One of our wonderful investment companies that we work with ongoing had an urgent request - Stage 3 homes in one day and by the way it's tomorrow.
Crazy, you bet - but we did it in a day and it went off without a hitch. Thank goodness they were small homes.
The Best Part - two of the houses that had been on the market 100 days before we staged it sold the very next day after we staged it!
Does staging work - at this point, it's just a silly question. We actually never get that question any more. There is something to be said for being in the business for a while and having a track record.
Our team is dialed in. We don't even need to speak. We pull, we pack, we drive the truck to the job and we keep moving.
This time of year we stage just about every day of the work week and it's a RUSH.
Our bodies are sore.
Our minds are tired.
Our stress level is a bit high.
Our familes are not seeing us much.
Yes, it's Spring and life is moving fast.
We don't mind, we been doing this a long time and we are very good at making it happen. It's a RUSH!
BUT we would love our wonderful Realtors to understand that when they book the virtual tour/photographer on the same day as a staging it's STRESSFUL!
What we do is not an exact science. Especially when we are staging every day. We need to go to the warehouse early in the morning, unload the truck from the day before, and pack it up again - get to the job and RUN!
We don't sit, we don't stand, we don't eat - heck many times we forget to use the restroom - WE RUN!
When you ask us when we will be done I want to say...what is more important your photos being taken today or us doing a fabulous job that will give you a FANTASTIC PRODUCT!
Just a heads up - please stop asking what time you can have the photographer come by (and of course they need to have the best light) let us do our job, book the photos for another day and let's get this house sold.
This was a project that we could not wait to share with you.
We worked on this project for four months. Before our client purchased the property it was used as a half-way house for recovering addicts. A great cause but its located in the heart of an established neighborhood and maintaining the property was not number one the previous owners priority list.
The new owner was referred to us by another Stager from Active Rain because we offer Full Service Staging and could fill the clients needs. We met with the new owner, assessed the needs to bring it up to current market value and away we went. He agreed to all of the recommended items and we ended up changing every detail of the house except the roof and the foundation! A crew worked six days a week on every detail. Here are just a few of the before and afters:
Turn a Family Room into a Master Bedroom with a new Travertine covered fireplace
MASTER BEDROOM BEFORE
MASTER SUITE AFTER STAGED TO SELL
Turn a tiny bedroom into a Master Suite Bath
MASTER BATH BEFORE
MASTER BATH AFTER STAGED TO SELL
Turn an area that was just dirt under the house into a spectacular laundry room/craft area
No befores available - it was just a dirt mound
Take a Front Door and move it from the side of the house to the front - Curb Appeal!
EXTERIOR BEFORE
EXTERIOR AFTER STAGED TO SELL
Take down three walls to open up the gorgeous view of the San Francisco Bay
GREAT ROOM ENTRANCE BEFORE (lots of walls)
GREAT ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL
Gut the entire kitchen and start fresh with new floors, cabinets, appliances and granite counters
KITCHEN BEFORE
KITCHEN AFTER STAGED TO SELL
Update the facade of the fireplace
FIREPLACE BEFORE
FIREPLACE AFTER STAGED TO SELL
Change three outdated, dirty and dingy bathrooms into beautiful spaces
HALL BATHROOM BEFORE
HALL BATHROOM AFTER
GUEST BATHROOM BEFORE
GUEST BATHROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL
KIDS BATHROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL
Remove outdated and unattractive banister and replace with contemporary bamboo and glass
What were the results of all this work? Sold in 6 days for the highest price ever received in that area - ever. Yes, even in this market.
www.staged-to-sell.com is the East Bay's premier full service staging company. Our services include small and large preparation of homes for market. Whether our clients just need the bare minimum to make their home stand out from the rest or much more we have the resources and team to make it happen. For more information visit website www.staged-to-sell.com.
It doesn't happen often, but when it does it gives me a stomach ache.
We were on a job earlier this week when my Blackberry did the little jingle it does when an email has come through. I stopped hanging the new fixture Danny was just adjusting over the dining table and scanned my in-box where I found an email from a Realtor I had staged a home for a couple of weeks ago.
