If you follow my blog, you may have seen my post a couple of months back about a Low Income Housing development in Los Angeles that we "Staged" at the end of 2008.
Today was the Grand Opening event for Hobart Heights. Hobart is the 3rd low income housing community we did the interior design work for (see projects #1 and #2 here). They are always great projects, due in large part to our wonderful client American Communities. They are a joy to work with, and we look forward to many more projects with them.
Today was the first time I attended one of the Grand Openings, and I was blown away by what I witnessed. For starters, Herb Wesson was there. Herb is the LA City Councilman representing the 10th District. He was instrumental in advocating for this and other similar developments meant to provide affordable housing for Los Angeles residents so they can live in the same community in which they work. (Just to give you an idea, a 3 bedroom unit in this building rents for between $500-$1000/month, whereas similar apartments in the neighborhood rent for $3500!)
Representatives from the Los Angeles Housing Department and the Community Redevelopment Agency were also on hand to congratulate everyone involved for a job well done. This building was located in a historical neighborhood so there were many "hoops" to jump through in order to get the plans approved. But it was obviously worth the effort. Beautifully designed in an art deco style, with the comfort of the residents in mind, this building has created a new life for the deserving people who live there.
The most touching part of the entire presentation was when a current resident spoke (via a translator) about the way in which living in the building has changed her life.
This woman is the mother of a disabled daughter. For 13 years before moving into Hobart Heights, she had to carry her daughter on her back up to the 5th floor of her old apartment. She was in tears when she spoke about how the simplest things that we take for granted have changed her life. The ramp up to the front of the building and the elevator, as well as the handicap accessible bathroom and kitchen, allow her daughter to be truly self-sufficient for the first time in her life. There wasn't a dry eye in the house after this lovely woman spoke.
With all the doom and gloom in the news, it was wonderful to hear some positive news and to know that there is funding for many more similar developments in the area. Many local politicians are working tirelessly to create affordable housing, as well as job opportunities and open space (parks) for LA's under-served residents. Let's hope they succeed in changing many many more lives.
Oh, and please take a second to vote for me (you can vote once a day!) in the StartUp Nation Leading Moms in Business competition! I appreciate your vote. :)
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Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz
"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"
************************************************
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.
Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.
Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.
If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.
Right before the holidays last year I blogged about a Santa Monica townhome we Staged on December 8th (I remember because it was my birthday). This was the second townhome in the same condo complex, and this one was listed by Randy Troup of Coldwell Banker.
I must admit I was leery about Staging a home so close to Christmas since it's a tough time to hit the market, but the homeowner was insistent. He made some great updates to the unit with paint and carpet and was gung-ho on Staging from day one. Not to mention he was a really fun guy to work with! Though he was strict on budget and insisted I "kick in the creative juices" on this project, he also called during the Staging and sang Happy Birthday to me and wrote me a glowing review on Yelp. All in all this project was a complete joy and we were thrilled with the results. See more photos of this home here.
So the results?
The realtor called me in a panic a couple of weeks ago saying he forgot to tell me they were about to close escrow and we needed to schedule a pickup before his Staging lease expired. I told him he still had almost a month left on the lease. Though pleased with our Staging job, he seemed a little bummed that the property took so long to sell. I asked how many days it was on the market. He said "58, but the first 30 were the holidays." At first I couldn't understand how he could be disappointed with those results, but then I realized he just thought it looked so good it should sell in the first week! Well, I agree but in this market over the winter holidays, I was thrilled with the results! :)
Oh, and please take a second to vote for me (you can vote once a day!) in the StartUp Nation Leading Moms in Business competition! I appreciate your vote. :)
*************************************************************************************
Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz
"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"
************************************************
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.
Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.
Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.
If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.
Ok, I admit it. When I wrote that follow up blog last night I was TIRED...really tired after a long day of work and a long week preparing for the seminar. Then my husband surprised me by coming home early (if you can call 9:30pm early!) and I was anxious to wrap up my blog and spend some time with him.
So unfortunately I left out some pretty important details about the Senior Staging Seminar I gave yesterday at the Culver City Senior Center. I hope you don't think I'm beating a dead horse here, but since so many Stagers seem interested in holding similar seminars in their areas, I thought you might be interested in how I structured my talk.
