Christi Bond Twin Cities Professional Home Staging

She Visits Old Homes!

Minnesota was the new frontier in the 1800's. Lots of people made big fortunes in lumber, rail travel, publishing and shipping here. We are fortunate that many of these successful business men built large and ornate mansions to advertise their success and impress their friends.

Even better, many of them left their grand mansions to organizations to turn into museums! Their generosity is now this Twin Cities Home Stagers joy.

Today I am going with a friend to the American Swedish Institute. The museum is housed in a beautiful castle like mansion located in Minneapolis. The home was built in 1908 and was the private residence of the Turnblad family that made their fortune in publishing.

Hands-down, this is the prettiest home I have ever toured. And that is saying alot because I have toured many homes. As a home stager I see lots of properties. When I am on vacation I tour properties including haciendas in Mexico, castles in Germany, farm houses in Kansas. And it probably goes without saying that I have toured every mansion open to the public in the Twin Cities, and most of the properties in Minnesota.

This weekend the American Swedish Institute has a special program called A Nordic Christmas. They will be having story time for the kids, music for the adults, and the mansion is decorated in all its holiday best. Many rooms in the mansion are still decorated as they were originally used by the Turnblad family in the early 1900's. Other rooms have been converted to museum display areas.

I can't wait to go. Maybe I will pick up a decorating tip that I can put to use in your home or your clients property. If you have a property in the St Paul or Minneapolis metro area that could use some love, give me a call.

Staging, Low Investment with High Return

Twin Cites, MN

If your investment advisor called you up and said that she had an investment idea for you that would require only a small investment, but had the potential to pay you back 3 times what you put in would you say “sign me up” or “bugger off”? I know I would be all ears and ask for more information.

Home Staging is that type of investment. In a recent survey 600 real estate agents were asked to list the actions that they recommend their clients take to ready a property for sale.

Those recommendations were then ranked and the top ten recommendations were measured to see which provided the highest ROI. (The comparison of average expenditure to average return)

Not surprisingly giving the home a deep and through cleaning came in as number one. The investment is very low and the return on the effort is very high.

Home Staging was ranked as Number 3 on the list of 10. With an average investment of $550 the realized gain was $2,194. Keep in mind that the average cost is a compilation of people that needed just a staging consultation ($150), those that needed hands-on help ($350+), and those that had a completely vacant home that needed staging ($1,000+).

Most communities with over 75,000 residents probably have a professional home stager in the area. I live in St Paul, Minnesota. There are many real estate stagers in the Twin Cities.

Home staging is also referred to as real estate staging and property staging. No matter what it is called it is a win, win, win, proposition.

Win..Win..Win

• WIN: The home owner gets targeted advice that they can put into action. This allows them to focus their limited time on the right things. The things that will make their property appeal to the maximum number of buyers.
• WIN: The real estate agent wins because he or she has a quality product to take to the market, and
• WIN: I can make a living doing the work that I am passionate about and expert in.

I have been providing home staging services and advice to homeowners in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul for nearly seven years. I see myself as a coach hired to train home sellers on how to reach the goal of selling their property fast at the highest possible price.

If you live in the Minneapolis or St Paul metro area and would like the help of a professional home stager I’d be happy to help you with your project. I’ll give you excellent service and work hard to make your investment in staging just that, An Investment!

Here are a couple pictures of a White Bear Lake, MN property that was vacant prior to staging. The Property was sold in less than a week.

For more home staging tips you can see www.Amazing-Transformations.net

If you have ever hired a home staging professional I would bet that somewhere within the first 15 minutes of your meeting you heard the words DECLUTTER. In Minnesota I think we have a more significant problem with stuff accumulation than you might find in more temperate climates. I can't prove that to you by linking you out to an expert source, but I still believe it to be true!

I know that I am much better about getting outgrown clothing and unused items out of the house during the summer months than the winter months. Life is just easier in Minnesota from June to October. I guess the one exception would be the post Christmas run to the Goodwill.

Doesn't it seem like your home shrinks on December 25th? I think it is not only the addition of presents, but also the visiting relatives, and the extra food, and the many cars in the drive. At any rate, I am always on a mission to move things out around New Years.

