Bass Lake, CA

Bass Lake, California,...there's plenty of water. Cool off here.

Ignore those new reports that tell you about how little water there is at Bass Lake in the beautiful Sierra Mountain range, just outside of Oakhurst, California

If you are on your way to Yosemite, on Highway 41, take a very short side trip just north of Oakhurst. Turn right on Road 222 and in 10 minutes you will be at the lake. Take a drip in the lake, have a picnic, enjoy lunch at the soda fountain at the Forks, a shave ice at Millers or a gourmet dinner, lakefront at Duceys. Rent a ski boat, a pontoon boat or a fishing boat.

Enjoy the day or the week. Bass Lake is a great place to visit and to live.

Does Professional Staging Pay Off? YES absolutely and here's a simple example.

This is a manufactured house in a 55+ park at Bass Lake, California. This house has been listed since the passing of the owner over a year ago. There are at least 7 other houses For Sale in this relatively small park. The trustees have been paying the space rent (over $500 per month) and the mortgage, WISHING and HOPING that it would sell, so that they could move on and settle grandpa's estate.

Here are a few BEFORE photos:

SO the house sat and sat and sat. Few showings and no interest. Then the agent called Dream Interior Redesign and Staging this past March for a staging consultation/evaluation. He said that previously he just didn't think that the trustee, family or estate attorney would go for staging because it was already costing them so much money. I did a quick write up for the Realtor and he sent it to the attorney. In that write up I told him my opinion of why the house hadn't sold. The attorney immediately said "make the changes, we need to move this house and get this estate settled."

The dirty blue sculptured carpet was replaced, the entire home was painted and then I professionally staged the most important rooms. This was a very low BUDGET staging due to the estate situation. The cost for the complete updating and staging package was just under $4500. The home immediately had more exposure. Showings increased dramatically and it was SOLD in just 37 days after our professional staging. The new owners are delighted with their second home and they even wanted to purchase our staging items.

Here are a few of our AFTER photos:

IF this house had not been updated and Professionally Staged by Dream Interior Redesign and Staging we know that it would still be waiting for a buyer. And it would have to be a buyer that was willing to pay to make it livable.

We realize that spending $4500 isn't a drop in the bucket and it might be difficult for sellers to imagine spending this to sell the house but the result was a SOLD sign. We know that the trustees already spent well over $6500 letting this house SIT for a year and it may very well have cost them another $6500 while it sat for another year if the changes hadn't been made. STAGING DOES PAY OFF!

Dream Interior Redesign & Staging by Ginger Foust is a full service professional staging and redesign company serving the California foothill and mountain communities of Oakhurst, North Fork, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, Bass Lake, Wawona and Mariposa. Click hereto see a short slideshow with examples of our staging work. Also, visit our website at www.dreamredesigns.com or www.oakhurststaging.com for more information or call 559-877-2442.

AGENTS/REALTORS let your professional home stager help you make the deal happen.

Some of you will remember my blog post asking for a primer to use on wallpaper panels in a mobile home.

This was an estate situation and the mobile is located in a 55+ park. One of my realtor partner's asked me to just take a look at the place and perhaps help with some accessories, artwork and linens...no major furnishings. This home had already been on the market for OVER a year (with a different agent) and the space rental was eating away at any profits that MIGHT be there for the heirs. The trustor (a friend of the deceased) was continually telling the realtors that there was simply no money for anything except the space rent. AND since the heirs were long distance there was no one to do the work without some $$ expenditures.

I don't usually do LOOK-SEES for no cost but this agent uses me a lot so I make some concessions that don't eat too much into my time. After a brief look-see I decided that this 1986 model really needed some serious updating before staging would do it ANY good. The wallpaper, sculptured blue (dirty) carpet throughout and much more screamed "OLD."

In order to help the agent understand why I did not recommend staging I put it in writing. Nothing time consuming or detailed. He totally understood BUT then he also sent my brief explanation to the attorney for the estate and let him know that this home needed a SERIOUS price reduction.

The attorney responded that he thought that it was time to paint and recarpet rather than reducing the price so drastically. How about staging my agent friend asked? "Don't think so," replied the attorney.

The agent called me with the GOOD NEWS that painting would be happening and new carpet too. I was thrilled and yes I would help him with paint color and carpet selection. THEN he let the shoe drop...no new light fixtures and NO staging. Ouch!

Here's a before and after of the wallpapered kitchen NOW painted.

Sorry no after photos of the newly carpeted areas and painted rooms YET. BTW it is NOT painted white as it shows in the photo. It is a mocha cream.

Yes, I shot myself in the foot and will not be staging this home but that's OK. Hopefully the agent will now be able to move this property and I know that I will remain his staging partner. I WILL GET BACK.

Sometimes providing the real estate agent with a consultation (even a brief one) can work wonders.

IMPORTANT UPDATE CLICK HERE.

Dream Interior Redesign & Staging by Ginger Foust is a full service professional staging and redesign company serving the California foothill and mountain communities of Oakhurst, North Fork, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, Bass Lake, Wawona and Mariposa. Click here to see a short slideshow with examples of our staging work. Also, visit our website at www.dreamredesigns.com or www.oakhurststaging.com for more information or call 559-877-2442.