I originally got the idea for the seminar from another senior seminar I did with Michelle Minch and Karen Thornton last fall. We spoke to close to 100 seniors who had already put down deposits on apartments in a brand new senior community in the San Fernando Valley. Though, at the time, the property was a year or so away from being finished, the future residents were concerned about selling their homes in a down market. The consulting company that put on the event needed three Stagers to speak so that they wouldn't be seen as "pushing" one company as a preferred provider. Since we had never done a group presentation like this before, it took a bit of work to figure out how to break it down. In the end we structured our talk in this way and I kept the same structure for my seminar yesterday:
1) Introduction: My Credentials
I always like to begin any speech by introducing myself and my company and telling a little bit about my background and experience. I mention that I am an ASP, a board member of my local IAHSP chapter, a member of the West Los Angeles and Culver City Chambers of Commerce, and an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Assocation of Realtors (BHGLAAR). I go on to say that I have Staged homes for two television shows ("Million Dollar Listing" and "Property Ladder") and that I have been featured in articles on Home Staging in the New York Times, Los Angeles Magazine, Frontiers Magazine, and my personal favorite Costco Connection!
I feel this gives the audience confidence that I have some clue as to what I'm talking about!
I also just realized that it's the same thing I put in the blurb at the bottom of each of my blog entries!
2) What is Staging?
Regardless of whether I'm talking to seniors or seasoned real estate agents, I always give a brief description of Home Staging. In the case of the seniors, I felt this was an important way to start since many of them may not be familiar with the industry, or may have a skewed view of what we do from some of the television shows on HGTV. I explain that Staging is not just about making the home look pretty, but more about seeing the home through a buyer's eyes and playing up the positive features of that home while detracting from any potential negatives.
3) Why Staging is important
Here I give statistics as to the percentage of buyers that pre-shop online for homes. This helps the audience to understand that it's CRUCIAL that your MLS photos pre-sell your home before any potential buyers even set foot in the house.
4) Repairs & Updates
With older homes especially, there are often repairs and updates that need to be made before Staging can be effective. Some examples are removing wallpaper, painting walls and dark wood paneling, removing or replacing old carpet and heavy draperies. Though the audience may have heard all this before, seeing actual before and after pictures makes a dramatic impact! Be sure you have some great before & after examples of these types of updates and your talk will be much more effective.
5) Room-By-Room Examples
Next I went through each of the different types of rooms (and outdoor spaces) in a home and gave several examples of some of the challenges (clutter, oversized furniture, etc.), as well as low-cost solutions to address them. Once again, a picture is worth a thousand words!
During this part of the discussion, some of the attendees had specific questions they wanted to address. I took the time to answer any questions that arose. Some of the situations required an on-site consultation, but I was able to answer a few more straight forward ones on the spot.
6) How it Works
In closing, I covered how the process works when you hire a Home Stager, starting with the initial consultation and then moving on to actual hands-on Staging work. We discussed pricing and I offered a special discounted rate for those who attended the presentation. This is always a good idea when presenting to a group. It makes them feel their time was well-spent and rewards them for thier attendance.
Another option is to raffle off a gift card to a local coffee shop or restaurant. Though usually we collect business cards for a drawing in a realty office, most seniors won't have cards. Instead, can create small pieces of paper with a place for them to fill in their name, email or mailing address and phone number. Make sure to have a bowl and some pens to make the process go more smoothly.
7) Realtor Partner Presentation/Teaser
For the last 5 minutes of the seminar, I invited one of my Realtor partners Dana Ehrlich from Keller Williams Santa Monica up to speak. Dana is a marketing maven! Not only is she one of my best clients, but she and I have decided to team up this year to do a series of seminars geared toward home sellers. As I mentioned in yesterday's post these seminars will focus on seven different strategies for selling your home in a buyers' market, one of which (of course) will be Staging. She gave a brief discussion of the topics we plan to cover in our first of these seminars, to be held Saturday April 5th at the Keller Williams Santa Monica office. She also raved about me, which is always a plus! :)
As they left, several of the seniors came up to us and said that they didn't really know anything about Staging before this talk and that they were so glad they had come. One even compared Dana and I to Oprah and Nate the Architect! :)
One last note about giving seminars to seniors (or to any audience for that matter): Remember to speak slowly and loudly! I have a tendency to get very excited about my topic and to speak very quickly. Slowing down is always a challenge, but I found that since this was the second time I had spoken to an audience of seniors, the pace came more naturally.