"Hi Kym, this is Margaret. The sellers have decided to take the home off the market. You did too good of a job, they realize that they love it, can live there for the rest of their lives. How about that!
Oh my...not the goal of any Professional Home Stager and words we don't want to hear. Of course, we are happy that the clients loved our work, but our goal and mission is always to help them love their NEW house even more!
My crew went to pick up the job yesterday, and we all agree that they are one of the nicest families we have ever staged with. The grandparents lived with the young couple to help raise their 8 month old baby girl. They couldn't stop thanking us for our work and were pleased that they had received multiple offers but decided they now loved it too much to sell.
Moral of the story is to CALL A STAGER NOW while you are still living in the home. Don't wait until you need to put it on the market. Let us help you fall in Love with your home now and live in it for years to come. When you are ready to sell down the road you will be ready, and have spent years of enjoyment prior to selling.
OCCUPIED HOME - USING HOMEOWNER'S FURNITURE
LIVING ROOM BEFORE
LIVING ROOM AFTER STAGED
BABY'S ROOM BEFORE
BABY'S ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL
OFFICE/GUEST ROOM BEFORE
OFFICE/GUEST ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL
Staged to Sell is the San Francisco East Bay's premier staging company. We offer services for both Occupied and Vacant Homes and Design services for Staging to Live. For more information go to www.staged-to-sell.com. Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Danville, Orinda, Lafayette, Berkeley, Oakland, Albany and the entire Contra Costa County.
This wasn't our client's first Rodeo, as my assistant Maya likes to say. The homeowner has been through the staging process before with another Realtor/Staging team in 2008. He thought he knew what was coming and was prepared when we met for our consultation.
He had cleaned out the clutter, painted a few walls and worked on the garden a bit. He was a bit surprised when we asked for a few additional items in our report, but after lots of discussion and a few photos from our website he did agree to about 80% of recommendations and committed to staging while staying on a strict budget. Wallpaper came down, fireplace was painted and some of the dated furniture went into the garage.
The day of staging arrived and the client left his home expecting to return to a few additional touches and hoping for the best. We could tell he was not really convinced Staged to Sell could possible make that much of a difference from the Staging company who worked on his house in 2008.
When he returned from his day long excursion he was surprised, delighted and completed amazed at what he saw. "It's not the same house and completely different than it was when it went on the market last year." he said. Not only was the homeowner happy but the Realtor almost danced down the sidewalk after seeing the finished product. "The same Realtors will be coming to the Brokers Tour on Thursday that saw it last year...they won't even know its the same house" she said, smiling from ear to ear.
Result - multiple offers.
It's not just about staging, its about hiring the right Staging Company and Realtor to really make the most of the property and the market.
FAMILY ROOM BEFORE
FAMILY ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL AND A LITTLE PAINT
MOST OF THE FURNISHINGS USED IN THE STAGING WERE THE HOMEOWNER'S
FOYER AND LIVING ROOM BEFORE
FOYER AND LIVING ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL
DATED DRAPREY AND DARK FURNISHINGS BEFORE
BRIGHT, WARM AND INVITING NOW
COFFEE TABLE FROM FAMILY ROOM REALLY LIGHTEN AND BRIGHTEN THIS SPACE
GUEST BEDROOM BEFORE
USING HOMEOWNER'S FURNISHINGS WITH A DASH OF COLOR
GUEST ROOM AFTER STAGED TO SELL
For more information on Staged to Sell's services go to www.staged-to-sell.com. Staged to Sell services Castro Valley, San Leandro, Walnut Creek, Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Danville and the entire Alameda and Contra Contra Counties
Staged to Sell is a Professional Home Staging Company located in the SF East Bay. We have over 25 staging styles in our 4,000 sq. ft warehouse. Call 925-348-4686 to receive a free quote
Staged to Sell located in Danville and San Leandro in the East Bay of San Francisco, CA is a Green Home Staging company serving Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. We love what we do and have been staging successful for over 8 years.
