This recession has been a tough marketplace for those of us trying to sell our homes. Latinos have become empowered and are attempting to make good choices when it comes to their homes and whether or not to hold onto a bad investment. Many of us are upside down in our properties, owing way more than our homes are worth. If we are able to, with a good credit score, solid job history and a nice down payment, we can put our homes on the market and take advantage of the great buys out there for us to either downsize our mortgage payments or increase our home size for not much more than what we are paying now. El problema grande es- unloading our current home. It is truly a buyer's market and having our homes sit for months at a time, when we are trying to upgrade is bad for our wallets. One way to alleviate this stress is to hire a home stager.
When we have lived in our homes for many years we tend to become immune to our personalization of our space. Us Latinos love our vibrant colors, our familia and the ten thousand photos we have all over our walls of them from when they were 8 months old ( and they are now 26). We overlook the minor things that make up who we are, but can detract potential buyers coming into our homes for the first time. A Home Stager can see our place with an objective eye, the eye of a potential buyer. They are trained in the art of depersonalization. They will turn your home into a more neutral space, opening up the view of a new homeowner to visualize themselves in your home. They take this wonderful HOME that you have created and turn it back into just a HOUSE (an impersonal space), which is important, because a potential home buyer will not invest in a place that they cannot visualize themselves in. Many homeowners do not understand that buyers are visual creatures. Most can't see past the furniture and personal items in the home as they walk around. Think back to when you made the decision to purchase your home. What attracted you to that house? Was it a new model freshly decorated or the layout of the previous owner's living room furniture? Whether it was a new build or a resale, homes are sold easiest when a buyer can understand the layout and this is done best when a home is staged.
A stager will walk through your home and show you what to display and what to store away for your next house. They might suggest a small investment in new paint for your living room or remove 70% of the clutter in your kid's room, only displaying a few key items. They might have you rent a dining room table and chairs that will better reflect the size of your eating area or tell you to invest a few grand into refinishing your kitchen cabinets to update their look to a more appealing and current style which will attract buyers. The main objective of a home stager is to help your home sell faster than a non-staged home, and they do! Most staged homes sell three to nine times faster (depending on whose statistics you read- they are all over the internet!). They are even finding that, despite the bad economy, staged homes can still sell for more money than the average non-staged home.
Real estate agents are really starting to realize the importance of a staged home as well. I would really hope that all of my Hispanic agents will jump ahead of the trend and specify staged homes for their sellers. Not only will the small investment benefit the seller, but it will increase sales in your portfolio and therefore, increase your profit margins. I love it when Latinos can get ahead in any positive way!
When considering a home stager for hire, make sure that you interview more than one, but no more than three. Too much choice is not always a good thing and can just make the decision more difficult. There is a Home Stager accreditation, but do not necessarily base your selection on whether they have this or not- as it is only a course that they need to complete after paying a third party and not a state accredited test or license. It is also not necessary in most states to be certified in this field at all, so just make sure you are happy with their work. Ask for references from 3-5 past clients and actually call a few! Also, ask to see their portfolio and hopefully it will have before and after photos of their work. Now, understand that these photos will not be as dramatic as an interior design portfolio. When you are looking at their work, notice if you are happy with the result in the "after" picture. If the "before" picture showed a cluttered bedroom, did the "after" picture look calm and inviting? If the "before" picture showed an empty living room, does the "after" picture show nicely placed furniture that shows off the best features of the space, or are they covered up by too much decoration? A little decoration in a staged home is necessary, but too much will look less like a model home and more like a decoration store.
The other important thing is to realize that you have to spend a little money to make money. A good home stager will probably charge between $80.00- 150.00 an hour. If they charge less, I would question their self worth and whether or not they know their field. If they charge more than that, know that they are not worth it. An Interior Designer with a degree makes an average of $150.00 - 200.00 per hour in most states and home staging requires far less knowledge. If the stager is charging by job, they can charge anywhere from a percentage of the the sale price of the home to a flat fee of anywhere from $250.00 for a do-it-yourself list of repairs and how to stage your home to a few thousand for their work and a possible furniture rental fee, which you will usually pay directly to the rental store. Some might see these prices and want to run for the hills, but, when you put this small price up against the amount of money you will save by your house selling quickly, it's a no brainer. The small investment in a home stager's services is ALWAYS less than the amount of money you will lose on the sale of your home with the first price reduction. You see, each month that your house sits on the market, the real estate agent is forced to reduce the sale price to entice buyers to purchase your home. If your agent does not reduce the price themselves, you will notice that the offers that come in for your home will usually reflect the buyer reducing what they feel the house is worth by how long your home has been listed, anyway. This reduction is anywhere from 5% to 20% ( usually around 10% in most parts of the country). A good home stager doing your entire home including furniture and accessories and storage fees will charge an average of 1.5- 3%, saving you a ton of money in the short and long run.
Let's make wise decisions for a bright future. Nuestro dia viene.
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