For those of you that know me well, you’d probably guess that I love statistics.  With a financial background, I’m actually swayed more by numbers than photos and share this fact with my clients. Why?  Our home staging company was formed not because we love to make things look pretty (a fun side benefit), but because it makes good financial sense.  We LOVE helping our clients beat the odds when home selling!

Let’s take a peak at the Albany Oregon real estate market.  If you are considering listing your home or already have a home on the market it’s important to know the facts about the market from an expert. Here are the statistics provided by Dave Pautsch – Re/Max Integrity and also host of Real Estate Talk KGAL 1580.  I love the concise way Dave presents statistics don’t you?  Easy for everyone to understand!!  (Thanks Dave!)

Let’s take a closer look at Albany statistics.  The average days on market is 155 and there are 247 listings.

Want to shorten your days on market and stand out from the competition?

We were hired by an Albany home seller which started with a consultation.  They painted the colors we advised and did a few other upgrades.  We then staged their home with some of our rental furniture, art and decor combined with their own furnishings.

The results?

Sold at the first showing on the very first day on the market.

Hmmm – sounds too good to be true – doesn’t it?  They must have been GIVING it away!!!  Let’s go back to the Albany statistics and check out the Average Dollar per Square Foot of $103.72.  Was the price slashed so that is why it sold quickly?  No — it was priced above the average price per square foot!

Here’s how it looked when the house went on the market — Fresh paint and some updates, sparkling clean, de-cluttered and inviting, nicely staged.  A home that stands out from the competition!

We staged another home in Albany recently that was on the market for over a month with little activity.  Once staged it had an offer within a week!

It’s a tough real estate market for sellers, and no, not every well prepared home will sell in one day.  Will they sell faster?  Absolutely!

You CAN beat the odds — priced correctly, good marketing and professional home staging — keys to a quicker and more profitable sale!

Tired of too much statistics and just want to see the before and after shots??

Check out the sliderocket show!

Margaret Oscilia is a Professional Home Stager with Creative Concepts – Home Staging and Contractingserving Salem Oregon and surrounding areas who specializes in helping home sellers stage to sell or re-design to live well.  Licensed, bonded and insured contractors – CCB#180695.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

There’s over 4 million homes on the market nationwide. For home buyers looking to make a deal it’s a great time to buy. For home sellers, it means a whole lot of inventory to compete with. So how do you make your home shine? Great tips in this quick video! (If it doesn’t appear above quickly refresh the page and sorry about the advertising — the tips are worth the effort!)

Margaret Oscilia is a Professional Home Stager with Creative Concepts – Home Staging and Contracting serving Salem Oregon and surrounding areas who specializes in helping home sellers stage to sell or re-design to live well. Licensed, bonded and insured contractors – CCB#180695.

Moving or improving? Creative Concepts-Home Staging and Contracting has the expertise to showcase your home’s full potential, stretch your budget, and maximize your time.

Professional Home Staging – Reliable Contractor Repairs – Beautiful Results!

A special thanks to HD Open House Photography.  While this short presentation only includes two of their shots — I’m sure you found their work impressive like we do!

Margaret Oscilia is a Professional Home Stager with Creative Concepts – Home Staging and Contractingserving Salem Oregon and surrounding areas who specializes in helping home sellers stage to sell and home owners to transform their homes from ordinary to extraordinary.   Services range from staging and paint color consultations, providing rental furniture and decor for vacant homes, re-designing occupied homes to managing remodeling projects.

I just had to post this blog by Alan May – an agent with Coldwell Banker in Illinois.  Don’t think we could have said it better!

1. Your property won’t sell because your photos are “less than impressive”.

Yep, this is an actual photo from our MLS, just came on brand-new this morning.  Apparently the place must be really awful, ’cause the agent didn’t even dare step out of her car, to get close to the property so you could see any details.

The vast majority of home buyers begin their search for a home on the internet, so your property had better look fantastic in print. Not just nice, it has to look downright fabulous.  Today an internet view is the same as a ‘virtual showing’… if your house gets past that, then they might (just might) make an appointment to see it in person… You should really consider that your SECOND showing. Today’s online viewers are expecting good quality photos (and lots of them…the picture below… taken from Google Maps… is completely unacceptable.  That’s a $500,000 listing, take a moment and your digital camera and force your agent to go earn their commission), a virtual tour, maybe even a floor plan, and they need to be high-quality, or don’t bother.

