Home Staging Interview With Connie Williamson of Serenity Redesign
Connie Williamson, a Professional Home Stager and owner of Serenity Redesign in Edmonton Alberta, has been featured in newspapers across Canada. Connie's appeared on local Edmonton radio and TV as a redesign and staging expert.
100's homeowners have had the benefit of Connie's talents when they hired her to help them get their homes ready for sale. The stunning results she produces for her clients, increases the property value, and makes every Serenity Redesign staged home a pleasure to show.
Connie, what exactly is this new real estate buzz referring to home staging being talked about Nation Wide?
Home Staging isn’t new, people across Canada and North America have been staging homes for years. It is a very important marketing element that every homeowner should take advantage of. We don't just doctor-up the house to hide faults; we simply put the homes best features forward so that potential buyers don’t miss seeing what your home has to offer. Sometimes it just involves catching up on needed repairs.
Do most homes that you've staged need extensive repairs?
When you live in a home you tend to overlook the little things and ignore the big things that really should be fixed. We let the owners know what small repairs are necessary, most are very inexpensive to fix, a good decluttering and cleaning and perhaps a bit of paint, new taps and some light fixtures, re-arrainging furniture are all that is needed to update the home.
Some homes do have problems that require more of an investment to repair and that is left up to the home owner. If they get it evaluated but decide not to go ahead with the repairs, they can show prospective buyers the estimates on any obvious work that needs to be done and adjust the price accordingly.
Alright, what do you consider to be the most important aspect of selling the home quickly?
First impressions are so important in business, in relationships and in buying and selling products. Let’s take two identical homes in the same neighborhood, prices the same, one has a beautiful well kept yard, fertilized grass that has been freshly mowed and flowers placed around here and there a clean walk-way and a freshly painted or stained garage door.
The other home has flower beds where the ground hasn’t been turned since they planted the plants, the grass is in desperate need of water not to mention a little fertilizer, dead leaves that have blown up against the garage and have lived there for a year or so. Then comes the obstacle course to just get into the house, side stepping children’s bikes and ride’m toys. I think from the description alone you can tell what home 99% if potential buyers are going to want to view first. I can’t stress the importance of first impressions/curb appeal.
Should we only be concerned with the outside of the house? Do we need to do much inside; I mean if we can get buyers booking an appointment with a well maintained yard then why would we need to do much more?
That’s good ‘gettem in the door’ then the realtor can do their job. :)
No, sorry it doesn’t work that way. You need to continue inside the home as well. Remember when you are selling your home you are selling a product; potential buyers want to see if your home is worth its asking price. If you have hardwood floors, make sure they are in good condition. Lift up area rugs so potential buyers can see that the hardwood is in great condition.
So I guess that means I actually have to clean under the rugs?
Yes, you do!
There is another bonus to lifting area rugs, the lines in the hardwood floor keeps your eye moving in the direction of the wood grains, so your rooms will appear wider or longer depending on which way the hardwood is laid. The appearance of larger rooms adds to perceived value.
What other things do buyers look for?
Closets and storage areas are biggies, most homeowners are either first time buyers or buyers who need more room. Closets and storage areas that are free of clutter with things neatly placed on the shelves also gives the illusion of more space.
Actually, it is not an illusion, once you get cleaning some of those closets you will soon find items that you never knew you had, by editing unused or unwanted items you will have more space. This is great even for people who are not moving who may require more storage room.
Any other things buyers might question?
If you advertise 4 bedrooms, don’t disappoint potential buyers. They are not impressed to see 3 Bedrooms and one storage/sewing/office/catch all room. You need to deal with all that ‘stuff’ and turn that bedroom back into a functioning bedroom.
Here is a great tip, the more floor space you can see, the larger the room appears to be. Now don’t go moving everything out, just give your furniture pieces room to breath.
Will staging your home increase its value?
This is an important topic and one we need to spend some time on. Yes, it can increase the value of your home, when we are talking major repairs that need to be done or finishing renovation work that was started and never completed. Anything you add to your home or updates you make will increase value to a certain extent. Renovating a bathroom will surely increase value, as well as a fresh coat of paint will increase your homes value.
Before you begin with large renovation projects, check to see that your neighborhood will handle the change in price of your home, you may find you are wasting valuable time and money. It is much harder to sell a ‘Diamond In The rough’.
More importantly home staging assures you a quicker sale with less chance of price decreases. A well maintained home with room to move and the latest decor styles will surely get you the price you want for your home in a short period of time. With proper staging techniques your home will appeal to the broadest of buying audiences.
Remember, the principal aim in a home staging project is to set your home apart from the competition.
So what is the best case scenario then?
Let’s take the example we used at the beginning of the interview, the two identical homes in the same neighbor hood listed at the same price.
The one with the well manicured yard is going to leave potential buyers with an impression that the existing home owners have a regular maintenance program in place that keeps the home functioning smoothly. The inside of the home is updated, has an overall clean and clutter free appearance that allows potential buys to see what they are purchasing and not having to search of it. A freshly painted neutral décor allows potential buyers to easily envision themselves living in the home. These homes are 'move-in ready' and will be sold at asking price or above, if you have a couple of buyers looking at the home and have fallen in love you may find yourself entwined in a biding war.
The other home may leave potential buyers asking questions like, I wonder how often minor repairs are made or has the furnace ever been cleaned? Am I buying something that requires TLC and if so do I have the time to commit to the home? These homes usually stay on the market longer, may even go through one or two price adjustments before selling.
Most buyers are looking for homes that are move-in ready. They want a home to be well maintained with a list of desirable features: garden doors, vaulted ceilings, 3 bedrooms, finished basement etc.
Can you give us an example of a minor fix that could increase the value of one of the homes you've staged?
Let me tell you about a client I had. They listed the home and two weeks passed with no offers. It wasn’t lack of traffic. They had a steady stream of prospects viewing the home.
Many of their friends and family suggested that they lower their asking price, but that was definitely out of the question for them. The homeowners read about staging and began the steps of preparing and staging their home. They stumbled onto a rug that had been removed from a former show home because it had a minor flaw. It was a brand new rug! It was amazing.
They where able to cut it so you couldn’t see the run and fit it into the family room of their basement. They even had enough to cover a lower level bedroom as well. After the staging was completed, one week later they found themselves with two offers in hand.
In the end the home sold for $1500.00 above list price and they only spent $750.00 on a professional home stager and $40.00 for their rug in the basement.
Connie this is great advice, but where do we start? Can a homeowner stage their own home?
Yes, definitely anyone can stage their own home. I've written an instruction book called: Before You Sell - Doing your homework so your home works for you.
In it, I walk you step-by-step through preparing every room in your home. It is a checklist system so as you finish a task, you can simply check it off and carry on.
There are also decorating tips to help you create the ‘wow factor’ and, most importantly, there is a maintenance section to help you keep all your hard work up to date so you can just look for those checks and keep your home staged 24/7.
