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Professional Real Estate Photography…Important or Not?

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How important is photography in the selling of my home?

Very!  It is your first showing to the world.

A homeowner contacted me and was concerned that after six months his vacant home was not getting any showings.  He asked if he should stage it and I said that it would absolutely help with showings.  His Realtor did not think it would make a difference because the home was so newly updated.  I encouraged him that it would make a big difference online because potential buyers would see the beautiful updates and schedule a showing.

About a month and half after I staged his home he called me very disappointed that he still did not have any extra showings since it had been staged.  I was sitting in front of my computer and quickly looked up his address.  It was still showing the vacant photos.  I explained that he should look online to see for himself that the agent never took new photos of the staged home.  He became very upset that he had spent money on the staging and after a month and a half new photos were never taken.  He fired that agent and hired a new one.  New photos were taken and put online and the home sold a week later.

THAT is how important photos are in selling your home.

I suggest that you demand the photos taken of your home be professional and not taken by the agent or a friend.  There are professional photographers that are exclusive to real estate.  It will make a huge difference in selling your home.  We have all looked online and have seen those home photos that had people in the mirrors, dirty dishes in the sink, and clothes on the floor.  Yes, it does make us laugh, but it also makes us pass by that house.  You see the mess, not the beautiful home.

A VERY Important thing for you to remember, as I previously mentioned in my past blog Should I stage my Vacant home? …  You have Three chances to sell your home:

  1. The online listing.
  2. When they are at the home.
  3. THE MOST Important!  What they can remember of Your Home above anyone else’s!!!

Stagers dress your home for the sale.  The photography is how it is presented to the buyer for the first time.  We all know how important those first impressions can be.  You are paying your Realtor to market your home, so make sure that you are getting the best for your money.

Great Stager.  Great Realtor.  Great Photographer.  Equals a guaranteed sale of your home.

 

Final Thought….  “Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future.” – Sally Mann

Lighting Up the New Year!

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Lighting within your home is very important, especially in a vacant home with no overhead ceiling lights.  The most important element to lighting is that it is balanced and casts no shadows.  Using a 60 watt bulb is usually best, but a 75 watt may be better in a really dark or extra large room.  After Furniture placement, make sure the lights are kitty-corner from each other and not all on one side.  If they must be on one side, then consider placing a floor lamp across from them to create the desired balance.

It is much darker during the winter months so light your home as much as possible.  It will create welcomeness and warmth, instead of feeling scary and unfamiliar.  Some rooms may have just one dim ceiling light, this could be a good opportunity to add table or floor lamps.

Lighting is also important for photos.  Walk through each room to see if the light looks balanced.  Does it feel warm and inviting?  Take a picture with your phone to see if there are shadows.  If the light is unbalanced, it will show a flash to one side of the room.  Have you noticed in homes online that are not lit properly look dark and dingy.  You may not be able to see in a corner, or distinguish room from room.  You want to highlight each room so the potential buyer can see everything that your home has to offer.

Final Thought…  “A good intention, with a bad approach, often leads to a poor result.”  Thomas A. Edison

Foyers, by Susan Adair

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Whether large or small, grand or modest, the entry to your home says “Welcome! Please come in!” It’s the introduction to all good things to come.

When I was teaching little kids, I would get down on my knees or sit in a small chair and look around my classroom so I could gain a better perspective into how things might look to my students. Was there too much stuff on the walls? Were there zones for different activities? Were there calm spaces? You get the idea.

I think it’s a good idea to do the same thing as you enter your house. You certainly do not have to get down on your knees, but try looking at the foyer, actually the whole house, through your buyer’s eyes. What does it say? Does it invite you in?

The entry may be just a small wall space inside the front door, just enough room for a few hooks to hang a cool hat, a scarf or umbrella and a small mirror to reflect light and let you check out your look when coming or going. It may include a grand stair case with space for a chair(s) or settee and a beautiful table or chest. Or it may be something in between. Whatever the size or style, the message is the same. “Welcome!”

Here’s one idea for foyer table dressing:

  1. Start with a mirror or a piece of art and lean it against the wall or hang it above the table top.
  2. Add a lamp toward one side, preferably the side farthest from the door so it doesn’t interfere with your sight line.
  3. Place a couple of books on their sides next to the lamp
  4. Top the books with a container of branches or flowers.

What does your foyer say?