The First Reason That Decluttering is a Good Idea

Your Property Will Be Much More Appealing To Buyers

But back to the home stagers number one rule. Declutter. A streamlined home shows better. I think there are a couple of really good arguments about why you as a seller of Real Estate will benefit from time spent editing out unused and unnecessary items.

• Lots of people are moving because they have run out of space. When they see a property where everything seems to have a place to go it tells them that there will be room for all their things too.
• Clutter distracts buyers. To really get them engaged in the property you have to get their attention on the best features of the house. People are nosy...we like to solve the puzzle. When a property has lots of things around, you are providing clues for the buyers to follow.
• Getting rid of things you no longer use will make packing up when you do get a contract that much easier
• Who wants to move clutter into their new home?

The Second Reason That Decluttering is a Good Idea

Charitible Organizations Can Do Great Things With the Money Your Donation Brings In

Your cast offs can be donated to charity and improve the lives of many people that are less fortunate then you are.

Did you know that not all Thrift Stores are non-profit? If you give to a charity like Goodwill, Salvation Army, ARC, Catholic Charities and similar organizations much more of the value of your donation goes to charity then if you donated to a for profit organization such as Savers.

If you live in the Twin Cities and your Home Staging Expert is telling you to declutter check out the Minnesota Thrift Stores Directory to find a drop off location near you.

OK...no, you would not have found me standing in a long line in the freezing Twin Cities temperatures waiting for hours to buy an electronic gizmo.

Don't get me wrong, no one loves a deal more that I do. But I love to buy new home staging props. I have even had people accuse me of starting a home staging business just so that I had a good excuse to go shopping. Of course, I always deny it...a girl has to have some pride...but there might be a grain of truth in the accusation!

What I love is that between Thanksgiving and Christmas retailers of all kinds are begging us with discounted price tags to buy their wares. Gordmans, Kirklands, Home Goods. I am like a kid at Santa's toyshop.

I have lots of pretty new props that are looking for a home. If you are new to the Home Staging business, take this opportunity to build up some inventory at a discounted price. The spring selling season is not really that far off. Is it the cub scouts or the boy scouts that have BE PREPARED in their pledge. I'd make a great scout.

If you live in the Twin Cities metro and have a vacant home, or a barely furnished property give me a call. I have a pair of shiny new lamps that would look great!

www.Amazing-Transformations.net

It's Snowing in the Twin Cities! Usually by now this has lost it's thrill for the residents of St Paul and Minneapolis Minnesota. By December snow is often both deep and a nasty color of brown. But not this year. Yeah Snow.

While the snow is beautiful and makes me want to run out and by a Christmas Tree this very second it also brings to mind some things that as a Professional Home Stager I would like sellers to be aware of.

When you are selling real estate in the winter in a cold climate like we have in the Twin Cities buyers thoughts go to issues such as:

• How much work will it be to keep this property shoveled?
• What is the condition of the furnace and windows?
• Where am I going to park my car during the inevitable snow emergencies?

What I do as a home stager is educate sellers on what they can do to stand out from the competition. It is so important to try to view your property from a buyer's perspective. You want to get into a buyer's head. I have three suggestions for you:

1. Keep the sidewalks, driveways, and access points from the road to the house completely clear. Don't make buyers tip-toe up to your property. You want them to march up to your house admiring it's curb appeal, not staring down at their feet. Keeping everything shoveled and free of ice also reinforces that keeping it up is no big deal at all. You don't want them thinking about where they are going to find an extra two hours everytime it snows to clear the crive and walks.
2. If you have newer windows, furnace, or have implemented the suggestions you were given during an energy audit...shout it from the rooftops. Leave notes, or warranties out for them to see. If you haven't thought about how to make your home more energy efficient it is not too late. There are many excellent resources available on the internet and some tax incentives still available to help with the cost.
3. Keep the driveway plowed.Even if your property is vacant, or your garage is filled with moving boxes rather than cars keep the access to the driveway cleared. Garages take on special importance to Minnesotans during the winter.

If you live in the Twin Cities metro area and are getting ready to sell you home or are having trouble getting people interested in your property I would welcome the opportunity to tour your property with you to give you my home staging recommendations.

For information about services, pricing, before and after photos, or to check out prior customer referrals you can go to my website.