Donna Dazzo Home Stager in the Hamptons & New York

When your home is for sale, it is now a product that needs to appeal to the greatest number of buyers. Walls, along with the floors, are the bones of a home and they need to be in good condition and neutral in appearance so that they do appeal to the greatest number of buyers.

• People are heavily influenced by color, and it is difficult for buyers to look past the dark purple or other strong colors on the walls.
• Paint is an inexpensive but effective way to re-decorate a room. It can update a kitchen or bathroom, make a small room seem to be larger, and make architectural details like molding or built-ins pop.
• Dirty and scratched walls and peeling paint turn off buyers.
• Potential buyers will be thinking about how they have to take the time and spend the money to repaint; or even worse, thinking ‘I don't want to buy this place".
• Painting does cost money for both labor and materials, but its benefits far exceed its cost. Even if the buyer is willing to make an offer, you can bet it will be less than asking to compensate for the paint job they will have to do.

Paint Sheens (all Benjamin Moore Regal)

Follow these guidelines for choosing paint finishes:

• Flat - good for ceilings (use Benjamin Moore Decorator's White). Can also be used for walls if the walls have a lot of imperfections as these would be more noticeable when painted with a sheen or gloss. However, flat paint is more difficult to clean than paint with a sheen or gloss.

• Eggshell - good for bedrooms and living and dining rooms. Highly washable, durable and stain resistant.

• Matte - good for busy areas like hallways and kids' rooms as it is a flat paint but highly stain resistant and durable.

• Pearl - good for hallways, bathroom and kitchen walls, and kids' rooms as it is highly durable and can withstand repeated washings.

• Semi-Gloss - good for trim and doors, and also kitchen and bathrooms. It is highly durable, scrubbable and washable. Use a color in the white family to make trim pop.

If you prefer to choose one finish for walls in all rooms, then Eggshell is recommended.

Paint Colors

Before purchasing any paint, test a sample on the wall. Benjamin Moore now sells small jars of the most popular colors, or invest in purchasing a quart. If the wall has a dark color on it, hold a white piece of paper next to your sample. Look at your sample painted swatch at different times of the day to see if it changes color with the lighting.

When painting a home that is for sale, it is best to stick with neutral colors. And that doesn't mean white, as it is very stark and cold. It also doesn't mean it has to be some variation of off-white or beige, but can be a certain shade of green, blue, brown, gold or earth-toned red.

If you wish to "play it safe", the following is a list of colors that are in the off-white or beige category.

Recommended Neutral Paint Colors For Walls

Below are color swatches of my recommended netural paint colors, as well as a list of the colors. Keep in mind that the appearance of the color on the swatch may not reflect it's true color as it depends upon the monitor settings with which you are viewing them.

• Natural Wicker (OC-1)
• Elephant Tusk (OC-8)
• Muslin (OC-12)
• Cedar Key (OC-16)
• Collingwood (OC-28)
• Tapestry Beige (OC-32)
• Misty Air (OC-44)
• Hazy Skies (OC-48)
• Gentle Cream (OC-96)
• Pale Celery (OC-116)
• Celery Salt (OC-136)
• Shelburne Buff (HC-28)
• Edgecombe Gray (HC-173)
• Manchester Tan (HC-81)
• Rich Cream (2153-60)

Note: All Benjamin Moore

Do you have any favorite neutral colors you use or recommend? I'd love to add them to my list.

We have all either seen or heard of that TV show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" where adults try to answer questions that a fifth grader could answer. You assume the adults would know the answers because...well they're adults and have had more years of life and learning under their belt. Well, often that's not the case...the fifth graders usually win.

I found myself this past week wondering if home sellers were smarter than real estate agents. I was contacted by two homeowners who were interested in staging their vacant investment properties. Both of the properties were in New York City, however one was for sale and the other was a very high-end rental.

Both homeowners realized that they needed to furnish and accessorize their properties in order to stand out from the other properties on the market for rent and for sale. In fact, one of the homeowners believed in staging so much, she had staged by herself another of her investment properties, which is for sale. But after realizing it was a lot of work and very tiring (welcome to my world!), she decided to hire a professional for her rental property.

This homeowner told me that her real estate agent didn't think it was necessary to furnish either apartment. The agent felt they would sell and rent without staging.

I did a quick check of the rental unit on www.streeteasy.com, and it showed competitive rentals in the same price range, location and type of building. One of the units had one bedroom more than the subject unit, AND there were pictures of furnished rooms for prospective renters to imagine themselves living in!

More than 80% of buyers and renters start their search online, so don't you think photos of furnished and decorated rooms would be more appealing than those that are not?

What if you were looking online and saw these photos?

What if you were online and saw THESE photos?

In the other case where I was contacted by the homeowner whose property was for sale, I spoke to the real estate agent myself, not knowing in advance her position on home staging. When I told her who I was and that I had been to the property in order to prepare a home staging proposal, she vehemently stated "No furniture!". She went on to state that she had sold other units in the townhouse complex and she was able to sell the units without them being furnished. She also told me what she was listing the property at and that she was going to probably accept offers that were 5% less.

So I told her that...

The cost of staging is almost ALWAYS less than the first price reduction and in this case it was (2%).

Then I told her WHY the unit should be furnished, and after every one of my statements, she said "I disagree!"