2. Your property won’t sell because it’s overpriced.

It’s important to be as objective as you possibly can.  Look at the home as though you were a “buyer”… if necessary, make an appointment with your Realtor to view other properties that are priced comparably to yours.  Be brutally objective.  Given the other options on the market(and yes, you DO have to include short sales and foreclosures on your list… your potential buyers are!), would YOU buy your home, over the others that are currently available on the market?

If the answer is “NO”, (and try to be as honest as you can) well then you have your work cut out for you, don’t you?  You either have to “update” your home to meet or beat the competition…(that might mean an updated bathroom or kitchen, or neutralizing some decorating… remove that old wallpaper that was there when you bought the house or lower your price to adjust for it.  if you can’t afford to sell it for the price, that you KNOW it should sell for, this may not be the right market for you to sell.  Consider taking it off-market.

3. Your property won’t sell because it shows badly.

This could mean almost anything… from the 60 pound Rottweiler, barking and drooling at the potential buyers from behind the safety of the flimsiest child-gate, to the lingering smell of 30-years of smoking.  Maybe the carpeting shows traffic-pattern wear, or your nicotine covered windows allow in slightly less than daylight.  All things that aren’t visible from the internet, but whoa…. once you get inside the house… they show up, like a cat-urine-soaked-shag carpet on a 95 degree day in New Orleans!

4. Your property won’t sell because you’re invisible.

Today’s buyer comes from the internet, almost exclusively.  Have you (or your agent) simply plopped the property on the MLS, and started praying?  Are you on all the websites…(Trulia, Zillow, Craig’s List, Google Base, etc…) all the places that buyers are searching?  If not, you need to be, now! Don’t try to be a secret, in today’s electronic world.  You want to be found, and the sooner the better.

If you’re not making full use of the internet today, you’re out of business before you’ve started.  C’mon people… get on board, the train is leaving the station. (I love a good train metaphor).

5. Your property won’t sell because your listing is tired and stale on the market.

Okay… yes, you overpriced your home initially when you first came on the market a year and a half ago.  But since then you have reduced your price almost monthly, constantly chasing the market down. Now, finally you’re truly priced where you believe should be, but your listing (not your house) has become tired and stale.  Everyone who is looking for your type of property (ie: 3br/1.1 bath) in your area has already seen the listing online, or in person and they remember that there was “something” about it that they didn’t like… but what they don’t remember is… what they didn’t like…. was the price.   Time to take the listing off market.  Let it cool off (3-6 months), and bring it back on fresh in the Spring.  Yeah, you’ll have 6 mos. worth of holding-costs… but you’ll more than make up for it in your purchase price.

btw… Resist the temptation to bring the house back on at a higher price, than when you left the market.  Just “don’t do it”!

6. Your property won’t sellbecause your house won’t appraise.

The house looks great… you’ve finally gotten someone to bring you a bid on your slightly over-priced, but beautiful pied-a-terre.  But the bank appraiser says it’s worth $20,000 less than your buyer has agreed to pay.  Heavy sigh… bite the bullet…. negotiate with them.   If you have to drop the price $20,000 to make it work…. “make it work”… chances are, anybody else trying to buy your house will run into the same problem. If you’re not willing to negotiate the difference, you may find yourself with no buyer, and accepting a lower offer somewhere down the line.  Appraisals carry a great deal of weight these days.

7. Your property won’t sell because it’s unavailable to show.

You have a baby, and a 1-year old.  And they need their naps.  So you’ve told your Realtor in no-uncertain-terms, that you’ll only allow showings between 9:00a.m – Noon, and then again from 2:30-5:30 p.m.  And no showings on Saturday or Sundays.  “After all”, you’ve told him “we still live here.. it’s our home!”.  Well guess what?  They can’t buy it, if they can’t see it.  As good as your online photos are, they’re no substitute for an in-person visit. “If they really want to see it, they’ll reschedule”, you’re already answering as you read this.  Nonsense!  What they’ll do, is they’ll just move on to the next property in line (there are dozens like yours available) and maybe they’ll buy that one instead.  Once you put your property on the market it stops being your “home”, and has become your “product”.  And you want your product to be seen by as large a buying audience as possible.

