Home Staging Pennsylvania- Hart & Associates Servicing the Main Line, Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.

Staging is finally becoming part of our everyday vocabulary here in our region. This is great news for all you stagers and realtors trying to get home sellers to prepare their homes for sale for spring market. I was speaking with a fellow stager a few weeks ago and she told me that she was watching the show  King of Queens and they were getting their home ready for sale and the husband sat down in a recliner in front of the tv and when the wife asked what he was doing he replied "Staging the family room." I did not see the show so I am not sure how it exactly went but if you did see it I would love to know.

 Well I thought that was exciting enough until today I was standing in line at Starbucks and overhead a woman speaking to her friend about setting up a playdate for their kids. She explained to the woman that a certain date would not work because she had to meet with her stager! That was it... no explanation of what a stager was, just that she had to meet with the stager and it was so important that she could not reschedule the meeting.

 A small victory for our new industry! Staging has become a word in our vocabulary. Keep on educating the public and Realtors in your area because it is working. Soon enough every seller will understand the importance of what we do. Stage it forward and Happy New Year. KH

In an word- YES!

I had to write this blog this morning not only to brag about our results this week but to educate Realtors, Sellers, Builders and Property Investors on how staging helps you to sell your properties faster and for more money even in this market.  I also wanted to give my fellow stagers some credible info and help on how to answer this question.

Staging is only part of the key to successfully marketing and selling your home. I tell my clients that there are only 2 things that you can control when you put your home on the market

#1. The price you set and

#2 How you  present your home to potential buyers and agents.

You cannot control market conditions, interest rates and the media's doomsday reports of the real estate market and you also cannot control the location of the property- if your home is next to a Kmart parking lot and across the street from an airport landing strip then we cannot pick it up and move it to a more desireable location.

So how does the magic happen then? If you work with your Realtor to set a fair price for your home based on today's comparative prices (not the price that your friends got in last year's market) and you present your home in the best possible light then your home will sell.

Here is some proof:

 Last Friday our team went to stage a home that is owned by a property investor. We originally met with the home owner 3 weeks earlier to do a consultation on the property. The home had been rented for years and the carpet was badly worn, the bathrooms were unsightly and the floors needed to be refinished and the walls all needed to be painted. We gave the client our recommendations including paint colors and contractors to do the work. The client then made the committment to get the work done refinishing the floors, replacing the carpet and painting and cleaning.  We then brought in rental furniture and accessories to set the scene and show potential buyers the best possible use of each space (including a third floor room with a stripper pole but that is a story for another blog!)

I got the call last night that the agent began showing the property on Monday during a broker's open house and on Tuesday night our client signed an agreement of sale! The best part? He got an offer for $30,000 over asking!!! Not only did he sell his home faster but he also made back his investment in getting the home ready for sale and then some. Even I was impressed since homes in our market are taking 80 days+ to sell. Kudos to our home owner and Realtor for listening to our advice, getting the work done and pricing and presenting the home correctly.

 So does staging work? YES YES YES but it is just part of the listing process.  The home owner, the stager and the realtor have to make a committment to get the work done and price the home appropriately. This is just one of many success stories but I wanted to share since it was a great early Christmas present for me :)

 Please share your success stories with me so Realtors and home sellers can see that this really works! KH

I originally posted this to Val's blog (please do not accuse me of cutting and pasting to get points!) but I got some emails that it was supposed to be posted here. Happy Holidays and Happy Staging. KH

Here are 5 things you do not know about me:

 1.  I used to work in financial sales in NYC and then left it all to become an interior designer.

2.  Once I became an interior designer I was so annoyed how clients could spend $8,000 on a sofa but not pay me $250 for my time so I decided to find something new to do and discovered staging. Now I can tell people what to do in their homes and if it is not their personal taste that is ok since the goal is to sell their home and they do not have to live with it forever only until their house sells!

3. I am totally, utterly addicted to starbucks sugar free hazelnut non fat lattes and cannot function if I do not have a venti everyday- I think this is why my metabolism is so off and I have gained 10 lbs.

4. I am not blonde! Everyone who saw me on stagedhomes.com is shocked to learn that I actually have very dark hair.

5. I have 2 sons, Nicholas who is 4 1/2 and Benjamin who is 2 1/2. My resolution for 2007 is to only work 5 days a week and spend more time with them since they are growing up so fast!