Angela & Stephen Hardiman, Designology Home Staging & Publishing

How many times have you walked into a new home with a buyer and there is a very small or no dining room?

Numerous homes being built today are forgoing the formal dining room and making that room a den. Is it a wise decision? This can mean disaster for all invested if the designer or builder is wrong.

I was asked to preview a beautiful new home which had been on the market for almost a year. It had been staged before with a furniture company so I was anxious to find out why it was not sold. In the first few minutes I told the builder why I thought he had a problem, no dining room. There was a small breakfast nook to accommodate only four people, but in a house with five bedrooms this was not going to work.

I suggested that he drop a nice large pendent light in the den instead of the flush mount that he had installed, and I'll stage it as a dining room. Five weeks later he had multiple offers.

When a family walks in their potential home for the first time, they will envision all aspects of their lives. Where are they going to work and play? Where will they entertain their friends? Where will their parents sit when they come for Thanksgiving? The breakfast nook?!

It's absolutely true, people work a lot more now than ever before - often from home. Families may not eat together as often, or have as much time to entertain as they used to. Still they yearn for a lifestyle that carries on these traditions. Regardless of what the reality is, you will kill the sale if you think the formal dining room is a thing of the past.

Helping you get your listing SOLD!
Angela Voss
Designology Home Staging
Spokane WA

How many times have you sat there in a listing presentation and thought to yourself, "Wow, do I even want to take this homeowner on?" This happens to not only real estate agents, but contractors and stagers as well.

I used to think I could handle anyone, no challenge was too great. And boy, let me tell you, I've had some doozies! Lately, I have encountered a couple of clients that have me wondering if I am up for such a catastrophic and demanding client. When a client is taking up 80% of your time and nothing is making them happy, is it better to identify those clients from the start, and kindly suggest another (who may enjoy their abuse)?

In January, I took on a client who, in terms of revenue, was comparable to 3 small staging projects. Now looking back at the time I had into it, it was a total of 20 staging jobs. Nothing made him happy. It was almost like he was sabotaging his own listing. The agent and I were pulling our hair out, bending over backwards, and I have to commend her on her professionalism to hold it together. He ate up and spit out 3 agents before we walked in the door. Now I understand why. Yes, there were RED FLAGS in the beginning. We knew about the other agents, we knew he was a hard case.

When you are sitting with your potential seller and that little voice keeps warning you, are you listening? I am not saying cut and run, listen to it and give it enough attention to understand what it is telling you and why.

RED FLAGS to pay attention to if a homeowner mentions:

• "We have had several agents and none of them did a good job."
• "We kicked our contractor off the job; he told us nothing would make us happy."
• "Our last agent only had four open houses and two broker's opens."
• "We are interviewing agents until we hear the price that we want."
• "I am not going to change anything, people either like it or they don't."
• "We are going to stay in the house while it is being shown, we don't trust anyone."
• "I expect you to answer the phone every time I call."

It's tempting to take a listing just to have inventory. Overpriced houses and pain-in-the-rear clients just come with the territory. Yet, have you ever sat down and done a little job costing? What does a listing cost you financially, emotionally, and in the time it takes away from listings that have a reasonable chance of selling? Is it worth it just to have that listing on your dry-erase board?

Ninety-five percent of sellers are wonderful to work with. They truly agree that selling their home is the right decision for them. They are willing work with you and not against you.

When I speak to seasoned agents, agents that have been there, done that, and have learned from many years of being in the business, they tell me, "It's that five percent that you may decide in the long run to turn and walk away. Read between the lines, watch for the RED FLAGS, and listen to the little voice inside your head." That is what made the difference in their long-term success. It has saved them time and aggravation along their career road.

Thank you for your time,
Angela Voss
Designology Home Staging

Open for discussion:
Would you or have you ever turned a listing down? What were the RED FLAGS?

Ding-Dong......grrrrrr, with teeth. Great, another cute "Killer" at the door.

Dogs can create a lot of havoc when you are trying to sell a property. Here are some great tips that should help the agent and the homeowner partner up to get Fido out of the way when potential buyers are seeking their quiet place of serenity.

Removing the dog and evidence of:

• Is there a relative or friend that could doggy-sit while the home is on the market, or at least during showings?
• Take the dog for a walk or bring the dog with you when buyers are viewing the property.
• If the dog has to be on the property, have the dog either kenneled up or fenced off. (And not in the living room!) Even the sweetest dogs may become territorial. For the safety of everyone and the dog, never have any dog roam free.
• A "BEWARE OF DOG" sign may keep people from getting out of the car altogether. If the dog is that aggressive, you absolutely should remove the dog from the property during showings, and please take down the signs.
• Keep bowls, dog beds, and half-eaten dog toys out of sight.
• Repair any mangled trim around windows and doors. Any damage that any animal has caused needs to be repaired before potential buyers arrive. It's a good reason to lower their offer.
• If you have a "barker" on your hands, this will only distract a buyer. Removing the dog from the property is your best way to have buyers relax and enjoy the home.

