Kathy Streib, ASP,IAHSP,RESA, DelrayBch -South Florida - 561-914-6224

Staging a Vacant Home in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, or Boynton Beach is no different than anywhere else. The market is difficult at best now and to sell your home, whether it is an investment property or your own home, you'll need to place it in a competitive position. That means it's important to understand WHY a vacant property needs to be Staged, either minimally as in vignette, or fully as in a builder's model home.

Why Stage a Vacant Home?

1. A Vacant property can come across as cold and uninviting. It is especially true in Florida where tile floors are in many of the Living Areas. Buyers will hear the echoing of their footsteps as they walk through your house. You want your Buyers to feel that "I'm Home" moment. It's hard to do that in a vacant property.
2. Vacant rooms actually appear smaller without furniture. Adding furniture is NOT trying to deceive a Buyer; you're trying to show how their furniture and lifestyle will fit into this space. This is especially important when you have a room with an unusual shape.
3. Lighting is important to create the warmth and "homeiness" of a house. Without lamps and tables, the only lighting available will be the overhead light fixtures.
4. A vacant home may signal to the buyer that the Seller may be more willing to accept a lower offer because you are already out of the house.

Take a look at a few examples of what Staging a Vacant Home can do:




Without furniture, a buyer will wonder where to place their own furniture, or if their furniture will fit. By showing the room with furniture and accessories, it provides a buyer with a point of reference.

With just a few towels, a picture and some greenery, you can take a blah bathroom and make it more appealing.



This is a large family area that needed furniture to show the Buyer how their own pieces might fit.

More Tips:
* If you have extra furniture, lamps, and accessories, you could use these to Stage the rooms. Or, you can beg and borrow from your friends and relatives.
* You don't have to Stage every room. Stage your major living areas, the kitchen, Master Bedroom and Bath and be sure to Stage any rooms that may be unusual in shape or purpose.
* Remember, IF you are doing this yourself, don't just toss in a hodge podge of furniture and accessories that you have sitting in the attic or basement.

HOWEVER You, can always contact a Staging Professional, who'll be able to determine what you need; work with your budget and provide the inventory for you!!

Planning on selling your home in Palm Beach County? If you've been following this Series (Preparing your Home for Sale in Palm Beach County- What to do BEFORE you list your house.), you're already ahead of the game. Remember, the key is to make your house "market ready" BEFORE you list it and have the first Open House. This does not mean that you should not contact a Realtor at this Stage. In fact, you'll want to utilize their experience and advice as well as that of a Home Stager while preparing your house. They will be able to help you decide what choices will make a difference in your particular market.




So let's review what you've done so far:

1. You've begun to think of your home as a product on the market
2. You've learned to see your house as Buyers see it
3. You've cleaned, repaired and replaced items that are in need of it.
4. You've edited and packed what you don't need
5. You may have updated some of your features.

Here's what you'll want to keep in mind as you Stage Your Home:

1. You're selling your home's architecture and square footage; it's space. . . If they can't see either because of too much furniture or "stuff" then you're missing an opportunity for a sale. Make sure your furniture is placed so that traffic patterns aren't blocked. Don't block windows with heavy coverings or furniture.


2. Stage your house to appeal to a broad range of buyers.. . . Yes there's someone out there who loves bright green walls, but can you afford to wait until that buyer walks through your house?









3. Show the liveability and purpose of each room. . . . don't think that because there's a chandelier in the room that the buyer will see it as a dining room.



The seller was using the Study as a child's bedroom. To sell their house, they turned it back into a Study


4. You've seen and heard this on every Home Staging program on HGTV or A&E, as well as various blogs but it's true; de-personalize your house. Pack and remove all personal photographs; pack your trophy deer heads; remove items that say "who you are." You want a buyer to be able to FOCUS on your house NOT your things.

The personal photographs covering the wall distract the buyer from "seeing" the rest of this room. Instead it's human nature to stop by the wall and look and comment on the photos. But, did they remember the room they just saw?

Staging your Occupied Home doesn't have to be expensive. As a Home Stager, I always try to utilize the furniture and accessories that my Seller already has. Take a walk through each room, the attic and your drawers. You never know what you might turn up! And, don't forget to call upon your family and friends for extra furniture you might need. If you do feel you need to purchase items, your local Home Staging Professional can assist you with professional discounts.

Preparing your House for Sale in Palm Beach County-What to do BEFORE you list your house! (Part 5)

Real Estate Staging or Merchandising in Boca Raton or Delray Beach is not that much different than most places around the country. If you've been following this series, you will have:

1. Realized your house is a product you will have to merchandise and market.

2. Learned to seeing your house through the eyes of a Buyer.

3. Cleaned, Repaired or Replaced items in your home.

4. Edited and Packed furniture or items you will not need for now.

The first 4 items must be done if you are to place your house in a competitive postition.

Step 5 falls in the category of "IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU WOULD . . . . " NOT an absolute must, but a big PLUS.

It's in this step you might enlist the advice of your local Real Estate Agent for their opinion as to the ROI (Return On Investment) of, for example, replacing your appliances for new ones in Stainless Steel. Weigh this with your own research to see if by updating certain features it will increase the odds of getting your house sold. I don't view this necessarily as traditional Home Staging but more Real Estate Merchandising.