8. Your property won’t sell because you have the heat and power turned off.

Okay… maybe it’s an REO, or maybe you’re no longer living in the home.  But viewers need to be able to feel comfortable when they’ve viewing your home.  You want them to spend time in the home and get a sense of the place.  You don’t want them standing in the darkened foyer shivering, breathing on their hands to keep their knuckles from freezing in position.  If they can see their own breath, the house is too cold.  It’s just not an invitation to spend time in the home.  Have the power on, and leave the heat running, at least high enough to keep viewers from shivering.  It doesn’t have to feel like a tropical paradise, but it shouldn’t feel like the north pole, either.  Ain’t nobody gonna buy that igloo!

So what does it take to get your home sold for the best price in 2012?  Make sure it is properly prepared for the best possible sale. Wondering where to start? Creative Concepts-Home Staging and Contracting has the expertise to showcase your home’s full potential, stretch your budget, and maximize your time.

Margaret Oscilia is a Professional Home Stager with Creative Concepts – Home Staging and Contracting serving Salem Oregon and surrounding areas who specializes in helping home sellers stage to sell and home owners to transform their homes from ordinary to extraordinary.   Services range from staging and paint color consultations, providing rental furniture and decor for vacant homes, re-designing occupied homes to managing remodeling projects.

Professional Home Staging – Reliable Contractor Repairs – Beautiful Results!

All too often we see kitchens that lack pizzazz and feel dated.  Does this kitchen need a complete remodel?  What if a few things are changed to give it a new look?

This kitchen island placement is awkward and small when compared to more contemporary kitchens like these:

{it’s great to be home}

{via House of Turquoise}

Painting the walls and modifying the existing kitchen island transformed this kitchen to a showcase (white cabinets are always in style) that most people couldn’t have originally envisioned! The island was moved and extended with a butcher block top — now providing an eating bar and a contemporary look.

DAA DAAH!!!! – - Wow what a difference!

Amazing improvement on a teensy budget!  Lots of DIY instructions too at the link above provided by The Nesting Game!

Wondering what improvements you can make with a teensy budget?  Sometimes inspiration and a fresh set of eyes is all you need!  We love brain storming and providing improvement ideas on how best to make your home perfect for you or help prepare it for sale!   Whether you’re moving or improving – Creative Concepts-Home Staging and Contracting has the expertise to showcase your home’s full potential, stretch your budget, and maximize your time.

Margaret Oscilia is a Professional Home Stager with Creative Concepts – Home Staging and Contracting serving Salem Oregon and surrounding areas who specializes in helping home sellers stage to sell or re-design to live well.  Licensed, bonded and insured contractors – CCB#180695.

Are we there yet? Are prices as low as they are going to go?

Many potential home buyers have hesitated, wondering if real estate prices will continue to drop. With record low interest rates and housing prices low, could 2012 be the best time to buy? See what CNN Money has to say about buying a home in 2012.

Margaret Oscilia is a Professional Home Stager with Creative Concepts – Home Staging and Contracting serving Salem Oregon and surrounding areas who specializes in staging to sell as well as helping home owners to re-design to live well. Licensed, bonded and insured contractors – CCB#180695.

Moving or improving? Creative Concepts-Home Staging and Contracting has the expertise to showcase your home’s full potential, stretch your budget, and maximize your time.

Professional Home Staging – Reliable Contractor Repairs – Beautiful Results!

HOW did there get to be drips between the glass panes on the oven door!??!  Makes a new oven look old and dirty (can’t believe the design allows for this to happen but it does)!

Seems impossible to clean!

Sometimes half the battle on getting something done is knowing HOW to get it done!   In less than 30 minutes you can get that glass as clean as new — here’s a step by step tutorial (models will vary but it should give you some good ideas on how to proceed).

Here is a pictorial guide, using my oven as the model for all ovens ever made.

Oven door schematic from Sears Parts Direct.

Difficulty: Moderate… because the door is heavy. If your oven is older, the door screws may be corroded and difficult to remove.

Tools and materials required:

• #2 Philips screwdriver with a good point.
• Cleaning supplies. For the internal pane, Windex was sufficient. On the inside of the oven, I used a razor blade and vinegar.
• Ice cold beer.

Time: About 30 minutes, including cleaning stuff.

Step 1: Disconnect the rack from the door. Mine has two rods that connect to the lower tray. Rotating them 90 degrees will let them slide out.

caption

Step 2: Lock the hinges. There is a lever on each hinge that slides down to keep it from moving further. (See yellow arrow for the range of motion.)

