New View Home Staging Blog

This past Thursday, in Kitchener, ON we had another great group of 5 agents complete the one day program PROTECTING YOUR CLIENT'S EQUITY WITH STAGING, and earn the designation of CSP Elite Affiliate Realtor.

This program was co-designed by Christine Rae, founder of both Canadian and Certified Staging Professionals, along with Terrylynn Fisher, a California realtor with more than 30 years experience.  It is aimed at increasing a real estate professional's knowledge of staging, to be able to confidently speak about the benefits to their clients, and guide them towards maximizing the equity in their properties when selling.

The class provides statistics, tips and techniques, marketing and listing package information, a web presence, and so much more.

The program is still in its infancy and realtors going through it are able to promote their new designation as being one of only a few in their area.  However, testimonials have been huge, and include Sam McDadi, one of ReMax Canada's top realtors who earlier this year became the only agent world-wide to have an entire team (20 plus members) of CSP Elite Affiliates.

One of the most exciting elements of my class last Thursday though was that an agent travelled over 300 kms (200 miles) from Rochester NY to attend the Kitchener ON class.  There wasn't an upcoming date in her area and she realized the marketing power this was going to offer her, that at least for the time being would not be offered by anyone else. 

Classes run periodically in many cities, but we're also pleased to present to a groups within specific offices, so get a group together and we'll come to you!

If you'd like more information about the CSP Elite Affiliate program for realtors, go to www.cspelite.com or call 1-888-STAGING, OR email me directly at christine@newviewhomestaging.ca

Recently I consulted in a home that had a mirror over the living room sofa, to the left of the front door.  But when I stood still and looked, I realized that it was reflecting the open powder room door off to the right, and actually the raised toilet seat, and a silent but resounding "yuck" sprung to mind.  Not only was the powder room unfortunately placed prominently in the middle of the foyer, but we were getting a double whammy of it coming from the living room.

Mirrors can be tremendous assets when showing a home and a properly placed mirror can expand the room visually, but you really need to pay attention to what buyers entering the room are going to see.  Is it reflecting the tops of people's heads around the dining table?  If it is propped on a mantle instead of hung from the wall, then you're likely seeing the white ceiling and where's the interest in that? 

A mirror should be reflecting beautiful things... like a garden just beyond, that you want to bring into the room, or it should be adding to the spaciousness.  It sometime takes a critical eye to hang one properly, the benefits can pay dividends when they bring in the view that you want. 

This is just one of the many features that a trained eye will see... and a professional home stager is your best bet to making that happen.

New View Home Staging offers consultations that are all encompassing... and is available to assist you and your selling clients!

There's always a fine line to be walked when making changes to prepare a home for sale.  As stagers we need to recommend the changes that will have the biggest impact to keep (or get) the house at the top of its price range without eating into the potential returns. 

There are always factors that cannot be changed, primarily location and price range.  Beyond those, buyers are going to be most strongly influenced by fresh paint, flooring, and storage.  It's all about the immediate visuals and forming the best first impression.

Painting is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to transform a space from overly personalized to neutral, or seriously outdated to current, and this applies to both interior AND exterior.  Colour has such an emotional power, it can be warming or cooling, strong or subtle, and it's always best to let a colour specialist or home stager make the recommendations.

Flooring ~ type, style and condition ~ can say a great deal about the rest of the house.   If it's poorly maintained and really dated, then it could be indication of other problems or areas of neglect that might be hiding.  That being said, this is not a recommendation to put down new flooring to hide other problems!  So, hopefully the flooring is in good shape, and only requires professional cleaning, but if it comes to the point of replacing it, carpet is always the most cost effective choice over laminate, vinyl, tile or hardwood.   Again, it's that fine line... hardwood is a huge selling feature and if you pull up carpet and find hardwood then you've hit the mother load.  But don't pull up old carpet with the intention of laying hardwood because remember, this house is being sold and the return will likely not be there.

Storage is the third, really visible feature that sells as house, and it starts right at the front door.  Clean out hall closets, under sinks and garage spaces.  Cleaned and well organized storage space allows the buyer to mentally move their own things in, so you really need to show it off.  And cleaning out the closets costs nothing!

We always say that buying a home is all about the first impressions, and first impressions are almost always based on emotional responses, so address the most immediate and influential features of the home and you're well on your way to receiving an offer.

These are all items covered in our extensive pre-listing evaluations.  For more information about New View Home Staging, visit www.newviewhomestaging.ca. 

