Home Staging

Kakoschke gone into the field of home staging with the goal of getting a guaranteed job at $31.45 per hour, it’s safe to say things would have worked out much differently for her.

This Staging Diva Graduate and founder of Hunter Lake Home Staging and Design says of this, her second chance career, “I made more money in the first 10 months in my own staging business than I used to make in a whole year working for the government as a Contract Manager. And now I work half the hours that I used to!”

What Laura understood when she got into this field and some aspiring home stagers don’t, is that a promised job for $31.45 an hour is actually a complete devaluation of her talents. Laura did her research before signing up for a training program and learned that home stagers can actually earn between $250 and $700 for just a two-hour consultation. She realized what she needed were the skills to promote her services and market her own business so she could be in control of her own employment.

It certainly worked out for her. In her first 10 months as a home stager, Laura landed so many of her own projects that she ended up staging 12 vacant properties. When you consider that staging a vacant home can earn a stager anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 profit per house (even if they don’t use their own inventory), having 12 of these in less than a full first year of a new business is significant.

The largest of Laura’s projects was a $2.5 million vacant estate home which she furnished from top to bottom. “This was an intense experience,” says Laura, “but an awesome opportunity to put my home staging training into practice.”

One of her recent projects saw Laura staging a house that had been sitting on the market for four months. Before Hunter Lake Home Staging and Design came in, the real estate agent was skeptical about staging. Her thinking completely changed after Laura finished staging the property. With new furniture and accessories, the house sold in only four days. “The change in the decor was like night and day,” says Laura, “and we didn’t even have to paint or replace brass fixtures.”

This mother of three children loves the freedom that comes along with being her own boss. “I can work my own hours, set my schedule, be at home to teach (home school) in the mornings and work my staging business in the afternoons,” reports Laura. “My three boys get a first-hand look at running a business. I hope that the courage I found to follow my dream will inspire them to follow theirs, and to know that anything is possible.”

Like many Staging Diva students, Laura approached her home staging career with the attitude that she wanted to finally use her natural talents to earn a living without having to spend 4 years in an interior design program.

“I’m 39 and if it weren’t for the opportunities available to a stager, I would have had to return for several years of post-secondary training and then work long hours for low pay for a design firm to fulfill my dream of decorating. This would never have happened,” says this mom with a degree in literature. “Staging Diva Training gave me the business tools and confidence to follow my lifelong passion for design.”

Debra Gould
http://www.articlesbase.com/entrepreneurship-articles/mother-of-three-finds-freedom-flexibility-and-success-in-less-than-one-year-as-a-home-stager-676943.html

Selling your home is a pretty emotional experience. This is a place that has been your place of respite for many years and you likely have quite the emotional attachment to it. But whether your family has outgrown the home or its simply time for a change, you are going to want to give your home the best possible chance of selling for what its worth. Remember that what the home is actually worth and what you as an owner think it is worth may be quite different, but if you have paid attention to your property assessments and home prices in your neighborhood you should have a rough idea of what your home should be priced at. This is something that your realtor will assist you in. They will compare your home with others that are for sale and have sold in your neighborhood and determine that proper asking price for your home.

Once you have your home listed the major focus shifts to creating a great buying atmosphere in and around your home. This process is known as staging and it is vitally important. This is the process of making your home “buyer bait,” for lack of a better term. This usually includes the removal of a lot of the stuff that is currently occupying space in your home. The idea being to make the home as un-cluttered as possible which creates clean lines and areas for buyers to imaging their things in. It is harder for them to do this if there is mountains of your stuff all over the place. This is not to say that your home is messy or unorganized, simply that it is easier for buyers to place themselves in a home that is sparse on personal items and extraneous belongings. This is a good time to start some packing of extra clothes, personal items and anything that isn’t used on a daily basis. Doing this will only make it easier on your when moving day comes along. Try to place yourself in the shoes of the buyer and remember why it was that you bought the home in the first place. Try to bring that aspect of the home forth and any others you think may assist in the selling. Then let your realtor do their job!

Bill Ucci
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/steps-to-selling-your-home-116450.html

These days it takes more than advertising to sell a home. In many areas the market is flooded, and well cared for homes that are competitively priced and well decorated are the homes that are selling. A home must look appealing to potential buyers, and when it is cluttered or poorly decorated it will make a lasting impression, but it will not be positive impression. When selling a home, consider the following decorating tips for success, and turn your dream of selling your home into a reality.