Step 3: Close the door all but a hand-length (about 10° open). Grab each side of the door — not its handle — and lift up. Repeat: do not lift by the handle. Lift by handle, you shall not. (Why? The handle won’t support the weight of the door.)

Do. Not. Lift. By. The. Handle.

Step 4: Set the door on a flat surface.

Step 5: There are six screws you’ll need to remove: four small ones (“60B” on the schematic above) on the bottom of the door (below the hinge levers), and the two large ones (“10″ on the schematic) holding the handle (“39″ in the schematic) that you did not use to lift the door with.

Below the door screws are two smaller screws on each side. Don’t remove these as they’re only for the hinge mechanism. (Because I didn’t know what I was doing, I did. It’s not a big deal, but it’s unnecessary work.)

Green go, red stop.

The door screw: You have chosen wisely.

Four screws at the base of the door

Step 6: Gently lift the black, heavy, hinged part off the facade.

This is the main door.

While I had the main door out, I used the razor blade to scrape the cooked food splatters off the oven glass, then cleaned grease with vinegar and paper towels.

Step 7: Clean the drip off the facade:

Windex and paper towel time!

Step 8: Reassemble the door: put the facade on the main door. Attach the four screws on the bottom. Squeeze the top of the door together and attach the two door handle screws.

Step 9: Gently set the door hinges into the slots on the oven. The door hinges will not release until they’re settled into the oven and you’ve pulled on the door a little bit:

Door hinges won’t unlock unless the door’s attached.

Step 10: Drink cold beer.

Special thanks to Jim Carlson who prepared this tutorial and posted it originally here!

 

Margaret Oscilia is a Professional Home Stager with Creative Concepts – Home Staging and Contracting serving Salem Oregon and surrounding areas who specializes in helping home sellers stage to sell or re-design to live well.  Licensed, bonded and insured contractors – CCB#180695.

Moving or improving? Creative Concepts-Home Staging and Contracting has the expertise to showcase your home’s full potential, stretch your budget, and maximize your time.

Professional Home Staging – Reliable Contractor Repairs – Beautiful Results!

 

 

 

We’re getting lots of calls from homeowners preparing to launch their homes into the market in January — and many of our staged homes received offers this month!  This little poem came from my hubby’s creative genius and was posted previously but I just had to share again this year!

Happy Holidays!

Twas the month before listing, when all through the house
the owners were nervous, and began to grouse.
It was time they decided their house to prepare,
in hopes that some buyers soon would be there.

There was no time to rest all snug in their beds,
images of projects danced in their heads.
“What to do, where to start?” I said with a snap.
“A buyer‘s not going to just fall in our lap!”

Bring in the stager and stop all this chatter,
See if they can tell us what improvements really matter.
In this poor economy to sell in a flash,
we must learn how to give our house some panache!

Architecture to highlight and spaciousness to show
do you think the bottle collection and moose head must go?
Before the realtors and buyers appear,
the need for a plan and strategy was clear.

The stager appeared, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment she was just the trick.
In rapid succession the ideas they came,
she saw all the problems and called them by name:

“The Clutter! The Dirt!
The dated decor!
Deferred maintenance!
And papers galore!
We‘ll stage it all from the front to back door!
And make sure it‘s the house
All buyers will adore!”

With that, her pen — it began to fly,
preparing a plan for success to try
the before photos they showed quite a mess,
and many more issues we must address.

It‘s time, she said, with little ado
To be painting your interior a neutral hue
Your sofa is gaudy and condition is poor
A slip cover will transform it, she began to implore.

From pressure washing the walk and driveway too,
we started on the prioritized list of much to do.
Cleaning, decluttering – there was no looking back,
the extra clothes, the photos and collections to pack.

The windows! How they sparkled! The rooms! How airy!
Opening the closet door was no longer scary!
The master bedroom fabulous décor did sport,
Reminding viewers of a relaxing resort.

More lighting and décor gave the house a new look
All done with very little stress to the pocketbook!
The photos now prepared for buyers online
Showed a property that could be described as sublime!

With a series of comps to compare all the fixings
All fears were allayed; we would have a great listing.
Our realtor can now market in so many ways,
And assured us a sale in a matter of days.

One after the other, with comments to share;
Realtors on tour agreed, no house would compare.
Every room was inspected, our efforts made clear,
A buyer could be expected, we had little to fear.

The Open House, a gala event
They came dropping their cards and compliments were sent.
The buyers were plentiful, all in the queue -
The color of money, oh what a hue!