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Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz
"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"
************************************************
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.
Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.
Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.
If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.
If you saw my blog earlier this week, you'll know that today I gave a free seminar for seniors at the Culver City Senior Center. The seminar focused on Preparing Your Home for Sale in a Soft Real Estate Market and was geared toward seniors who may be ready to move into a retirement community or assisted living but may be worried about selling their homes in a buyers' market.
Well it was a great success! There were 10 seniors who attended, and they all gave me wonderful feedback and said they learned a lot from the presentation. One in particular was ready to sell in the near future and had several specific questions.
At the end of the presentation, I had one of my Realtor partners give a 5-minute introduction to our next seminar (scheduled for Saturday April 4th at the Keller Williams office in Santa Monica) that will cover the following topics:
and of course...
All in all I was very pleased with the outcome of this seminar and hope this is just the first of many that I do at local Senior Centers!
*************************************************************************************
Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz
"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"
************************************************
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.
Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.
Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.
If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.
Just ran across an interesting article in the Los Angeles Times Real Estate section.
The article brings up a seller strategy that was used during the recession of the 80s.
"A reverse offer works something like this: A potential buyer has shown more than a passing interest in your house, and the buyer's agent has indicated his client really likes the place. But for some reason, a week or two has gone by and the buyer hasn't made an offer.
Something is holding him back. Perhaps he still wants to look at several other places. Or maybe he's paralyzed because of the news about the current real estate market or economy. It can be any number of things.
So based on feedback from his agent, why not make the reluctant buyer an offer? Maybe knock a few grand off your asking price and throw in a 12-month home warranty. Perhaps agree to wait for however long it takes for him to get approved for a mortgage, or give him extra time to close.
In other words, whatever it takes not only to get his attention but to put his John Hancock on a contract."
The article goes on to say that not all agents think this is a great tactic because it can make the seller seem desperate. However, I disagree.
First of all, this is not something that you want to try with every buyer who walks through the place, only with those that have come back once or twice and seem genuinely interested. And of course you should only attempt this with buyers who have been prequalified for a mortgage.
Secondly, you don't necessarily want to try this during the few weeks of a listing, but after the property has "aged" a bit.
And finally, take a look at the feedback you're getting from this buyer and attempt to fix the problem. Is it that the home needs a paint job or the flooring is out of date? Write a solution (a credit, or an offer to repaint or put in hardwood without raising the price) into your reverse offer.
Look, let's be honest: in Los Angeles and around the country, price reductions are now a fact of life. Until the market turns a bit, I think it's short-sighted not to consider making a direct appeal to a specific buyer who may be on the fence, for fear of coming across as desperate.
Here are some other reasons to use reverse offers:
"One might be when the buyer is using an inexperienced agent and your more veteran agent wants to write the contract to make certain that it is worded absolutely perfectly. Another is when negotiations have broken down and you want to make one last-ditch attempt to get the deal back on track."
*************************************************************************************
Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz
"We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!"
************************************************
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.
Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.
Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.
If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.
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Full Service Los Angeles Home Staging Company. Professionally trained and accredited Home Stagers providing Residential Real Estate Staging services to the Los Angeles Area.
Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company.
Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown is an ASP Home Stager, a member of IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors and a member of the Culver City and West LA Chambers of Commerce.
Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo's hit show "Million Dollar Listing" and TLC's "Property Ladder." She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.
If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website. There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos, as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.
Want to sell your Los Angeles home fast and for a great price? Stage it with Stage to Sell.
"Stage to Sell is the third staging company that I've used over the years, and the third time is the charm in this case. Annie, the owner, has won me over with several factors: attention to detail, follow-through and the overall quality of her work. Stage to Sell is now the only staging referral I give to selling clients when taking a new listing. Her company's efforts have clearly helped our mutual clients sell faster and get better prices. Plain condos and houses are transformed into warm and inviting homes that people want to buy right away."
- Chris Gordon Clark, Keller Williams Santa Monica
"Although I was reluctant at first to consent to hiring a stager to sell our property, I am so glad that I did. Annie blew me away with her suggestions. The best part was that she worked with what we already have, so there is no need to buy anything. I thought her suggestions might be obvious, but they weren't -- they were subtle changes that make a huge impact. I am so eager to implement her brilliant suggestions. Not only am I glad I hired Annie to stage our house to sell, I want to hire her to advise me when we move to our new home.