If you have a great idea, I would love to hear it!

Your friendly staging consultant, Susan

 

Wall Paper, Paint, Wood Paneling Oh My!!!

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“What were they thinking?”

We have all thought this Exact thing looking at interior paint color choices.

Now this is where you have the choice…do you make a simple change, or leave people with this frightful, poor color image.

Paint is an important key factor in neutralizing a home.  Having bright or dated color is very distracting and unpleasing to potential buyers.  Neutral, light colored paint can freshen up up any room.  A neutral color will offer continuity and consistency throughout the home.  It will have the buyer seeing its potential, not its sudden and drastic wall color changes.  I recommend a flat finish paint because it hides imperfections and provides easier touchups.  As mentioned in my previous blog, Preparing Your Home for Sold, Chintz and Revere Pewter are smart color choices.

The dreaded wallpaper is a must to remove!  Many sellers do not want the hard work of removing it.  Well, neither does the potential buyer.  Wallpaper can be a deal breaker.  If  you choose to leave the wall paper,  you could be significantly reducing your selling profit.  A possible buyer is not always looking for a home that needs updating.  There have been many improvements to wall paper and removing solutions over the years.  Many options are available to help you remove it safely, easily, and without wall damage.  Do not let a potential buyer pass your home by because of unpleasant and dated wall coverings…even if it’s Italian!

Wood paneling makes a lot of us cringe, but it may be a permanent wall.  A simple and inexpensive solution would be to paint it.  Creamy white tends to look best.  Use an oil based or a satin impervo paint, these will give it a natural appearance.  They lay thicker on wood giving it a richer look.

Final Thought…  Have your home buyer feeling…There’s No Place Like Home

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“Can we decorate for Christmas?” By Susan Adair

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Tis the season when, if your house is on the market, you might ask, “Can we decorate for Christmas?” The holidays are fast approaching and all the stores, not to mention your attic are full of beautiful, candles, stockings, lights, ribbons, garland and your favorite family ornaments.

So, good question! After all you are still living in your house. You and your whole family want life to go on as normally as possible all the while you are keeping organized, clean and de-cluttered. It may seem like a tall order, but you are motivated.

Let’s say the photos of your house are scheduled to be taken just before or just after Christmas so they will be ready for the first of the year. Now, here are two questions that will give you your decorating answer. Do you want your photos to be dated? Do you want potential buyers to remember your house as the “Christmas house” or the house with the great floors?

For the exterior, you can stick with a beautiful planter(s) of winter greens. Have as much fun with it as you like. Greens, birch sticks, branches with berries, eucalyptus leaves, pine cones, and some great ribbon can all work together to create a welcoming introduction for buyers. While the real estate agent is opening the lock box, buyers are standing there on the stoop or porch looking around. If you have made it look beautiful, it will help buyers to fall in love! Don’t forget the exterior light fixture. It should be sparkling clean with a nice clear glass bulb shining “Welcome, I’m beautiful!”

Inside, remember what you hear me say all year around, “Always remember what you are selling.” Photos can be taken before the tree and all the decorations come out. Then go ahead and let your house celebrate, but keep it low key this year. For example, use small white lights as opposed to those with lots of color. You still want to show off the banister, the fireplace, the floors, windows and the space without things feeling full, cluttered or overwhelmed by the season. Think about what you want buyers to remember about the house, the holiday decorations or the great space?

Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year in your new house!

Susan

 

Puzzled by a Ceiling Light… Hang in There.

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Why would they put that light there?  A question many people ask themselves when they are looking at homes.  Even tougher, all of the homes without ceiling mounted lights in certain rooms.  An issue I will address more in my blog, Properly Lighting a Dark Space.  My conclusion is this…

Most homes are built with the chandelier centered to the windows or smack dab in the middle of the room.  I am convinced that very few builders think of furniture placement as they are installing the electrical wiring.  So now you, as the home owner, are faced with where to put that dining room table.  You try to place it directly under the chandelier, but then the chairs are snug up to the patio door or the kitchen island.  Frustrating!  How do you address this?  Another great question for your home stager!  My advice to the home owner is to take down that chandelier and put in a ceiling mounted light.  No-one will notice how off centered it is.  My advice to home builders and investors, call a staging company.  Like us, Kariel Home Staging.  Ask us where the best place for the light fixture would be.  I understand having to follow the National Electrical Code (NEC) for safety, but can’t we all get along?  🙂  We carry a very large inventory of dining room tables, and can advise you to the best place for lighting.  If you are located in the Minnesota Metro Area, we will stop by for free.  That way, your potential home buyers won’t be so perplexed on how they will fit their furniture into your homes.  The lighting will blend so well with the staging that it will make a very positive and lasting impact on potential buyers.  Your homes will Shine!

