A minimum group of 25 or more people is required.)  As Commander Gywn told us, the holiday season, combined with the current economy, is a sure recipe for increased crime rates across the country.

From their website:  The task force has one of the best training seminars
in the United States on real estate agent safety!!

“The Southern Crime Prevention Task Force has seen the crimes against real estate agents increase over the last five years. Crimes are being committed against male agents also, as criminals now are not as gender-specific. Our Real Estate Agent Safety Training Seminar is a 60-minute seminar, and 25 different topics on agent safety are covered. Agents who attend the seminar will learn how and why criminals often target a real estate agent, and agents in attendance will also be provided with different ideas and strategies on how they can become safer while on the job. The instructor will also be available after the seminar to interact with agents who may have questions, and for those wishing to discuss any situations they may have been involved in the past. This training seminar is in huge demand by real estate companies, boards, and associations.”

The seminars are offered free of charge, and are only 60 minutes long.  But the amount of information provided is invaluable!  We learned why real estate agents are targets, how to market yourself safely, how to communicate safely yet professionally with people you’re meeting for the first time, how to protect yourself during open houses, how to identify suspicious activity, and how to defend yourself if you find yourself in a difficult situation.  And that’s just the first 20 minutes!  At the end of the seminar, a handful of safety items can be purchased, all of which are thoroughly explained and demonstrated.

You can contact the Southern Crime Prevention Task Force in Gainesville, Georgia for more information at 678-947-5914, or by email at scptf@aol.com.

As we were told, you have to be pro-active, and not re-active – so be pro-active and schedule your seminar soon!

All the Best,

Monica Monica, ASP

703.851.2690

Preferred Staging (Northern Virginia, Washington DC and Suburban Maryland)

the art of home preparation

Arlington Virginia Real Estate Staging: Minimal Cost for Maximum Results

Let’s get right to the numbers:

The national average cost to stage a house is approximately 1% of the asking price of the house.

This is true on some levels, but not for every house.  First, this sort of number really only applies to vacant houses, where furniture and accessories have to be rented.  Second, I’ve staged many a million dollar house and the cost was no where near $10,000.  On the other hand, I’ve staged mid-priced vacants where this formula comes close to being on target – it all depends on what the homeowner and Realtor want.

I’m asked by virtually every new client with a vacant to stage for a ballpark estimate.  It is a professional policy of Preferred Staging’s not to give estimates without first having seen the property, as there are too many variables to take into account (room size, layout, natural light, etc.).  However, I do offer the 1% formula as a starting point for the client to understand the cost of staging.

Another number:

“Preferred Staging’s proposals to stage vacant houses generally fall between 0.5% – 0.8% of the asking price of the house.”

I quickly follow up the national formula with the above statement.  It doesn’t have to cost a lot to stage your house.

Remember, all of the above numbers refer to VACANT houses.  Occupied houses are a completely different story.

Just last week we staged this very sweet house in Arlington, listed by Anya Macklin.  The first step was a 2 hour walk-through consultation, which was paid for by the Realtor as a value added service to her clients.  (Call me for information about special Realtor discounts on Preferred Staging’s services!)

Home owners know they have to declutter, but they often don’t know what the next step is in presenting their house for sale.  In this case, we talked about moving some furniture to open up spaces,  replacing some larger furniture with smaller furniture to allow easier access through rooms, removing and/or switching some wall art, using their own decorative pieces for display, and the addition of a couple of lamps, art work, and greenery from Preferred Staging’s inventory.

One week later we came back and spent just 2 ½ hours at the house; the home owners had done the bulk of the work themselves already.  The only items they had purchased were 2 new lamps for the master bedroom nightstands on my recommendation after a brief tutorial on table lamps and suggestions of where to buy them.  I generally don’t encourage home owners to buy new items for staging a house unless it’s something they really need and can use in their new home, in which case it becomes an investment, not just a purchase.

The final staging cost to the home owners – including the cost of new lamps – is just about $500.  That’s 0.001% of the asking price of the house.

The Realtor was very pleased with the results, and the open house last Sunday had over 20 couples.  The house is priced right and shows well – and I’m sure to hear back soon that it has sold.