Pet care is a must during the time you're on the market:

• Avoid bad smells! Washing your dog often will help with smells in the house.
• Landmines (poop) in the yard - The last thing you want is a potential buyer to step in something that they shouldn't have (...and then track it back into the house before they realize what's happened).
• Brushing the dog everyday will help reduce the dog hair floating from room to room.
• Stick rollers will help remove animal hair from furniture.
• Homes with pets need to be vacuumed, swept, and dusted twice as often as homes without.
• If you can't eliminate an odor, eliminate the source. That sofa that Rover calls a bed may need to go... and not to the garage. Remove it from the property.
• Even if you don't smell an odor, someone else might. People get very use to the smells in their homes. Have someone who is not acquainted with the home do the sniff test.
• Have your carpets professionally cleaned.

It's not my dog, it's the neighbors'!:

• Sadly, buyers have walked away from homes because of a neighbor's dog. Barking, aggressiveness, and smells have all been reason why a buyer has not signed the bottom line. Talk to your neighbor first to see if something can be done to improve the situation.
• Make sure that a proper fence is in place between you and the other yard.
• Understanding the pet laws in your area may help your circumstances.

Helping you get your home SOLD,
Angela Voss
Designology Home Staging
Spokane WA

1. Color: Neutral colors are going to be best, although it does not have to be light beige. Buyers are not as afraid of color as they use to be, however you still need to chose a color that the majority of buyers are willing to live with. White walls are not going to make a homeowner a nickel. White walls are boring, clinical, and are uninviting - especially online.

2. Art: If you are unsure how high the art should be hung use this rule as a guild: 60 inches from the floor to the center of the art. In an occupied home if there is no decent art at all, take it out! It is better having empty walls than unappealing art.

3. Formal Rooms: To achieve a more formal atmosphere, you need balance. Think in even numbers. For example: in the master bedroom use identical lamps on each night table. One side should mirror the other.

4. Casual Rooms: For more of a casual look, think in odd numbers. Three pieces on a coffee table - greenery (tall), clock (medium), and candle (short).

5. Fabrics: Solid neutral colors are best in sofas, loveseats, and chairs. Strong fabric patterns (especially floral prints) will get you into trouble and take the buyer away from the overall feeling of the room. However, a pop of color or a print is perfectly acceptable in accent pillows.

6. Unique Furniture: No matter how interesting, take it out. You don't want conversational pieces to distract your buyer.

7. Spacing: Three to four feet around everything! For instance, if you do not have enough room between a dining table and the barstools - take the barstools out. It is much better to show space, than a crowded room.

8. Use Glass: A glass table makes the room look larger. I love using glass, it shows proper size, yet they seem to disappear.

9. Shelves: Do not fill every nook and cranny. It's okay to have empty shelves. To avoid a cluttered look, use neutral colors. You can go as far as color coordinating books and DVDs. Start with dark at the bottom and working your way to lighter colors at the top.

10. Rugs: Unless you need to define the space or to add needed color, take out all rugs. Buyers want to see the condition of the carpets or hardwood floors. Doubts regarding the condition of the floors can cost you an offer. In addition, many people have a phobia of bathmats for their lack of cleanliness. It's best to remove them as well.

11. Lines: Make sure you have a combination of straight and curved lines in all rooms. Straight lines are more masculine and curved lines are more feminine.

12. Simplify: The best way to begin is to take everything out of the room and start with a clean slate. Most rooms have too many anchor furniture pieces. Start slow and add little by little.

13. Textures: Add a touch of interest to the room by including a pillow or throw with some texture. This will add some life.

14. Brass fixtures: Replace brass faucets and spray paint brass shower door frames. Chrome, bronze, black, anything but brass.

15. Lighting: Replace your dated lighting (no brass here either!). It is the number-one thing you can do to update your home. The eye goes to light first. Many home improvement stores have great fixtures that are economical and easy to install. Furthermore, when potential buyers are on their way to see the house, turn on every light and pull back the window treatments. If you have a vacant home set your lights on timers or make sure someone is available to turn the lights on and off for you. Most buyers' agents will not run in the home to turn on all the lights before their client walks in the door.