When we started this business our goal was creating the best Professional Home Staging Company in the area. We firmly believe to be successful we must continue to innovate and fine tune the process. "At Staged to Sell we never settle for second best. We continue to strive to improve our designs and introduce new and innovative staging techniques to the industry. We travel as far away as New York City to attend Table Top Show each year to aquire new vendors and keep up on the latest table top trends." Our vendor supply list has grown from 2 local vendors to well over 100 nationwide and include the some of the finest accessory and furniture manufacturers in the country.
Staged to Sell has gone GREEN! We are now a certified Green Staging company as part of the Live Green, Live Smart Institute. Eve
Staged to Sell provides services beyond the title, becoming my interior designer, buyer, profiler, real estate marketing consultant, personal shopper, construction referral resource and even sometimes psychologist! Kym is a great communicator listening first to my needs and service requirements. Highly organized, she produced a complete schedule and budget from the start of my project. As the consummate professional, she "delivered" at every meeting with very creative and resourceful ideas that gave me the big "WOW" factor, making my home a memorable experience. The end result was an appealing, staged home that matched the tastes of my target buyer. I sold my home within one week of the first broker open house at a top of the market price. There is no doubt in my mind that Kym's staging services was a major contributor in helping me sell my home in these tough real estate times. Glenn Ishino, Harper Avenue, El Cerrito, August 2009
____________________________________________________________________________ Staged to Sell works miracles!! As an active realtor, Kym Hough, has staged all my listings for nearly 6 years. They know the critical factors that help sell a home and they present each home in it's best light, ensuring a quick sale for the highest price possible. Staged to Sell is my secret weapon and every time they stage a home for my client, they prove how valuable they are! Julie Long, J. Rockcliff Realty, September 2009 _________________________________________________________________________ Our real estate agent recommended that we use Staged to Sell when we put our house on the market. At first I was thinking that I could clean clutter and make the house look great myself, but when Kym came over to the house and spoke to me about the process I started to be convinced. After some homework on our part to paint and fix some things around the house Kym came in and did "MAGIC" I was amazed at how great the house was when she finished. It looked fresh, open, stylish and comfortable. All of my neighbors and friends loved what she did too. Our house went on the market and was in contract by the end of the first week. Kym was great to work with. She answered all of my many phone calls and reassured me that the process would work even with the kids, pets and busy life of the family. The whole process really helped me get organized to move and be excited about selling my house when it looked its very best. Jennifer Foster, Castro Valley 2009
___________________________________________________________________________ We also found Kym through our real estate agent. She responded very fast to our call-for-help, had a professional proposal to us quickly, and assembled a skilled team to deal with all the aspects of getting our home ready for the market. The upfront investment in Kym and company's services may seem daunting -- but don't be put off by that. We're confident the return we received, in terms of speed of sale and sales price, was a multiple of what we paid. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to use Kym again if I were in a similar situation, and would strongly recommend her to others. By the way, I have nothing to gain personally by writing such an enthusiastic endorsement, other than the satisfaction of pointing you to a rare example of professionalism and integrity. Gordon Firestein, June 2009 __________________________________________________________________
Thanks! You are awesome by the way. I've really enjoyed working with you and hope to have a few more properties for you to stage by the end of the year. Nathan Hitchcock, Hitchcock Realty, July 2009
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"It's been a great pleasure to work with Kym and everyone at Staged-to-Sell. I know that I can call them and they will handle every detail. Not only are her jobs stunning, she is professional, timely, and flexible. Her style is elegant yet practical and appropriate for the space she is working with. I've gotten nothing but rave reviews from potential buyers and other Realtors. I look forward to working together soon." Erica Jones Starkey, Broker, Co-Founder, JSCA Real Estate Group, 2009 ___________________________________________________________________________ Initially, I was skeptical about the whole idea of staging my house, but after my experience with Staged to Sell, I am a believer. The house was beautifully staged, but more important to me was Kym's thorough assessment of what needed to be done to make the house look its best. I wish I had hired her as an interior decorator years before! She was easy to work with and offered her services at a fair price. Top recommendation! Gary Croner, Berkeley, CA 2009 ____________________________________________________________________________
In a very short notice, Kym transformed our empty and undefined house to a beautiful, serene family retreat. Her staging enabled prospective buyers see and feel what it really is like to live in our house. She was also very professional; arriving before an appointment time, and doing the beautiful staging as promised. Our house went into an escrow within a month, in this tough time with bad economy. It was truly "Staged to Sell"! Mikaboo, El Cerrito, CA, 2009
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Kym did an excellent job staging our home. She had great ideas and reasonable prices. She brought in pieces that matched our home and enhanced the presentation dramatically. I would recommend her highly!!