Before and after photos of this property can be found on the Preferred Staging gallery, along with other Arlington VA homes.

All the Best,

Monica, ASP

703.851.2690

Preferred Staging

the art of home preparation

McLean, Virginia Home Staged in Evermay

Preferred Staging firmly believes that every property is unique, so when we approach a house for staging, we need to take into consideration all of the wonderful features that the house has to offer.  We stage each house to highlight its best features, and work with the challenges.  Each house, therefore, is staged a little bit differently.

Last week we staged a fabulous house in the Evermay area of McLean, Virginia.  It’s a split level house with a large and open front foyer, which is very welcoming.  However, from the foyer you can see into every main room of the house – the dining room, kitchen and family room, living room, and finished basement.  What a view!  And this was our main challenge – to stage each room visible from the front foyer so that it was warm and welcoming, but also with focal points that would invite buyers to walk into the rooms to experience each space further.  The longer a buyer will linger in a room, the more interested they can become, and hopefully envisioning themselves living in that room.  This is a major first step in the buying process.

Our team staged this large house in just one day, and when the Realtor stopped by as we were finishing up, he stood in the foyer and looked around him and into each room.  He was thrilled with the results!  The Borker’s Open the next day was a huge success, and we are expecting a sale in the very near future!   Before and after photos of this property can be found on the Preferred Staging gallery with other McLean, VA homes.

All the Best,

Monica, ASP

703.851.2690

Preferred Staging

the art of home preparation

MINIMAL COSTS FOR MAXIMUM RESULTS

Let’s get right to the numbers:

The national average cost to stage a house is approximately 1% of the asking price of the house.

This is true on some levels, but not for every house. First, this sort of number really only applies to vacant houses, where furniture and accessories have to be rented. Second, I’ve staged many a million dollar house and the cost was no where near $10,000. On the other hand, I’ve staged mid-priced vacants where this formula comes close to being on target.

I’m asked by virtually every new client with a vacant to stage for a ballpark estimate. It is a professional policy of Preferred Staging’s not to give estimates without first having seen the property, as there are too many variables to take into account (room size, layout, natural light, etc.). However, I do offer the above formula as a starting point for the client to understand the cost of staging.

Another number:

Preferred Staging’s proposals to stage vacant houses generally fall between 0.5% – 0.8% of the asking price of the house.

I quickly follow up the first statement with the above statement. It doesn’t have to cost a lot to stage your house.

Remember, all of the above numbers refer to VACANT houses. Occupied houses are a completely different story.

Just last week we staged a very sweet house in Arlington .  The first step was a 2 hour walk-through consultation, which was paid for by the Realtor as a value added service to her clients. Home owners know they have to declutter, but they often don’t know what the next step is in presenting their house for sale. In this case, we talked about moving some furniture to open up spaces, replacing some larger furniture with smaller furniture to allow easier access through rooms, removing and/or switching some wall art, using their own decorative pieces for display, and the addition of a couple of lamps, art work, and greenery from Preferred Staging’s inventory.

One week later we came back and spent only 2 ½ hours at the house; the home owners had done the bulk of the work themselves already. The only items they had purchased were 2 new lamps for the master bedroom nightstands on my recommendation after a brief tutorial on table lamps and suggestions of where to buy them. I generally don’t encourage home owners to buy new items for staging a house unless it’s something they really need and can use in their new home, in which case it becomes an investment, not just a purchase. The final staging cost to the home owners – including the cost of new lamps – is just about $500. That’s 0.001% of the asking price of the house.

The Realtor was very pleased with the results, and the open house had over 20 couples.  The house is priced right and shows well – I’m sure I’ll hear back soon that it has sold.

All the Best,
Monica

703.851.2690

Preferred Staging

the art of home preparation

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow, it has been a busy spring! I hope everyone has been able to capture the increase in activity over the last several weeks. I know the properties we have staged have been selling like proverbial “hot cakes.”

Our oldest property, in terms of days on market, just sold. Even though it took 3 months, our average DOM held steady at 23 for all of 2009, thanks to several recent properties selling in less than a week.  