The offer it came, with the speed of a missile
The key was the Stager, oh what a pistol!
And our realtor exclaimed as we closed with delight,
“Happy selling to all, and to all a good night!”

Creative Concepts – Home Staging and Contracting — more than just happy holiday greetings – a plan of action for home sellers!  Contact us for home staging recommendations that will set your home apart and become memorable to buyers!

503-881-0886

Professional Home Staging – Reliable Contractor Repairs – Beautiful Results!

Just read the following post written by Kim Gaston of Colorado Springs and had to share these great pictures and ideas which I loved!  We’re continually adding items to our furniture and decor staging inventory, and I can already tell that a colored sisal rug is top on my list to shop for.    Hope you find these pics as inspiring as I do!

1. Jute/Hemp/Sisal Rugs –lovely texture, warmth, and plays well with others (meaning they’ll gladly take the supporting role to the more “extroverted patterns” in the room). They don’t even mind being layered with a dramatic accent rug.

They’re not the new kids in town for 2012, however the “new twist” is using colored jute rugs – glorious tonal variations give a subdued hint of color without overbearing the feature of the room – those rich, warm hardwoods!

2. Sunburst Mirrors – a strong element to play up the room’s focal point  (ideal for over a fireplace). Of course, we all know that mirrors are a lovely way to reflect more light in a dark room, thus creating the illusion of a larger space (always a positive in staging).

3. Acrylic Chairs – also called “ghost” chairs. They’re a perfect staging solution for tight dining areas or space-challenged rooms.

4.     Pendant Lighting – Now more than ever, lighting plays a key role inhighlighting your home’s architectural features (like this island). Product Designers have come out of the woodwork lately to make affordable, well-designed fixtures so your home outshines the competition.

5. Large-scale Artwork – A little drama goes a long way in making a BIG impact with Buyers.  Oversize artwork is a shout out to Buyers that,         Hey look at this place…wouldn’t you want to live this lifestyle?

During a recent home staging consultation a home seller (who had children) said “We can’t live in a staged home!  Home buyers will just have to understand that we live here”.

These home sellers did most of what we recommended to prepare their home for sale, but there were two huge issues not resolved which would have cost them less than $500 – many months later, their home is still on the market.

On the other hand, we have many sellers who take the “I’ll do what ever it takes” approach.   When selling a home the “packaging” is so important!  Each of four these homes photographed here were owner occupied.

They rented some items from our inventory of furniture and decor.  Our staging company provided them lots of tips and tricks on how to best live in a home that was for sale, making it less stressful for their families.  Better yet — each of them sold in under 30 days!

Sold in under 30 days?!!

These homes were NOT super bargain priced.  They did have a step up on the competition however because they:

• priced where the agent recommended (and didn’t have to do a price reduction because of the quick sale)
• prepared their homes well for sale (maintenance and staging)
• marketed the listings well (professional photography and marketing by agent)

They also were inconvenienced a very short time because the home sold quickly!!

These are just a few of the success stories we have been a part of in 2011. If you want a higher price for your home or don’t really need to sell, now is not the time to make a half hearted approach to selling.  (And it could be many years before those prices rise.)

These rooms aren’t perfect. All have used items the home seller’s had on hand to help keep the staging costs down.

The amount these sellers paid for staging was minor compared to having the keep their home on the market for months (and possibly lower the price), not to mention the stress related to living in a staged home for month after month!  They transformed their homes from ordinary to extraordinary and the results speak for themselves!

They all portrayed a beautiful home as well as a desirable lifestyle that was awaiting new home buyers.  The secret is — buyers will take into consideration that you are living in a home for sale. BUT — they won’t feel as much “WOW” or as welcomed …. and your home probably won’t be the one they fall in love with (and those are the ones that get the offers).

When marketing your Oregon home for sale, make sure it is properly prepared for the best possible sale. Even if you are living in the home, it can look like the dream home buyers are looking for!

Margaret Oscilia is a Professional Home Stager with Creative Concepts – Home Staging and Contracting serving Salem Oregon and surrounding areas who specializes in helping home sellers stage to sell and home owners to transform their homes from ordinary to extraordinary.   Services range from staging and paint color consultations, providing rental furniture and decor for vacant homes, re-designing occupied homes to managing remodeling projects.

Professional Home Staging – Reliable Contractor Repairs – Beautiful Results!