Beverly Carlson

I was inspired by the idea in another blog about baking cinnamon buns before the open house. That is a great idea. If perchance the open house doesn't sell the first day and need some more smell good tricks, here they are:

Another way to get the vanilla cinnamon scent and prevent the risk of someone scarfing all the cinnamon buns down, simmer some vanilla extract and cinnamon powder in a teakettle of water on top of the stove.

If there is no stove or no electricity in the house, bring hot water in a thermos already infused with vanilla extract and pour in a dish uncovered just prior to the open house.

Yankee Candles make little votive candles that the fragrance REALLY does linger a bit after being lit. My absolutely favorite fragrance is lilac (reminds me of my grandmothers lilac bushes in Alva Ok) Lilac is great for a guest room bathroom as the bath is usually very small and fragrance will linger for a while even after the candle is snuffed out.

Anything lavendor scented works good in in bedroom. Lavendar is known to be calming. Exactly what you want your prospective buyers to be!!!

There are dryer softner sheets in "fresh linen" that can help freshen trouble spots that could be placed in a bathroom drawer or on a bathroom shelf out of sight if you detect a trouble spot smell wise that is.

Of course, it goes without saying, that the house should be squeaky clean or "q-tip" clean before showing to the first prospect. Nothing is more fascinating than the fragrance of FRESH CLEAN! Think high end hotel here!

BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS HELP SELLERS STAGE AND SELL!

This is a BEFORE shot reduced in size to protect privacy of personal items.

PHOTOS are so important to help the seller visualize the marketing impact of home staging. Photos are the visual aid that people need to see how a home can be transformed.

WHEN you live in a house, you get used to the way things are. Until you get ready to sell, it is really no one else's business how your furniture is arranged or what you have on your bookshelves. or even if you have a dining table or not.

There are several steps required to get a house ready for the market including cleaning, decluttering, downsizing and making any necessary repairs.

THEN it is time to STAGE the inside of the home with furnishings, appealing decor, lamps, art, greenery. A stager will highlight the best features of the home with lighting, color, and decor. l

There's a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's how to help a seller understand the marketing appeal of staging and that is with photos.

THIS IS THE SAME HOUSE, SAME FIREPLACE, SAME BOOKCASES, DEPERONALIZED AND STAGED TO SHOW HOW MAGNIFICENT THIS FIREPLACE and BOOKCASE AREA IS!

WHEN YOU SELL YOUR HOUSE, YOU HAVE TO MOVE!!!

1. YES, move the clutter out. Pack and store up your belongings that are just sitting around in the way such as books, magazines,newspapers, toys, collectibles, good stuff and bad stuff. Move it out before the FOR SALE SIGN goes up!

2. Protect your collectibles and special collections BEFORE the FOR SALE SIGN goes up. This way you don't have to worry about curious little hands picking up a valuable collectible when your house is shown.

3. Move the big pieces of furniture out in order to make your house look larger. Move the big overstuffed chairs, even the big favorite recliner with your favorite pillow and stacks of magazines piled beside it. You know the one I am talking about!

4. Move out all the electronic equipment. Now, this won't make me a popular blogger. I hear YOU protessting already, that the TV is not going anywhere. Now, I'm thinking to myself, "I thought you said you were ready to MOVE!"

5. Move the animals, dogs, cats, hamsters, birds, snakes, and all their dishes, toys and cages. Buyers don't like animals as much as owners do, or even be allergic to your pet. Some pets don't like strange people wondering in.

Your much loved animals will be happier going with you while the house is being shown or staying at a friends house.

YES, YOU ARE MOVING!

If you are a FSBO, you need a staging consultation!

Staging is a marketing tool make your home standout from the competition.

Staged homes are clean, decluttered, and arranged to appeal to buyers!

As a For Sale By Owner, you may be used to doing things yourself and that is exactly why you need a staging consultation. A staging consultation completed by a professional home stager will provide you with a step-by step checklist for preparing your home for sale.

Each area of the home, each room of the home including both interior and exterior will be addressed for minor repairs to be completed, any needed sprucing up, and arrangement of interior furnishings and decor.

Once the staging consultation is in your hands, then all you do is go down the list and check each item off when completed.

As the home owner, it is always YOUR decision how to prepare your home for sale. The professional home stager is an expert in how to make homes ready that appeal to buyers.

A home stager can recommend paint colors, art placement, lighting styles, furnishings arrangments, even curb appeal updates.

The staging consultation is an action plan for success. The first staging consultation I ever completed was for a FSB0. Before the paint was even dry, this owner got a knock at the door inquiring if the house was for sale because the prospective buyers HAD SEEN fix up being done. This person became the buyer. The FSBO seller sold their home by first getting a staging consultation and taking action.

TAKE ACTION AND GET YOUR ACTION PLAN FOR A SUCCESSFUL SALE!

If you are a For Sale by Owner Seller, call Beverly Carlson today for a professional home staging consultation at

325-721-2429.

Keep the Staging Up-To-Date - Buyers Expect to be WOWED!

Over the past few years, I have collected a shelf of books on home staging and home decorating.

Today, I was perusing a book on home staging written in 2004. The after photos were nicely staged and clean and clutter free, but the burgandy colored pillows and print bedspreads made me think how dated this master bedroom is. In fact all the printed bedspreads I saw made me want to gag. Like wallpaper, printed bedding can be so personal! Today, floral printed bedspreads just don't make the nice, neutral modern buyer look you want in the Master bedroom.

Just like the clothes fashions, home decor changes from year to year. What is in vogue one year can become fuddy duddy in a year or two. You need a professional home stager to keep it up-to-date.

The classic examples areavocado green appliances and harvest gold appliances, which at one time were in vogue but probably never again not at least in my lifetime!

A good reason to get a professional staging consultatio is because the home stager is an expert in what buyers think is UP-TO-DATE.

As a home seller (and I've been one) objective perspective is hard to come by. A professional home stager gives you an outside eye of your home and will recommend what colors and accessories that will appeal to buyers NOW.

We get used to where we live and don't see our surroundings as others do. It's not uncommon for folks to enter through the garage every day and never actually see their own front door as it appears to others walking up for the first time. That explains how a front entrance door can get dusty, and have cobwebs hanging from the front porch.

For Maximum Buyer Appeal, call for a professional home staging consultation to make sure your home is UP-TO-DATE. CALL Beverly at 325-721-2429