As long as people have been buying and selling, there has been the persistent question of "should I go to the bother of doing the work or can't I just offer the buyer a credit to do it themselves?"

As staging becomes more prevelant, and we see the results and outcome on both sides of that argument, we can say with certainty that in almost every scenario, YES Sellers, you should do the work yourself!

That comes with only a few qualifications ... in a $300,000 home you probably should not gut and replace the entire kitchen at a cost of $30,000, but there are facelift projects and updates that will take you a long way.  And you won't undertake to finish an unfinished basement, although you might complete a basement project which is already half way along.

Sellers need to find the best way to maximize the return on their investment and protect the equity in their home, and in most cases that is by rolling up their sleeves (or hiring someone that will), and putting in some effort on the front end so that their realtor isn't having to negotiate a value for that work on the back end.  The cost of a few cans of paint to do three bedrooms and the front foyer is far less than it would be once a parent has to listen to the wails of their 8 year old son refusing to move into the shocking pink bedroom.  Convincing themselves that the house is perfect for them is much more difficult once a buyer has experienced a negative emotional response, and the seller will end up paying dearly to make the problem go away. 

Perhaps the carpet hasn't been replaced since 1985, its worn, threadbare and stained.  Have you met the buyer yet that says, "just give us the money for an inexpensive beige carpet, we're fine with that"... ?  Probably not, but if it was done for them most buyers wouldn't complain and in fact would appreciate the house even more because it now feels fresh and new.

It's hard to go wrong by doing the work before listing.  Sellers shouldn't have to offer a credit to offset a buyer's emotional reaction to their house, and so be reducing the likelihood of a negative response at the front end, they will have protected their own equity and financial investment at the back end. 

At New View Home Staging, this is what we recommend to our staging clients.

On February 2, an enthusiastic group of six joined me in the main board room at the Centre in the Square to earn the CSP Elite Affiliate Designation for Realtors.   

We spent a full day of learning about PROTECTING YOUR CLIENT'S EQUITY WITH HOME STAGING, as well as how to leverage home staging as a marketing tool to increase listings, provide better customer service to ensure more referrals, and improve understanding and confidence when communicating the benefits of home staging.  

The course was a hit, and I'm looking forward to another group of realtors coming in on March 23.  You can read more about the CSP ELITE designation for Realtors, or email or call me anytime and I'll be happy to answer your questions.  

If you haven't read the February issue of REM, this program has received a huge endorsement from one of Canada's top brokers who has taken the program himself and now requires that all team members are CSP Elite Realtors.  

If you have a group of 5 or more within your office I would be very pleased to schedule a class on-site, and will offer a $25 voucher on each seat.

Chris Bird

CCSP & CSP Elite Instructor

New View Home Staging

519-505-0892

christine@newviewhomestaging.ca

I'm only just starting to learn about Feng Shui, but this is a cool post re-blogged from Active Rain about the importance of curb appeal from a Feng Shui perspective.

The December class of the CSP ELITE AGENT Designation is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8th, for realtors in Kitchener-Waterloo, and Cambridge. 
 
The Elite Agent designation is designed to increase understanding and marketability of real estate staging; to provide a realtor with better opportunities to differentiate their services from that of their peers through a proven strategic process; and to have an improved listing package with statistics, articles, DVDs plus an abundance of information for sellers.
 
CSP Elite Agents will be affiliated with one of the most respected names in the staging industry worldwide, Certified Staging Professionals, and will have increased exposure through the CSP website, use of recognizable logos and artwork and access to CSP Elite Stagers.  
 
After completing the one-day workshop, you will also receive a voucher for the full value of the CE Network tutorial for Professional Home Staging to earn CE credits.
 
If you have any questions about CSP Elite or upcoming classes please get in touch with me directly, or visit www.cspelite.com

Research suggests that the Moving-Up Buyer is going to purchase a new home for perhaps 50% more than the one they're selling.  You've probably worked with these buyers, and typical wish lists are for a bigger kitchen, a 4th bedroom, a luxurious "spa" ensuite, and more room in general.

Getting into the head of the Moving-Up Buyer may be hard sometimes, because they know what they want, but they may not be able to explain it in so many words.  What they really want cannot be truly defined, or physically built for them.  They'll just know it when they see it. 

And so what is the "it"?  It's intangible... it's a feeling... a sense of opportunity and excitement... a suggestion of a better lifestyle.