• Empty rooms appear smaller than they really are
• No emotional connection can be felt when buyers walk into an empty house
• Most buyers can't picture where there furniture will go and if it will fit
• Most buyers can't imagine themselves living there if there is nothing there
• Small defects stand out because there's nothing else to look at

I could have given her other reasons, but I got tired of hearing "I disagree!".

What do you think? Are home sellers smarter than real estate agents when it comes to home staging and selling homes?

Do you know the Top 10 Mistakes home sellers make about how they present their homes to prospective buyers? And most home sellers also make the overriding mistake of believing that buyers "can see past this".

Well, it's simply not true. Only 10% of prospective buyers can visualize the potential of your home.

This week I focus on the first Top 5 Mistakes. I will share the remaining five with you next week. And as you will see, ameliorating these mistakes costs little or none.

1. Paint Problems - too often prospective buyers can't get past the ugly shade of green that the house is painted or the purple in the bedroom. For both the exterior and interior it is best to stick to neutral colors, EXCEPT 1) you can use a bright contrasting color like red for a front door, and 2) DON'T use white on the interior walls as it's stark and cold (it's fine for trim and ceilings). Paint issues involve both color and the condition of the paint. Paint is one of the most inexpensive ways to freshen up any space. Walls and floors are the "bones" of any interior space and both should be in good condition.

2. Dirty or worn carpet and/or floors - .as just stated, walls and floors are the "bones" of the house or apartment and should be in good condition. If carpets are old, outdated and badly stained, it's best to remove them. Sometimes a beautiful hardwood floor awaits underneath. If not, replace with inexpensive wall to wall carpeting. Hardwood floors in bad condition should be refinished. You don't want to give your buyer a mental checklist of repairs they need to do so that they either walk away or bid lower.

3. Pets and their "accoutrement" - you may love your pets, but not every buyer will. Leaving your pets in the house while it's being shown is a BIG mistake. Removing them but leaving behind pet bowls, kitty litter boxes, leashes and dog cages is also a BIG mistake. Remove all traces of your pets including hair and odor.

4. Personalized Decor - displaying family photos, children's artwork, trophies, awards, collections and your prized deer head on the wall does NOT allow the buyer to imagine living in your space. Plus these items are also a distraction. You want the buyers to look at your house, not your children's baby photos.

5. Dated or worn hardware and fixtures - if floors and walls are the bones of the house, then hardware and fixtures are the "jewelry". Outdated or tarnished door handles on kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and outdated lighting fixtures and faucets are a turn-off to prospective buyers. Replacing these can update the look of a bathroom or kitchen very inexpensively. And don't forget to replace scratched doorknobs on doors and broken or non-matching lightswitch plates.

Stay tuned next week for the remaining five mistakes home sellers make when presenting their homes.

Also, check out HGTV's top 25 Real Estate Mistakes when buying and selling a home.

When selling a home, it is very important that it be light and bright. Buyers do not respond well to dark spaces.

Here are a few home staging tips and tricks to brighten up your home:

• Remove screens from windows - this lets more of the natural light through
• Wash the windows - seems to be common sense, but you'd be surprised at what a difference it makes!
• Remove awnings from windows and over doors
• Trim or remove overgrown bushes and trees that are in front of windows

• Replace drapes with sheers where possible - sheers provide warmth and softness to a room but still let the light show through
• Swap out low wattage bulbs for higher wattage ones
• Keep all lights turned on during an open house or showings
• Use uplighting in dark corners - either a tall floor lamp called a torchiere or a can light placed on the floor
• Place wall and floor mirrors where they can reflect natural light



• Use neutral paint colors on the walls
• Brighten up dark furnishings with throw pillows or a table runner in bright colors

Doing these simple and inexpensive changes when selling your home can reap its rewards - a 370% return on your investment, according to a Home Gain survey from 2007.

This past week I made a couple of presentations regarding Home Staging to real estate agents at their weekly meetings. In chatting with one of them after my presentation, he said that he usually does his own staging. This can involve anything as simple as telling the client to declutter to as time-consuming as going shopping for new bedding.

When I asked him why he does this instead of hiring a home stager, he said "well, this way I don't have to convince my client to spend money. Also, I can do what stagers do".

So ask yourself, does this sound like you?

And if the answer is YES, ask yourself these questions:

• Do you want to tell your clients their home is untidy and has too much stuff in it?
• Do you want to tell your clients to get rid of family photos and their prized collections?
• Do you want to tell your clients that their home smells like a cat or a dog?
• Do you know how to get a vacant home fully furnished and accessorized?
• Do you have the time to shop for bedding, towels, knickknacks, etc?
• Do you want to spend hours deciding the optimal placement of furniture and accessories?
• Do you really have the eye of an interior decorator or a home stager?
• Are you comfortable recommending paint colors?
• What do you do when the husband and wife don't agree with your "staging" recommendations? Whose side do you take?
• Is this how you want to be spending your time?
• Do you think your client would appreciate you taking time away from marketing their home rather than leaving this up to a professional?

So the next time you think "But I can do this myself", think about the fact that it's the same as a seller thinking they don't need a real estate agent to market and sell their home. You know that you can do a much better job than they can because of your experience, knowledge and contacts, to name a few qualifications.

Hiring a home staging professional is the way to go if you want the job done right.