-Courtney Alban, Los Feliz
"Annie’s staging of my project was absolutely spot-on. She understood the buyer mentality so well that we had all three staged units in escrow within 2 months, after having had them on the market for over 7!"
- Dana Ehrlich, Keller Williams Santa Monica
"Your staging of 1533 18th Street meets and exceeds my highest expectations based on my experiences with almost all of your competition. Not only is the installation spectacular - the price, timing and level of professionalism raises the bar for your competition. Thanks for being extraordinary!"
- Anthony Hitt, Sotheby's International Realty
"Wow what a difference! My sellers and I are so impressed with how wonderful the house looks. It's a million times better and has surpassed all of our expectations. I will definitely use your services again and again. Thank you for coming on such short notice and doing a top notch job. Fantastic!"
- Vicky Mirisch, Pinnacle Estate Properties
"Annie just staged one of my listings that had been empty for almost two months. We had at least 40 buyers through with NOT ONE offer. She staged on Friday. Within 4 DAYS we had two offers!!!"
- Dana Ehrlich, Keller Williams
"Wow! It looks great...The photographer was ready to buy it! Thank you for putting all my doubts to rest. I was hesitant to spend the money on staging but you’ve proved that it is a must. Thank you very much!"
- Melissa Macfadyen, Keller Williams
"I just want to thank you for being so awesome and responsive to my client and me. That home was a mess and you made it look livable. You are the best and I am glad to be in business with you. You are truly one of the best stagers out there!"
- Thomas Khammar, Keller Williams
"I hired Annie to help me stage a property which had been on the market for 7 months with another agent, and had undergone $300,000 in price reductions over the course of the listing. I re-listed the property with a fresh pricing strategy and staged it before we shot any photos or showed the property. We had an accepted offer within 2 weeks. My clients were absolutely thrilled with Annie's practical and economical advice."
- Dana Ehrlich, Keller Williams
"Annie is wonderful and does a great job! You should consider using her to stage your house regardless of whether you are looking to sell or not. I have received so many compliments on the work she did on my listing!"
- Revi Mendelsohn, Coldwell Banker
"My condo had previously been on the market for one month with little interest and no offers...When I first saw my condo after it had been staged, I was amazed...The previously cramped rooms looked light and bright with the furniture and tasteful, contemporary accessories that Annie selected. The house looked as if it had been professionally decorated...At the open house the response was great. Within a week we had multiple offers and ended up accepting one for $21,000 over asking price. I was thrilled!"
- Cherry Norris, Brentwood
"Well, I think staging works. While we were putting up the for sale sign Tuesday, a couple came through. They loved it and made an offer the next day. After a few counter offers, we sold it today. So we’re claiming it sold in 20 hours. They want a 3 week escrow, but we’re game, and of course we still have to get through all the formalities. Anyway, thanks for all your help!"
- Dennis Newell, Murietta
"I cannot thank you enough for doing the staging for my condo...I had so many compliments from both friends and potential buyers. Your ideas were very creative and really helped to enhance the appeal of each room. My condo looked like a model home. I highly recommend you for anyone considering selling their home. It was well worth the money. I firmly believe the staging helped me maximize the selling value of my condo."
- Kim Itakura, Culver City
"Thank you again for your work. I barely have sufficient verbal skills to express how happy I am with the transformation of the house, and the enormous increase in its market value."
- Holly Browde, Beverly Hills
"I wanted to thank you again for the fantastic job you did in staging the condo in Marina Del Rey. I especially appreciated your professionalism, and going out of your way to make things happen within our time frame."
- Jake Ptasnik, Marina del Rey
"Thanks again for what I'm convinced resulted in the sale of my house!!"
- Marla McGuire, Reseda
"You did such an amazing job, Annie. What a difference you made, not only with the pieces you brought, but the recommendations you made to update/change/prepare for your Staging. Everything looks amazing! Thanks again!"
- Dian Reid, Van Nuys
"The place looks awesome!!! I can’t wait to take pics tomorrow...I’m so happy! Big difference!! You are a great resource!"
- Lorin Ruttenberg, Keller Williams
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