Home Staging in Mobile, Alabama

This may sound like a crazy idea, but I have a question to throw out to mortgage professionals - With the onslaught of bank-owned homes now, because of the foreclosure crises, wouldn't it be in the best interests of the bank to hire a home stager to evaluate a home and make recommendations about what needs to be done to the home to enhance it and make it more marketable?

I visited a home today that was a foreclosure - and I have to say one of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen - well, at least in the eyes of a stager.  There are issues with the home, some simply cosmetic, that I think could have been addressed and taken care of if the mortgage company had enlisted the help of a professional home stager.  The tragedy is that this house has been sitting on the market, owned by the bank, for long time. 

I know mortgage companies would like to re-coupe their losses, and I've been in many homes that are on the market due to foreclosures, and there has typically been no effort on anyone's part to clean, much less stage these houses.   It seems to me like banks could ask and receive a higher price for these homes if a little effort were put into making them more marketable.

What do you think? 

I have the highest respect for Realtors.  Because I have so many of them in my family, I have spent a good part of my adult life watching them work tirelessly on behalf of home buyers and sellers (and often, myself).  Yes, there commissions can be good, but many times they do a lot of work and don't get paid a dime.  Buying or selling a home can be one of the most stressful transactions an individual ever undertakes and having someone alongside you who knows what they are doing helps alleviate a lot of that stress. 

One of the responsibilities of professional home stagers is to assist Realtors by helping to prepare their listings to be seen by the public.  Realtors can refer us to clients, but educating home sellers on the staging process and why it will benefit them is up to us.  It is at this point that home stagers can assist Realtors in another valuable way.  I talk to sellers about the three things that are most important in marketing a home:

1.  Prepare the home to be put on the market (staging).

2.  Present the home to the public in the best possible light (high-quality real estate photography).

3.  Price it right.

It is the third point that enables the home stager to assist Realtors by being another voice of reason to sometimes unreasonable sellers, who choose a figure that they want for their house, not based on its real market value, but on what they owe or what profit they want to get from the sale.  Home Stagers can reinforce to sellers that they need to listen to their Realtor about where to set the listing price, because their Realtor has the experience and training to perform CMA's (Comparative Market Analysis) and to know what is reasonable to expect to receive from the sale. 

I have started including photographs of places of interest in the area of town where the listing is located.  I think it is very helpful, especially for out of town buyers who find it difficult to narrow down where they want to live in a town they are unfamiliar with.  This is a small 2/2 in a popular midtown neighborhood in Mobile.  If location, location, location is the key, and your listing has it, you should pique the buyer's interest by showcasing that in your slideshow. 

Our January WCR luncheon was titled "Sell this House" and presentations were given by three speakers: a home stager, a real estate photographer (me) and a local home inspector.  Jane Ann Lance of Enhanced by Lance, and an Active Rainer, gave an excellent presentation on the benefits of home staging.  I gave some tips on improving Realtor's listing photos and John Williams, our home inspector talked about what issues show up most often in an inspection report and how to take care of those issues beforehand.  I think the combination of speakers was a great idea on the part of the WCR leadership, and hopefully everyone came away with some good information to take back to their clients. 

This was a slideshow a did recently for a waterfront listing using Photoshop Elements.  I decided to combine background music with sounds of water lapping at the end to make you feel like you were sitting on the pier enjoying the water.  Do you think I accomplished this?  I did the twilight shots with the help of a very sturdy tripod.

I just have to say that Home Staging Resource has far exceded my expectations.  I considered many staging training companies and finally decided to go with HSR, because I felt like a 21 day training period would teach me more than a 3 day one.  I did learn a great deal during that time, but now I am constantly amazed at how much information they still provide for their stagers.  Every time I need a form, or have a question about something, I visit the HSR library and find it.  There is a wealth of information there, so much so, that I still haven't read it all.  And it is continually updated.  Audra is very dedicated to the success of her students, and stays in contact with you.  I feel like I have a safety net with HSR - if any situations arrive that I do not know how to handle, I feel like I will find the information I need there.  I would encourage anyone considering staging training to check out this program, www.homestagingresource.com .

For those of you who don't know, Mobile, Alabama is the original home of Mardi Gras (I know, everyone thinks it was New Orleans, but the party really started here).  And if you've ever been to Mardi Gras, you know about Moon Pies.  In case you haven't, Moon Pie's are thrown at you along with beads.  Well, it seems that this New Year, the City of Mobile is going to unveil a 60 pound, $9000 Moon Pie at the stroke of midnight.  Yes, Letterman has been informed.  What will they think of next?

Divorce this House was created by Kelly Lise Murray, a Harvard Law School graduate and Wendy Wasalle, a successful home stager to actually change legislation to include Realtors and appraisers early on in the divorce process before mistakes can be made than cannot be undone.  They currently train real estate professionals and attorneys to assist divorcing homeowners in calculating the true value of their home.  The period during a divorce is such an emotional and stressful time.  That is why it is so important to have trained professionals advising and assisting homeowners.  Cooler heads do prevail when they have been trained specifically to deal with these issues.  I encourage you to find out more information at www.divorcethishouse.com, and consider obtaining training in this area.  I have met these ladies, and they are great people, who care passionately about this subject and genuinely want to help prevent homeowners from making huge mistakes with their greatest asset.

With the holidays behind us, we can look forward to a new year of health and prosperity (think positive!).  Unfortunately, it is hard to be prosperous when you feel bad and are knocked off your feet by colds, flu or respiratory illnesses that are common this time of year.  Here are a few tips to help you stay well:

1.   Get enough rest.  When your body is tired, it does not have enough reserve energy to fight off germs, viruses and bacteria that we come into contact with every day.  American's love to burn the candle at both ends, and sometimes we feel like getting enough sleep is a luxury, but it is imperative to your health.  You cannot function at your optimum, mentally or physically, when you are tired.

2.   Eat the right foods.  I know we all ate too many rich foods over the holidays, and the New Year's resolutions to eat right are almost cliche, but I can't stress the importance of having an abundance of fruits and vegetables in your diet.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are the greatest source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  Make smoothies, eat fresh fruit salads and green salads, every day. 

3.  Move it!  We are all so sedentary (especially when we're blogging on Active Rain:).  Turn off the tv and computer and take a walk, jog, dance, play tennis, run around with your kids, or work in your garden (we can do that here in Mobile in the winter).  Exercise doesn't have to be done in a gym, just do what you can, where you are.

I'll post more later on some natural remedies to help when you are feeling under the weather.  Wishing health to you all in 2009!

The importance of staging homes that are on the market has received a lot of publicity lately; and for a good reason.  Homes that are staged statistically sell faster and for a higher price.  But with the majority of the public beginning their home search online, real estate photography is equally important.   You can have a beautifully staged home, but if the photos on the internet are dark and out of focus, it is likely to be overlooked.  I have viewed many homes online, with very high price tags, that I know are probably gorgeous inside, but unfortunately, I could not see the kitchen because it was out of focus.  Conversly, having great pictures is of little use if the rooms are dated, cluttered and too full of the owner's personal tastes.  Staging and photography go hand in hand to create a listing that is truly marketable to a wide audience and that will appeal to home buyers on an emotional level.  If you have gone to the trouble of staging or having someone else stage a home, make sure the photos on the internet do it credit, or the money spent on staging might just be wasted.