Let's look at some possible updates and what YOU can do:

STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES: Many will tell you that Stainless Steel appliances are no longer in vogue but other than appliances that have custom made panels that match the cabinets, buyers are still viewing this as a plus. It gives the kitchen a clean up-to-date look. If your kitchen is not in need of a major update, then Stainless is a good way to refresh this area.


GRANITE COUNTERTOPS : There are many counter top materials available such as concrete, engineered stone, and natural stone, such as marble and granite. But when buyers are looking, many times what they want to see is granite in the kitchen. It's not a deal breaker not to have granite counter tops, but think about who typically is the first one to view a listing and what one of the Top Three most important rooms in a house is. Pair this with the fact that Today's Buyer is often looking for a house that is in move-in condition; one that require little work and expense. Take a look at what a difference it can make:



BATHROOM MIRRORS and LIGHTS: Many homes have "Builder Basic" mirrors and light fixtures in their bathrooms including the important Master Bath. Updates don't have to be that expensive or hard to do. Mirrors can be framed (as in a picture) with wood or mirror strips. A trip to your local hardware store, some tools, instructions and you're done. If you want to add more pop, remove the large mirror and replace it with two framed ones. This, of course, requires a little more effort.
Most of the light fixtures in bathrooms are stainless strips with round glass bulbs on them. Changing these out, especially in the master bath will make a big difference and give it pop.

Very Basic Notice the framed mirror

There are other updates you can do but these are very basic. Depending upon the price-point of your house; your competition; the overall appearance of your house, and your budget you may or may not want to consider these.

Nothing is absolute or etched in stone. You will want to consult your Realtor, research other similar houses on the market in your area, and decide what's right for you, your time, and your budget.

If you want to enjoy music, art, good food and a chance to visit with your neighbors Art & Jazz on the Avenue in Downtown Delray Beach is where you want to be this Thursday, August 20. Produced by the Delray Beach Downtown Marketing Cooperative and presented by the Community Redevelopment Association and the Sun-Sentinel "Art on the Ave" is a tradition that gives Downtown Delray businesses an opportunity to showcase their merchandise, delicacies and talents. And it gives the citizens and visitors to do something everyone loves to do ..... stroll along Atlantic Avenue, especially at night.

Merchants and Restaurants offer discounts and special events from 6pm until 10 pm.

Preparring your home for sale in Palm Beach County-What to do BEFORE you list you house! (Part 4)

EDIT DONATE STORE HIDE

Getting ready to list your house in Palm Beach County? This is the 4th in a series of How to Prepare your home for sale; and hopefully you'll do this BEFORE you list your house. The first impression you make is critical, so I've outlined a series that will enable your house to compete in this market.

Here's what we've covered so far:

Step 1 Start to think of your house as a Marketable Product

Step 2 Begin to see your house through the eyes of a Buyer

Setp 3 Repair, Replace and ReFresh (CLEAN) everything in your house.

NEXT ON YOUR LIST WILL BE TO EDIT, DONATE, PACK OR HIDE THE EXCESS!

Keep telling yourself this: You are selling a house, the SQUARE FOOTAGE it has to offer, its ARCHITECTURAL DETAIL, its LOCATION. . . NOT your things. Your sofa, lamps, pillows, candlesticks, and mirrors are there to enhance the detail, NOT detract or distract from it.

This is the hardest step in the whole process. This is where being ruthless is a Good Thing! If you need to, enlist a family member or friend to help you decide what needs to go. Think Carrie Bradshaw sorting through her closet with Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte (Sex and the City for those of you without HBO or a DVR).

EDIT- You'll be moving soon so why not get a jump on everything. Go through every room, open every cabinet, stand in every closet and:

TOSS what you don't WANT

what you don't NEED

what you can't USE

what you can't FIT

DONATE-

(*many local moving and storage companies are working with Home Stagers to provide an affordable way for homeowners to pack and store their furnishings until they move. Call me or your local Stager for more information.)

HIDE- That leaves you with your every day items that you really use and need. For these items, find a way to hide them when your house is being shown. You can find cute, inexpensive baskets and bins at Target or Bed Bath & Beyond that you can use to store items such as files or personal grooming items.

CLOSET-If your closet is packed with shoes all over the floor, shirts mixed in with your pants and boxes stacked in no particular order, then your buyer is seeing a closet that may not be big enough for his or her own clothing.



COMPUTERS- can't live with them; can't live without them. A home office is not only an "extra" in today's houses, but a necessity. Buyers don't just give this area a cursory glance, they're figuring out where to hook up their computer and printer. Pack up your personal papers and put them out of sight.
Do whatever you can to minimize and/or hide all of the tangled mess of computer cables.
If you have a bulletin board, remove the family pictures, invitations, etc.



GARAGE AREA: People DO look in your garage. South Florida does not have basements so extra storage area becomes even more critical for our Buyers. They will want to know how many of their 3+ cars will fit in the garage and what extra storage is available. Work benches and peg boards need to be straightened and cleaned just as if they were sitting inside the house.

BOOKSHELVES: Yes you have them, but can anyone SEE them. You will want to Edit this area. Do you really need access to all of those professional journals lining your walls? Place a few books etc on each shelf and call it a day.


In the "Before" view, Buyers saw things; whereas the "After" view actually shows a VIEW and bookcases.

So by now you have : 1.Realized your home is a marketable product
2. Learned how Buyers will view it
3. Cleaned and repaired everything in the house
4. Edited and packed up all unnecessary furniture and accessories

Stayed tuned for Part 5!!