Final Thought…

Home owners can make a simple fix to a very common issue.

Home builders could possibly work with us to design and build homes with efficient lighting better suited for furnishing.

 

 

Staging Can Show the Maximum Space in Every Room!

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Everyone seems to constantly be looking for more space.  I never run across a homeowner that feels they have too much space for their family or belongings.  One of the most important spaces is the main living room, with the bathrooms and kitchen in close second!  A good sized living room is where we can relax.  Be a family together.

Do you ever find yourself looking at homes online and wonder why they angled their couch across the living room space.  It also appears to be facing the wall and not their beautiful fireplace?  The room looks so small!  I understand interior design and displaying the room with different angles and conversation spaces…but not in a 12 x 14 foot room!  You need all of the help that you can get to maximize that small main living space.  Angling the couch cuts off part of the room.  I know, I know…that old saying of don’t push the couch up against the wall and designers now saying that the couch should “float”, may have you feeling like a rookie.  So what is the best arrangement?  Well, that all depends on the space.  Ninety percent of the homes on the market do not have 30 x 40 foot living rooms, so walls are all they have.  Push that couch up against the wall, add a coffee and end tables, and remove all other bulky unneeded furniture.  Then add a few accessories, nice lighting at eye level, and Viola!  Your living room looks larger and more inviting for those potential home buyers.

Being realistic about the space in each room and doing a  few simple things, further explained in my upcoming blog  Preparing Your Home for Sold, will help your home sell quickly.  Einstein once quoted, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” I feel this quote relates to yet another reason for needing an excellent stager.  If you can not look at the room and simply know how to furnish it to utilize the space ,  Kariel Staging can.  Every home is different in size, shape, occupied or vacant, and needs to be staged to show its full potential to possible buyers.   We at Kariel, understand furnishing any size space well enough to stage any home correctly.

 

Final thought…  Every inch counts in a small room, and every mistake can drive away a potential buyer.  The solution, Staging!

Should I Stage My Vacant Home?

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Have you ever looked online at vacant homes?

What do you remember about that home?

Did it spark a feeling? Did you know which room you were looking at?  Were you intrigued to continue on and look at every picture.  Or,  did you simply pass up that listing to look at the next home that was furnished and had character!  This is Exactly why you need to stage a vacant home.

Vacant homes can all look the same, they are void of style and personality.  They are, simply, a house with no character. You see all of the negatives;  lighting,  space,  dated wood,  confusing rooms… the list goes on. Vacant homes can amplify negative thoughts and features.

You wonder, “What room Am I looking at”?  A staged home defines the space and rooms showing all of their potential.  Buyers buy on feelings and emotion.  Home Staging creates an emotion that helps the buyers envision their first home, a temporary place they want to call home,  or maybe even, their dream home.

I have been in the staging business for over ten years.  There are times when an agent asks for an emergency staging before an open house.  I ask for all of the photos of that vacant home.  (Now remember, I have been in thousands of homes at this point)  I look at the pictures, then call the agent, confused!  I ask myself , “How many living spaces?  Dining spaces?  Is that the same room, or a different room?“.  Now,  if I am an experienced stager and  I can’t tell the rooms apart, how can a new potential home buyer!?  They Can’t!!  So they skip Right Over that MLS listing, and move on to another, with pictures of a more well defined, uncluttered, updated, freshly furnished home.

THAT should be Your home.

A VERY Important thing for you to Know…  You have Three chances to sell your home:

  1. The online listing.
  2. When they are at the home.
  3. THE MOST Important!  What they can remember of Your Home above anyone else’s!!!

Final Thought…

Will a vacant home leave the buyer with a lasting, positive impression?   Definitely NOT.

But a home, simply staged beautiful enough to be in a magazine, WILL!

The National Association of REALTORS 2015 Profile on Home Staging found that 81 percent of buyers find it is easier to visualize a property as a future home when it’s staged.

Kari