CLEAN, REPAIR AND REPLACE
Whether you live in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Palm Beach, or anywhere else getting your house ready to sell and STAGING it are NOT just about painting and moving furniture around. In Part 1 of this Home Staging Series I suggested that as soon as you decide to place your home on the market you have to look at it in a different light. You'll need to begin to think of your house as a product to be marketed in a very competitive field. Part 2 provided two exercises to help you see your house as buyers will see it: taking pictures of your house and downloading them to the computer and asking friends for their honest opinion.
In Step 3 the really hard work begins. This is when you'll :
1. Clean your house inside and out
2. Repair any items in your house that you've neglected
3. Replace what isn't working
4. Finish house projects.
Think about this: Buyers will view a dirty house with broken or missing items as a NEGLECTED house. If the items they can see aren't taken care of, what about the items that they can't see?
Remember the Spring Cleaning you've been putting off since you moved in? Multiply that by TEN! 
Vacuum in places you forgot existed. Move and lift everything. "Leave no stone unturned". Scrub as if you were trying to reach a gold mine. If you have carpet, have it cleaned. Same thing goes for upholstered furniture. These hold not only dust and pet hair but odors as well. In sunny South Florida, we pay a high price for our beautiful view of golf courses, canals, lakes, and palm trees. Your buyer will be looking for this as well so windows that give them only a hazy view need to be cleaned and cleaned often. 
If you're not familiar with a pressure washer or know someone who is, then rent and/or hire someone. Take a good look at the walkway to your house. Is this how you want to "greet" Buyers as they approach? There may be stains from lawn chemicals and fertilizers, oil from your car, chemicals in your sprinkler system, whatever they are the stains will detract from the "welcome" you want to project to a buyer. Some homes in South Florida use well water with a high mineral content which leave a rusty stain. Check with your home improvement store to see how these are best removed.
As your are going from room to room cleaning in every corner, you'll want to make notes of what needs fixing. Unrepaired items are a signal to your buyer that this house has been neglected. Some items on your list are easy and take just a little time and tools. If you are not handy, consider hiring a service to go through and suggest and/or make the repairs necessary.
Notice the missing switch plate to the left of the closet door!
OUTSIDE: When you stand in the street and look at your house, can you see it? What do you see? It's easy to forget about the trees and bushes that line our driveways and sidewalks but make sure your house isn't being overshadowed by a bush that is covering your front door; or whose palm trees are in bad need of trimming. 
The Bougainvillea plant to the left offers beautiful shade for this patio area but has become overgrown. Instead of enhancing this outdoor living area, it is detracting from it.
You'll want to replace plants that have become too leggy or have seen better days. Trim bushes, de-weed sidewalks and flowerbeds. Put fresh mulch in your flower beds.
FLOORING: Worn or stained carpeting, chipped or cracked tile, or faded hardwood floor boards all need to be addressed. Your buyer will be running a calculator in their heads trying to determine just how much replacing these will cost. Besides this figure, they will factor in the time and inconvenience of the project and before you know it, they've put a big NEGATIVE by your property. Offering the buyer a credit is almost a thing of the past. Present day buyers want a property in move-in condition.
PAINT: At the very least you will probably want to paint your house especially if you have not done so since you moved in and/or if you have colors that might not be in eveyone's color palette! When in doubt, go NEUTRAL! This does not mean bland white! Remember, what you're trying to do is appeal to as wide a range of Buyers as possible. One in 20 buyers may love a purple wall but what about the other 19! 
AS A REVIEW: 1. START TO THINK OF YOUR HOUSE AS A PRODUCT FOR SALE
2. LEARN TO SEE YOUR HOUSE THROUGH THE EYES OF A BUYER
3. CLEAN, REPAIR OR REPLACE
Whether you're placing your home on the market or just want to bring it back to life, all white walls are not always the answer. Working with your current furnishings we can help you find a color, even if it's a shade of "neutral" that will tie your rooms together and accentuate its assets.
ROOM SERVICE! HOME STAGING
561-914-6224
You're trying to appeal to a broad range of Buyers when your house is on the market. You want them to see the SPACE and the architecture of your house. You don't want them to FOCUS on what you have in it. Not sure if yours is working? Give us a call at 561-914-6224.
ROOM SERVICE! HOME STAGING
IF YOU'RE FACING AN EMPTY NEST SOON, YOU MAY BE THINKING OF REVAMPING OR REDESIGNING YOUR HOME! YOU MAY EVEN BE THINKING OF MOVING TO SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT. LET US HELP YOU MOVE INTO THAT NEW STAGE IN YOUR LIFE.