Eric S, Piedmont, CA, 2009
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A belated email to you about the work you did on 2294 Lomand Lane. It should come as no surprise that the appearance and your staging were received enthusiastically by open house attendees last Sunday and by agents at the Broker Tour. What a great job...the house looks terrific...love your staging. Photos are also great too. Thanks so much. Heidi Sl., Coldwell Banker, June 2008
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"Staged to Sell is an A+ Staging Company. In preparing to put our home on the market we went out in our area to research Realtors and Staging professionals. What we saw was a C- except for Staged to Sell! They were an A+ every time! Their furniture is wood, upholstered and glass. They use upscale custom silk florals and beautiful beddings! Nothing but quality. Many of the staged properties we saw had slipped covered furniture and Ikea like furniture. It cheapened the property in our eyes. We were so happy to have Staged to Sell on our team when preparing our home for market. We gave out their cards to everyone we knew and will use them again and again!
- Kathleen and Michael Young, Homeowners, Monterey Avenue, 2008
Richmond, CA
"Staged to Sell are amazing. What a difference. My property was on the market for 60 days prior to staging. When my friends told me about staging and high recommended Kym Hough's Staged to Sell I figured I would give them a try. I am so glad I did! My vacant house looked incredible and it SOLD! I loved the free Virtual Tour and Custom Website. The photos were gorgeous and really increased the exposure of the property. I would recommend Staged to Sell to anyone interesting in selling their property and making it look its best!"
- Rose Micleli, Homeowner, Danville Oaks, CA, 2008
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Staged to Sell is Fantastic to work with...
- Liz Fitch, Realtor, Walnut Creek, CA, 2008
What I love about Staged to Sell and Kym Hough is that they take all of the worry off my shoulders when preparing our client's property for market! When I call Kym and her team I know that I will never be disappointed and the property will also look amazing. Realtor's have enough to do! I love letting the professionals at Staged To Sell do the work to make it the best property on the market!
- Gaby Diskin, Green Key Realtors, Richmond, CA, February 2007
Hi Kym,
Just wanted to let you know the SUPER job you did for me a staging the house at 654 37th st. It was really an incredible showpiece!! The seller was very happy and especially the fact that she received about $25000 more than we were asking, and this is in a down market. If we did not stage that house it would probably still be sitting on the market like all the others. I was happy too because I was able to double end it from someone who just came to the open house and fell in love with it. The buyer said "it was the most beautiful house she had ever seen"!! Everyone came out a winner!! I will be listing another property in a few weeks and would like you to stage it for me again, believe me it is money well spent. Thank you again and let me know if you need any recommendations for your services they are the best.
- Mike Hughey, ReMax Real Estate , August 2007
We agreed to use Kym's services for the sale of my Dad's house.
What a dazzling transformation. From just a "nice house" to something
the really looked good. The end result was that we sold the house for
$60k over asking price, which I don't think we would have gotten
without her services.
So when we sold our own house it was a no brainer to hire her again.
She worked her magic a second time which resulted in the house selling
for $15k over asking price, on a much higher priced house, in a tougher market.
Our thoughts on all this? Get your house staged and get Kym to do it.
Otherwise you'll be kicking yourself when your neighbor, who WAS smart
enough to hire her) sells his house for a lot more than yours.
- Greg Mee, Homeowner, Richmond, CA, 2006
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