16. Fresh Flowers: Whenever possible use fresh flowers, but don't go nuts. We have seen many homeowners over do it. Three to four tasteful and simple vases will do it. We did a home a couple years ago that had at least 150 "forever" flower arrangements (plastic flowers) in the living room alone. The agents nicknamed the home, "the funeral home house."

17. Drapery and curtains: We take them out 90% of the time. In most occupied homes I find dated and frilly fabrics. You need as much natural light as possible shining in. If you have a great view, show it off. If you don't or need to hide a neighbor's poor taste in yard ornaments, use panels and a thin rod. Don't forget to wash the windows.

18. Dated Countertops: There is a company that I have used hundreds of times and adore - Redrock Resurfacing. They come in and spray a coating over the old outdated laminate countertops. Very economical and we recommend them highly.

19. NO WALLPAPER: I know that wallpaper is making a comeback, but not in a home that is on the market. Nothing kills a buyer's opinion of the home faster!

20. Replace the Large Old Mirror: For an updated look in the bathroom, replace the large older mirror with a large framed mirror. It may just be the ticket to update your bathroom. Also check out mirrormate.com.

21. What is this room/area for?! Buyers do not understand what they can't see. Formal dining rooms should not be offices or dens. Do not use a bedroom for any other purpose other than a bedroom. Make small areas something special. For instance, a large landing on top of the staircase may have a chair, floor lamp and small bookshelf. Be creative. Think outside the box to find those quiet and relaxing areas in the house.

Helping you get your listings SOLD,
Angela Voss
Designology Home Staging
Spokane WA

Disclosure: Designology may recommend other companies for contract work, but will not take responsibility for their work.

Home staging should show off the great features of your listing and diminish the negative ones, not create a phony atmosphere. It's all about marketing that feeling of the good life and what is possible for the room without going overboard.

A home should never look like it's been staged.

20 Tacky Techniques:

1. Napkins stuffed in wine glasses (Creates a phony atmosphere.)
   
2. Place settings on a table or bar (Nothing says, "This home has been staged", more than dishes, stemware, silverware, and napkins.)
   
3. Old bath towels hanging on a bar with ribbon (Old towels will not give a buyer the spa feeling, even with a ribbon.)
   
4. Single piece of artwork on a wall with nothing else in the room (Buyers will only see the art and not the room, especially online.)
   
5. Furniture store tags on items that are for sale (Staging should be about the house and not what furniture is being sold by a store.)
   
6. Old, dirty rugs (Rugs should only be used to define space or add color. Buyers need to see the floors and what they are buying.)
   
7. Dusty, plastic trees with only a few branches (I don't mind trees, but they have to look nice.)
   
8. Cuttings from bushes and branches brought inside (Will wilt rapidly, and it will take the eyes away from the room.)
   
9. Accessories that have nothing to do with the style of the home (Example: You can't take a country look and put it in a contemporary house.)
   
10. A card table with a sheet covering it in a dining room (A cheap look and does not represent the room dimensions.)
    
11. Plants or greenery over window treatments (Shows off bad decorating, and again takes the buyer away from the overall room.)
    
12. Plastic patio furniture inside that is covered or not (Just don't!)
    
13. Cheesy old lamps (Get the granny lamps out.)
    
14. Cheap plastic flowers (What I like to call "forever flowers" usually found at dollar stores.)
    
15. Sofa covered with a sheet as a slipcover (Planning on painting anytime soon?)
    
16. Blow-up beds (From personal experience: blow up beds will only stay fully inflated for a short time no matter how expensive they are.)
    
17. Plastic fruit (Fruit can be done right, but the majority of the time it looks tacky, creating a phony atmosphere.)
    
18. Breakfast tray on a bed with tumbled wine glasses (Creates a phony atmosphere.)
    
19. Only two chairs in a living room (This will not give a buyer a sense of the space.)
    
20. Wine bottle sitting on the edge of a garden tub (Creates a phony atmosphere.)

Tacky staging can spell disaster for your listing. Why? Because we remember tacky! What you put in the home is the perception of what the value of the home is worth. Your poorly staged listing becomes, "That house with the saggy, deflated blow up bed," or "That place with the cheesy lamp like the one in my parents' house."

If the accessories and furniture looks like you got it out of grandma's attic or down the street at a yard sale, the buyer could expect a yard sale price tag on the house. It is better to leave a house empty then to use bad décor! Staging should enhance the architecture of the home, not show off poor decorating ideas. Bad staging draws attention to itself - and distracts your buyer from your listing!

Please understand the quality of a good home stager. Know what services you are having your seller buy and who you are recommending. They will be worth their weight in gold.

Helping you get your listing SOLD,
Angela Voss
Designology Home Staging