Staging is not as glamorous as the HGTV shows make it out to be. While I love the quick sales of our staged properties, it can mess with your mind a bit when you spend so much time making a home beautiful, then go undo it 30 days later. But, hey, Preferred Staging is here to help you sell homes, so we are happy that we contribute to a great result of a quick sale.  

Recently, I was asked to do a consultation for a townhouse in Reston that sits right on a beautiful lake.  The home owners are both very talented artists, and their home was their personal art gallery.  The paint colors were bold and bright, and there was an eclectic but successful mix of contemporary and traditional furniture and art.       

The owners loved their house; it was truly a reflection of all they loved.  Unfortunately, the interior is what I call “style specific”, meaning that the decorating was specifically their style and would not appeal to a broader target pool of buyers.  

Luckily, virtually all the work to be done was cosmetic, so the staging consultation also included a color consultation.  The owners had done as I had suggested in the consultation – both painting and staging – and I was called back a week or so ago to take my after photos.

All I could say was WOW!  The transformation was fabulous! The full listing is here and before and afters here.  

Another recent townhome, this one in the Ballston area of Arlington, Virginia was great to stage. They key feature in this home was a great fireplace surrounded by built-ins. There was no question what the focal point of the home was.

 

Since the fireplace was dominant and protrudes into the room slightly, we staged with lighter furniture so as not to compete with the weight of the focal point.       

The rest of the before and afters can be found on our web sight.   Please have a happy, safe and productive (if you are working) or non-productive (if you are resting) Memorial Day weekend.  

All the Best!  

Monica, ASP

703.851.2690 

Preferred Staging

the art of home preparation

Investing in Home Staging

So, how many times in your life has someone told you there is “no free lunch” or ”you get what you pay for”? Well, we all know the most important things in life are invaluable, but everything else has a price tag.  

Staging is no different, the most important thing that we provide our clients is peace of mind that they are doing everything possible to sell their property. You cannot place a value on that.  

What you can place a value upon is success. Our average days on the market fell to 20 this week with the sale of one of our most recent stagings in just 10 days. Now, we do not take anything away from the real estate pros we work with, they deserve all the credit for moving these properties – they are the best!  

Preferred Staging’s job is to provide the backdrop for an aggressive marketing effort. It is very difficult to market a vacant home, or an occupied that just does not show well. All the eloquent wording of fliers, the online listings, the broker’s opens, and open houses cannot overcome a home that does not show well. That’s where we come in.  

80% of the homes we have staged this year are under contract, and those homes sold in an average of just 20 days, that’s a full 60 days less than the average in Arlington so far this year. That is 2 fewer mortgage payments home owners have to make, on average. It is also less marketing time and expense for you.  

Home staging may be a new concept for many home owners, but the numbers tell a very effective story that it is the way to go to sell quickly.  

All the Best!  

Monica, ASP

703.851.2690 

Preferred Staging

the art of home preparation

Washington DC Realtor Home Preparation Guide

Preferred Staging is offering its agent partners and friends in the Washington DC area an opportunity to co-brand a unique home preparation guide. This easy to read guide will become a centerpiece of your farming activities and listing presentations. Differentiate yourself from other agents by including a custom home preparation guide, specifically developed for today’s market.

 

Take a look at the guide and let us know if you would like to your own version to distribute to your clients and prospects. There is no charge or obligation – the guide is Preferred Staging’s way of helping you set yourself apart, just as our staging projects set homes apart from the competition.

 

All the Best,

 

Monica

703.851.2690

Preferred Staging

the art of home preparation

Pendleton St, Alexandria, VA Before and After Pictures

Here are the full before and after pictures of the home on Pendleton Street in Old Town Alexandria. It really is a stunning property.

All the Best!

Monica

703.851.2690

Preferred Staging

the art of home preparation

Lovely Alexandria, Virginia Townhouse

We just finished staging this awesome townhouse in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. I will post the before and afters tomorrow, but we just finished editing the video, so I thought I would get that up right away.

This home already has some interest, with one offer on the table, just days after staging.

All the Best,
Monica
703.851.2690
www.preferredstaging.com