Clear Away the Clutter

A cluttered unorganized home is a dwelling that appears unkempt and messy, and when a home is cluttered potential buyers wonder what other problems that are not obvious might exist. A home that is organized and free from clutter appears to be well cared for, and it also looks roomier and more adequate. Imagine opening a closet to find it stuffed with clothing and other odds and ends. It would appear that closet was not adequate, and if all closets are completely full the entire home will seem to be lacking storage space.

Begin by clearing away the clutter, and get rid of items you no longer want or need. If a stored item is in question, ask yourself this. Have I used this item in the past year or two? If the answer is no, chances are you really do not need it. Donate unused items to your favorite charity or hold a yard sale. Not only will you make your home appear neater and roomier, but you will also earn a little extra cash for your efforts.

Neutralize Color

Deep red walls in the kitchen or deep blue walls in a living room might be appealing to a homeowner that chose those hues, but dark or bold colors are not for everyone. When potential buyers enter a dwelling they want to find a home that requires very little work upon moving in, and although painting is the least expensive way to completely change the look of a home, it is not an easy task. Painting is time-consuming, and after the hard work and stress of packing and moving, repainting is not something anyone wants to tackle right away.

If you want your home to appeal to the greatest number of potential buyers, opt for neutral colors such as creamy beige or rich vanilla. It is true that you cannot please everyone, but if a homebuyer does not appreciate neutral walls, at least they can live with the color or lack thereof until they are ready to repaint. Bright, dark, or bold walls will have to painted as soon as possible to match furnishings, but neutral walls match almost every color and style.

Choose Tasteful Decor

Potential buyers want to envision themselves in your home, and if family photos and personal collections grace the walls, the imagination becomes foggy and the presence of personal items could turn some people away. When trying to sell your home, remove personal effects, and opt for classy items such as wrought iron wall hangings, wall mirrors, wall vases, or beautiful architectural pieces. Make your home look like a model home, and with personal effects removed and clutter cleared away, you will have the best chance of selling your home within a reasonable period of time.

Jessica Ackerman
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/selling-a-home-decorating-tips-for-success-433942.html

I ask the question following Hoylakes first staging of an open since 1967

9 courses are currently in the rota:
St Andrews
Muirfield.
Royal St George’s:
Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake
Royal Troon
Royal Lytham & St Annes .
Carnoustie Golf Links
Royal Birkdale
Turnberry

Does anyone know what I can do to stage my kitchen and bathrooms? I did the usual like cleaning and decluttering the kitchen but it now it looks very plain and empty and our bathrooms could also use some help. Any advise?

The first thing I would suggest is to begin thinking of your house as a commodity.
Go through every room and get rid of any clutter, family pictures, etc. Get rid of extra pieces of furniture. Storage is best if you plan on keeping anything. Otherwise, have a garage sale or donate to a charity.
The first vision prospective buyers have of a home is the appearance from the street. Remember, the first impression is the lasting impression. Keep yards, trees, bushes, flower beds clean, trimmed, well kept. Add colorful new flowers around. What does the front entrance look like? Is it a plain old door or something that is outstanding?
The entrance way. Go through each room with an eye to keeping it as vanilla as possible. You don’t want folks eyeing it as if they’re visiting Aunt Mary or Grandmother’a. Nothing personal at all. They need to see and feel as if it’s their house, not yours.
Clean all the windows, inside and out; screens, also.
How are the floors? Need new carpetting? Many upgraded projects can be done yourself. Paint? Trim? Appliances?
Usually new home buyers are pretty strapped getting into a home and the last thing they want to do is put out more money to upgrade, repair or replace things.
Clean shelves, storage areas and closets out to the minimum.
They need to see how their possessions will fit everywhere.
Open the shades and curtains and get as much light in the rooms as possible.
It’s a commodity now, not a pride of ownership thing. You’re trying to convince someone that this is a home just right for them, a turn key purchase they can move right into without a lot of work, changes or hassles.
A few nicely scented candles, cookies baking in the oven, spotless kitchen and bath areas.
Minimum is essential. Usually we end up with just too much furniture in the house we’ve accumulated over the years.
What may be a treasure to you or a family heirloom might be just another big piece of furniture to someone else that takes up too much space or is awkward to get around. That nice set of bath accessories was great for you but may be a bit much for other folks.
Example, leave kitchen counters empty except for one appliance.
Take a few tours of Model Homes to get a feel for the little extra things they do to make it presentable.
No weird paint jobs. Be conservative in colors.
It’s amazing how after cleaning and storing a lot of things, then going through and with minimal expense you can drastically change your home into a very good home buying potential.