Phyllis's Blog

There are many aspects to being a professional home stager. First and foremost you must have a good sense of design and spacial planning. You must be creative and thrifty, as most jobs are limited in budget. BUT FOREMOST...you must be a counselor to many!

Does this shock you?? Well let me give you a scenario to think about! You enter into someone else's space. A home they have created over the past several years filled with their likes and decorating style. It is filled with memories and decorative items that have been collected over the years. Items that have special meaning to them and their children.....Enter the home stager and what do we do?? WE TELL THEM TO GET RID OF IT ALL!!

I joke with my clients that when I begin my job they are going to hate me and by the time I am done they love me. Oh, they would never admit that they hate me but I have seen many tears over the years as I begin to declutter their space and remove their specially loved items.

SO WHY DO WE DO IT?? Because buyers are not coming to buy your STUFF, they need to see YOUR HOUSE! So we remove the distractions like busy wallpaper, dirty carpets and decorative items that hinder the buyer from seeing your HOUSE!

ReStyled to Sell Home Staging just finished a house that has sat on the market for 5 months now with no offers and very little seekers. When we were called in to view this property it was very clear to me the many problems that needed to be addressed. One was the clutter and wallpaper. I warned my client that the process was going to be tough and she kept reassuring me that she would be okay, which she was, but  only after she  was told by me to COMPLETELY LET GO and trust me and let me do my job.

I recall the night she called and begged me to change the paint color in the bathroom. I REFUSED and told her she needed to trust me and wait to see the final project. Once I completed the accessorizing she agreed and FINALLY GOT WHAT I WAS TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.

So the finished project...HUGE SUCCESS, first Open House is today and we are expecting great results!

BEFORE  Lavendar and pink wallpaper screamed 1980's, while too many small accessories took away from the RELAXED atmosphere that buyers would be looking for in a great soaking tub like this one. The choice of color also washed out the decorative tile border

Now the Rich Taupe paint pulls out the accent tile color which was in GREAT SHAPE and warms the space. This was tough for the clients as they would  have NEVER chosen a color like this, but now they love it.

SO WILL BUYERS. The huge soaking tub seems so much more inviting now

If you are thinking of selling your home and would love to call on the professional services of a home stager, be READY TO LET GO and I MEAN REALLY LET GO and LET US DO OUR JOB...You'll be glad you did!

Call ReStyled to Sell home staging experts today @ 732-995-3425. Our team of professionals will transform your house into a home that buyers will LOVE!

I hear this time and time again....we should have staged sooner!! SO WHY ARE SELLERS WAITING? They are afraid of losing money. Well aren't you losing money when you reduce the price of your home??

Here is an email I just received from a client:

In today's market, so many sellers are concerned about the sale of their home so they are turning to their realtors for answers.  The realtors who are teaming up with a professional home stager are providing a valuable service to their clients and therefore  are doing all they could to help  them sell their home.  So will  home staging HELP SELL THE HOME??

ABSOLUTELY, BUT ONLY IF YOU DO THE FOLLOWING:

1. First you MUST LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS. Who are the experts? The realtor and the home stager that will be helping you prepare your home for sale. When working with a seasoned realtor and home stager, it is important to listen wisely to their suggestions as they have prepared many homes for sale with great success.

2. LET GO! It is time to relinquish over your home to the experts so they can turn it into a product that will appeal to a wider number of buyers. Remember buyers  want to see  THE HOUSE NOT YOUR  ITEMS.  So listen to us when we say, the antique teapot collection must be packed away.

3. REMOVE ALL WALLPAPER.  "Yuck, that could take forever and it is such a messy job". I hear this  from so many clients. Well guess what, if you don't want to do it why do you think a buyer will want to do it. Let us do the work so you don't have to. Laying out some money now can result in a higher offer.

4. Price the home accordingly! This is not 2004, things have changed as well as home prices. You can no longer get what you neighbor got for the same house 4 years ago. Again, trust the realtors numbers as they have done extensive comparatives in the neighborhood. They know what the realistics numbers are.

5. INVEST A LITTLE TO GAIN ALOT! Home Staging is not an expense, it is an investment and an investment that is sure to give a great return. Before you say no to the cost of staging your home, count the cost of what it would be to carry the home for 6 extra months. Most homes that we have staged are selling in under one month, even in this market. All clients have said it was money well spent.

6. When interviewing a realtor and a home stager, don't just choose based on commission and pricing alone. Remember the saying..you get what you pay for!  Ask how long the realtor and home stager have been in business.  What are their success rates? Ask for referrals. Ask to see the home stagers portfolio and client testimonials. Don't judge by their website as many home staging companies today can purchase websites that are professionaly "staged" and these stager have not even staged their first home. Do not be afraid to ask these questions.

7. Once you have made the decision to work with a qualified, professional home stager, let them DO THEIR JOB! At first you may disagree with  their furniture placement but I can assure you that there is a method to our madness. I just staged a home last week and I needed the client to empty his large cabinet so I could  move it to another location. He refused because he said it would not look good anywhere else. I told him it was my job to make sure that it did, but he refused to let me proceed with moving it as well as many other items. My hands were tied and the home did not look as good as I knew it could. LET US DO OUR JOBS! 

8. Don't be an HGTV staging graduate! I love all the design shows and unfortunately because of them EVERYONE THINKS THEY ARE STAGERS. Tomorrow I am re-staging a home that was apparently staged by the clients friends. All simple rules were broken but the worst and most dangerous one was that these "stagers" placed decorative material over a hanging light fixture in the hallway. HMMM! What if a realtor accidentally left that light on all  night, the material could have caught fire. Sure it looked pretty but BIG MISTAKE!

9. STAGE BEFORE YOU LIST! Don't wait until your home has become market worn. I have had too many clients call me after the home has been on the market 6 months or longer. There have already been many price reductions but most importantly is that too many buyers have viewed the property which amounted to many missed opportunities.

Houses are still selling and the ones that are priced right and show beautifully will be the first ones to sell!

Call ReStyled to Sell Home Staging today @ 732-995-3425 for your in home consultation, but before you do, prepare your heart so we can successfully prepare your home to sell!