WE WILL EDIT, RENEW, REPURPOSE AND REARRANGE YOUR FURNISHINGS !
ROOM SERVICE! HOME STAGING
561-914-6224
Two things you can do to help you see Your House as others will see it:
#2 Get Ready to See your House through the Eyes of a Buyer.
We live in our HOME; we sell a house. Before you can Stage your Home, you'll need to see it as others see it. All of us have a certain comfort level in our homes. At the end of the day, it's where we look forward to going; it's where we can kick off our shoes and leave our worries and hassles of the day at the front door. We make it our haven; our HOME. We spent hours choosing that perfect shade of Periwinkle for our bedroom; we had a custom mural done for our child's room. But we're all different and what works for you; how you live in your home may not work for others. 
1. Begin by taking pictures of your house. Start at the curb and take a picture of the front of the house; think of the view your buyer will see when they drive by. Next stop, your front door. Take a snapshot there of the first thing your buyer sees as they approach your house. Now, as soon as you enter, take another photo. You'll want to do this for every room in your house. Let your camera be the eyes of your Buyer. Stand at each door and take a picture from there- that's the first view your buyer will see. If it's a larger room, take shots from different angles. Open your closets, too! Why? Because believe me, your Buyers will. Next stop, your back deck, yard, or patio area, and don't forget the garage.
Once you've taken your shots, download them to your computer. If you need help with this, get your child, neighbor, friend, whomever to show you how. (it's easy!)
You're probably asking why is taking pictures and placing them on the computer so important? Recent studies have shown that at least 85% of Buyers will begin their search for a home on the Internet. If your house doesn't "show well" in photos placed on the MLS or other marketing instruments your Realtor will use, then it may not make it on a Buyers "Must See" list. Looking at your house through a camera lens gives it a different perspective.
Which picture appeals to you:
The photo on the left shows a comfortable, lived in family room; on the right we see much the same but because we've removed the clutter our eyes can now focus on the space available and the great views that can be seen from the windows. There's even a large bookcase at the end of the room that was hidden before.
2. Bribe a friend, relative, or neighbor with cookies, a cake, dinner, whatever and beg them to give you their honest opinion about your house. Show them the photos you took. (You thought you'd skip step #1 and just move on to step #2 didn't you?) Have them view your house as if they were considering buying it. Tell them this may be their one chance to tell you how much they've always disliked the windmill in your dining room . ( I really did have a client with a windmill in her dining room!) Remember the first step in this Series, start viewing your house as a Product to be merchandised. You have to be objective in this step.
REMEMBER:
1. BEGIN TO THINK OF YOUR HOME AS A PRODUCT TO BE MARKETED.
2. START TO SEE THIS "PRODUCT" AS YOUR BUYER WILL SEE IT
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An Accredited Staging Professional offering Staging Consultations, Team Staging, ReDesign, Home Readiness Service Teams and eStaging.
Room Service! Home Staging's goal is to help each seller maximize their homes "sale-ability" by showcasing its best features. I'll do one room or the whole house. . . your choice; always trying to incorporate as much of my client's own furniture and accessories as I can. Or, in the case of the unfurnished/vacant home, I can coordinate the selection and placement of furnishings to set the mood for the Buyer. I view my role in working with Real Estate Agents as a marketing resource for them as well as their associate in getting their listing sold quickly and for top dollar.
For the homeowner not ready to sell but wanting to put the "wow' back into their home, I work with them in Re-Design, often using most of the owners' own furnishings, re-purposing and re-positioning what they already have.
Getting a house ready to sell isn't just about moving sofas and packing up pictures. With more and more foreclosures and distressed properties on the market and with people being pulled in many different directions, our Home Readiness Service can also coordinate any repairs, inside and out.
South Florida is my Home Stage, but I have worked in Virginia as well as Texas and Kansas. And, in this internet age, my alter ego, eStaging online, can accomodate those with little time and a need to get the job done.
For more information please see me at Room Service!HomeStaging.
I am a tranplanted Texan living in Florida and love what I do. My training was in Virginia under the tutelage of Barbara Schwarz, the creator of Home Staging and the StagedHomes.com website. My memories of playing with dolls was spending hours building houses for them using whatever was at hand; creating for them a space that would befit a BARBIE or Chatty Cathy. I'm still in that mode, attempting to utilize exising objects and furnishings to create or enhance my clients' home; whether it be getting it ready to sell or turning it into the haven they call home.
"I did not know what staging meant, until Kathy staged our house. It made our house more presentable and open. We liked the way it looks now and we would like to maintain it that way, until the house is sold.I would very strongly recommend all sellers to stage their house."
Raj
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