All the home's a stage - Decorating pros design the scene for sales
Daily Southtown; Friday, April 25, 2004; By Kira McCaffrey Brecht, Real Estate Writer
Lights! Camera! Action! Well, it's not really a movie set. But, homeowners are pulling out all the stops in today's market to give them an edge for selling. It's called staging or real estate enhancement and real estate professionals say it's something to consider, whether you do it yourself, or bring in a "one-day decorator."
House for Sale signs are cropping up on every block, along with the crocuses and tulips that are poking out of the ground - a sure sign the spring home selling season is kicking into gear. If you are thinking of putting your home on the market this spring, home staging could help you sell your home faster or possibly even get you a higher price.
Julea Joseph, owner of Reinventing Space in Palos Park, will act as a "one-day decorator" and will sweep into your home, leaving it several hours later primed for selling. A member of the Interior Arrangement and Design Association, Joseph will use your existing furniture and merely rearrange it for better traffic patterns and broader appeal. She may, however, also tell you to send your dog, cat, hamster or bird packing on a trip to grandma's during the home-showing weekend.
The four objectives of real estate enhancement are, according to Joseph, to shorten the resale time, maximize the financial return, broaden market appeal and offer professional objectivity. "If you've got three homes for sale on your block, why wouldn't you want this edge?" Joseph questioned.
Potential home buyers tend to make snap decisions, so initial impressions and the outside image of the home counts. "Ninety percent of decisions are made before they even walk in the door. You have about 15 seconds to make an impression," said Joseph.
When Joseph conducts an initial consultation, she "starts at the curb and goes to the back of the fence."
My job is to walk through the house as if I was a potential home buyer. When I prepare a home to go on the market, I make it appeal to everyone, with the dÚcor down the middle of nowhere."
Yes, that entails putting away your collections of ducks, packing up the family photographs, religious icons and ethnic memorabilia. "My job is to make people fall in love with the house, as opposed to what is in the house. I want potential home buyers to picture themselves in the house," she said.
Jean Randall, a visual coordinator and design expert, based in St. John, Ind., highlights a key difference between home stagers and interior decorators. "We use what they (homeowners) have. Interior decorators want you to buy everything new."
Randall agrees that home staging can help move homes faster. "If somebody wants to sell their house and it's all cluttered and mismatched - it's not going to move quickly because houses sell on eye-appeal. I put things where they should be and tell them to pack stuff away. When potential home buyers walk in you want them to feel comfortable."
There are some tricks to this trade. Do you have small closets? Small bedrooms? No sweat. Joseph said the goal is to "downplay the flaws in your home and play up the strengths."
Joseph recently enhanced a post-World War II bungalow in LaGrange. The three bedroom one-and-a-half bath house was originally priced on the market for $349,000, but sold in six days at $369,000 after a one-day decorating job by Joseph and her team. "The house had no closet space and things were tumbling down on your head when you opened the door. We went in, took stuff out, folded the towels neatly and put a ribbon around them - so it looked like the closets were monstrous."
If a homeowner has a queen-size bed in a small bedroom, Joseph may recommend storing that queen and putting a single bed in its place. Voila! Suddenly, the bedroom looks much bigger.
"We are artists, because we use what people already have," Joseph said.
However, in some situations, Joseph's recommendations could include repainting to a more neutral palate and perhaps even sending your furniture into storage and bringing in neutral rental furniture.
Traffic patterns are another key issue. Furniture may not be arranged to allow for large groups of people tramping through your home and Joseph will ensure that potential home buyers can move easily throughout the house. You don't want people squeezing past that dining room table to get to the kitchen.
Also, she might rearrange the furniture to accentuate the lovely view from your living room window, as opposed to being centered on the "almighty TV."
Your real estate agent can also offer tips on how to stage your home for selling. Karen Gaylord, managing broker at Century 21 Dabbs in Oak Lawn said. "to get top-dollar you need to stage your home." One instance, however, where home staging may not make much of a difference is for "handy-man specials," she noted.
Gaylord recommends that home buyers remove all clutter. "You want to have an open, airy feeling in your rooms. Remove some furniture to make a room seem larger. Make sure your countertops are clutter-free and all straightened up."
On the outside, "if you have a huge bush and it's blocking the beauty of your home - either trim it or get rid of it," Gaylord said.
A lot of home staging techniques are common sense and you can do them yourself. Check your doorbell to make sure it works. Potential home buyers will be walking in through the front door. Clean the stoop, polish the hardware on your door and maybe even repaint your front door. A splash of color, with a nice potted annual, can work wonders in that all-important first impression.
Selling and buying a home is "all psychological," said Joseph. Homeowners need to convey to potential home buyers that they take care of and value their home. Her job is to ensure a home is "visually ready." She strives to "create an instant reaction and curb appeal, which will encourage buyers to stick around," hopefully long enough to sign on the dotted line.