Staging

by george lorimer, real estate broker, ProWestProperties is a boutique broker in San Diego, CA

PRESENTING YOUR PROPERTY IN THE BEST LIGHT TO THE MARKET

The buyer expects that every home from an affordable San Diego condo to a luxury La Jolla home should like they do on Million Dollar Listing or HGTV. 

Remember, the reason you are considering presenting your property in the best light is, so you make the most money possible when you sell your home. Staged homes usually sell 5-8% more than the competition, and they usually sell in half the time. By following these tips, you can make tens of thousands of dollars more on your home sale.

Here are some tips on what to do in the REAL world if you don’t have a ton of cash. Most of these items can be completed in 1-2 weeks and cost from $500-$2500. If you are tight on cash but want to do this, we offer many of these services as part of our listing and get reimbursed when the house sells.

1. Decluttering and cleaning
2. Paint and light remodeling (smart fixups).
3. Staging

Let me start with the first and easiest. I have 3 short videos below for you to watch and they are very specific to San Diego homes and what is the most important and least expensive item to complete. 

 

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1. DECLUTTER AND CLEAN THE HOME

Years of living, we get used to all the things we have in our house, our counters, the exercise equipment with laundry stacked upon it.
For most of us, a weekend of work and a garage sale or donating to Father Joe’s or the disabled Vets would help. 95% of agents and buyers say this helps.

Clean the home, deep clean, bathrooms, kitchen, the windows, and the carpets. Deodorize if you have pets or it smells bad. 95% of agents and buyers say this helps.

If you are tight on money and don’t have the money to invest for these improvements, in certain cases, we can assist you and pay upfront costs and get reimbursed as part of the listing.

Get your copy of this 33-page home staging report for maximum profits by calling or texting me 619-846-1244. Thanks,
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2. PAINT AND LIGHT REMODEL

After you have decluttered and cleaned, paint the inside to a neutral and smart color. Think Ralph Lauren home colors, restoration hardware, pottery barn, light and airy, and up to date colors. See some model homes and new construction. This will give you the right idea of paint and touches that today’s buyers want.  

Remember, you are doing these items to make your house- POP and make the most money when you sell.
The light remodeling would include fixing a leaky faucet, replacing old plumbing fixtures, missing baseboards, fixing a broken outlet, and installing a smoke and carbon detector on each floor.

It could also include replacing the carpet, replacing the flooring with faux wood. (Have a design scheme and colors that are updated and current and make sure carpet, goes with wood and goes with your cabinets). Stuff like that. If you ever want my advice to reach out, I am accessible and always have current photos I can send you or even look at the home.

Smart fixups could include painting or replacing the cabinets or maybe just clean, polish and update the hardware and cabinet pulls.
In the shower/ tub, it may be a good idea to coat with a polyurethane cover or replace the shower doors with brushed nickel versus the brass. Caution, it is a bear to pull out tubs and shower enclosures, so do what you can with the current shower/tub to make it look good.
The front door is the buyer's first impression, so fresh paint is helpful. Also, the yard should be clean and have some plants, flowers, and grass,  woodchips, or gravel. Pull all the weeds and remove debris. The outside and yard should look clean and manicured, even if it is drought tolerant.
You probably don’t have to replace the fence, but you could fix the fence posts, so they don’t lean. Patio covers could be painted to have a fresh look.
This stage of the paint and light remodel is critical because if you stage before this is ready, you won’t get all the benefits of a higher price. If you are tight on money and don’t have the money to invest for these improvements, in certain cases, we can assist you and pay upfront costs and get reimbursed as part of the listing.
Get your copy of this 33-page home staging report for maximum profits by calling or texting me 619-846-1244. Thanks,
(PUT the George Lorimer banner at the end of this clip in post-production)

3. WHICH STAGING RIGHT FOR YOU?

So, you have decluttered, you have painted and done smart fixups, the last step is staging to make the decluttered and cleaned home look as good as possible to the buyer.

Some nice furniture can make the buyer see the great layout this home has and also envision themselves living there. New home builders always stage their homes with an interior designer, and their homes are always sold at the top end of the market.

For professional staging it usually costs around $1500-$2000 for a house 1200-1700 SF home, focusing on 3-4 of the living spaces. Most stagers get paid before the furniture installation (5-7 days before installed).

We offer this as part of our listing service, but here is a quick summary for do-it-yourselfers (DIY).
The biggest bang for your buck is in this order:

Stage the living room 93%, the kitchen 84%, the master bedroom 83%, and the dining room.
Over 90% of buyers say a staged home affects how they perceive the home, and it adds value.

How much value does it add? 

From a survey of buyer’s agents from the national association of realtors, 41% of agents feel that staging affects the price buyers will pay for a home. That is 1%-15% increase in value.

On a $750,000 home that is an increase in price from $7500 to $112,500.

Now, most of the increases I have seen is in the 5-8% range, which is $37,500 to $60,000 more on a $750,000 home. And it generally sells faster, in half the time.

So, here is one thing to think about, in most markets, if a home is worth $750,000 there will be comps from $690K for a fixer and $775K for a fixed-up and staged home.

Here in San Diego many people fixup and flip homes, and most are beautifully presented to the market, updated and staged. Before you go crazy and spend a bunch of money on staging and overprice you home, realize this.

Be careful not to take the highest-priced home you can find and add another 10% on it for the staged home. Let me repeat this: the highest sale in your neighborhood is probably already beautifully staged and already represents the top price in your market.

But if you don’t stage and your house needs some decluttering, cleaning, and updating, your house may be worth 10% less than the highest sold home in your area.

Here is one more thing about presenting your home in the best light, if it has been more than a year or two since you did a remodel it is likely that your home will need some updating.

In fact, I have sold many homes that were the former model home in the subdivision 5-10 years ago, and the owner paid a bunch more for the upgrades. Today’s buyers are not willing to pay a premium unless the upgrades are new and updated.
 
The same is true on backyards, barbeque, pools, and everything else. If the home is looking a bit run down or needs some TLC, it detracts from the price of your home. So, if you spent $60,000 on the backyard ten years ago it might be worth sprucing those areas up too.

I strongly feel that these three steps: 1. Decluttering and cleaning, 2. Paint and light remodeling (smart fixups). 3.and Staging are critical to getting you top dollar in this market.

Here is a quick side note: If your home is a real fixer or you need an offer on it. The investor price may be close to the same net you get after fixing all the items. We have some different strategies for fixers. So, contact us if that is you, georgelorimer@me.com or 619-846-1244. 

Getting back to staging, it’s a lot of work, but the pay-off is to sell your home for thousands more than it would have sold for otherwise.
Be on the lookout for our other videos from me on marketing, strategic pricing, negotiation, and client protection.

If you are tight on money and don’t have the money to invest for these improvements, in certain cases, we can assist you and pay an upfront cost and get reimbursed as part of the listing.

Click here to find out what your home will sell for

Call George Lorimer to discuss your home sale 619-846-1244
*conditions apply, seller and george to agree on price and occupancy date at listing time

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