When Moving Up Buyers are out looking at homes, they're often not so much looking at the house as they are looking into the lifestyle that it suggests they could have, and it needs to be a step up from the home they are leaving. 

This is where working with a professional Home Stager can make a huge impact, to both the Buyer AND the Seller.  The price needs to be set right (realtor expertise required here), but it also needs to look great and provide the intangible IT factor... the lifestyle influence.

The perfect combination for a sale to the Moving Up Buyer is a property within their price range that exudes the quality of life they want.   For Sellers that understand this and Realtors that guide the process, it's usually a win-win-win situation.   

These days there's a statistic for everything, so let me throw one in about staging.  Staged homes STATISTICALLY sell for between 5% and 10% more than their unstaged competition.
 
So using those figures, a $260,000 home will sell for between $13,000 and $26,000 more.  That's great news for your client because you've protected their equity, but it also means that the 3% seller's commission has increased between $390 and $780, or on average $585 per home. 
 
From there the math gets easier to understand.  If, on average, you earn an additional $585 per home and sell 24 homes per year, you're AT LEAST $14,040 ahead of where you would be if you hadn't recommended staging.
 
All this is based on just a $260,000 home ... and only the commission.   Now, because we also know that a staged home typically sells 2 to 3 times faster, start factoring in the need to host fewer open houses, spend less money on advertising, leaving more time to focus on other leads... PLUS the additional referrals from satisfied clients who have realized greater profits themselves, and it becomes clear that staging makes good financial sense.  

New View Home Staging is a full services real estate staging and property styling company serving Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Stratford and surrounding communities.  We pride ourselves in exceptional customer service and would welcome the opportunity to work with realtors and homeowners in southwestern Ontario.

Christine Bird, owner and lead stager, is a Certified Staging Professional and CSP Elite Agent trainer.  Please call 519-505-0892 to speak with Christine about your real estate staging requirements.

Kitchener-Waterloo Home Stager, Christine Bird of New View Home Staging, is helping take the home staging industry to a new level of awareness.

Home Staging has emerged as one of the most important and influential components of the selling process that remains within the seller's control.  "Location can't be changed and price has a range driven by the market, but how the house is viewed is completely up to the seller," Bird says. 

And how the house is viewed directly impacts the sale price.  Buyers will pay more for a home that's move-in ready.  They no longer want to tackle the challenges of a fixer-upper, and if they do, it will be reflected in their offer.  Buyers are busy and they're educated.  They're frugal and yet expect more for their money.

So Christine Bird is challenging the realtors themselves to assist home sellers realize their best opportunities for protecting their equity through professional home staging.  As a Canadian Certified Staging Professional, she is instructing the North American-wide CSP ELITE AGENT Designation at the local-level.  Realtors completing the designation will gain a better understanding of home staging and have the tools available to promote it more effectively to their clients.  Home sellers, working with a CSP Elite Agent, will have the confidence and trust in knowing they are being well served and their biggest asset - their home - will be market-ready and competitive. 

Home Staging is an extremely effective marketing tool, and it's here to stay.  Buyers have embraced it because it reflects their lifestyle and eases the transition to a new home.  Sellers and realtors need to understand how to help the buyer make that connection.  CSP Elite Agents will be the recognized frontrunners in their field by doing just that.

Canadian Certified Staging Professionals, CCSP ^TM, was founded in Niagara by Christine Rae, and is one of the most widely recognized and respected names in the industry the world over.  Her groundbreaking training programs have advanced the careers of thousands of home stagers internationally, and she is now offering realtors the opportunity to gain more insight into the evolution of staging over the past three decades, and its invaluable contribution to the home selling process today.

New View Home Staging is owned and operated by Christine Bird, CCSP^TM.  Located in Waterloo, she regularly travels throughout Southwestern Ontario working with home sellers and realtors to enhance and improve a home's marketability through pre-listing consultations, showcasing and staging.  Christine's strong background in business and a passion for real estate have propelled her company to one of the most sought out home staging names in the area.

"I am very excited to be offering this innovative training program to realtors in Southwestern Ontario on behalf of CCSP^TM.   I hope to advance their businesses by furthering their understanding of mine, and in fact that of all professional home stagers," she said.

To contact Christine Bird email christine@newviewhomestaging.ca, call 519-505-0892 or visit New View Home Staging's website at www.newviewhomestaging.ca.

Realtors interested in learning more about CSP Elite designation, registering for a local class or finding a CSP Elite Stager in their area can contact CSP by calling 1-888-STAGING or visiting www.cspelite.com.