Last month I wrote two posts about a beautiful New Hampshire home that had undergone an impressive transformation after I was called in for a home staging consult.

The house had three major issues:

This was a home school situation, and the house had some unique features that would not have appealed to most buyers.

Many of the house's positive features were being overshadowed by the family's lifestyle.

Before & After pictures:  Will Buyers Remember Your House For The Wrong Reasons?

The house has a fabulous in-law apartment which should have been a tremendous selling feature.

Unfortunately, the parents that had been living there had some "hoarding" issues and the postive features of this large space were hidden by extreme clutter.

Before & After Pictures:  Sometimes "Vacant" Is Better Than The Alternative

The third issue was that the Realtor the seller was considering listing with was underestimating the seriousness of Issues one and two.

As I reported in the first two posts, the sellers followed the suggestions made in my home staging consult, including listing with a different Realtor, and worked very hard to transform their home into a house ready for market.

I am very happy to report that this house was "contingent" in just 17 days and closed in 30 days.

Staging is the most effective use of your marketing dollar!  

Advice to sellers:  Remove your pets, and all evidence of your pets, from your home when showing it to potential buyers.  This is the advice I give sellers, and when I read Randy's post, I had to share it.

Home staging works in New Hampshire.  Whether it's a full staging with new furniture or a staging consult with a to-do list of suggested improvements, home staging could drastically reduce your time on the market.

I was recently contacted by a seller who found me online.  She had listed her house two years ago and after five months on the market without an offer, she decided not to sell.  Because of that negative experience, she wanted to make sure they did everything they could to improve their odds this time around.  She was a serious seller who didn't want to repeat past mistakes. 

I was hired for a two hour home staging consult.  I left the sellers with a list of recommended improvements.  When their "homework" was complete, I returned to see if the house was ready for it's listing photos.  I was so impressed with what they had accomplished.  They did everything I suggested, and the only thing left to do was rearrange one room of furniture. 

Here are some photos:

The Den was cluttered and full of personal photos.  It needed decluttering, shelf organization, and fresh paint.

The kitchen needed cleaning, a new faucet, fresh paint, and some organization.

The living room's biggest problems were furniture placement and evidence of pets.  (I wanted to move the rug, but they had it nailed to the floor.)

The most dramatic transformation was the bathroom.

The house was listed on March 5 and, I'm very happy to report, was pending on March 23. 

Eighteen days!

Home Staging works in New Hampshire

Did you know that your personal information could be in the hands of an identity thief just because your doctor or lawyer makes copies of it?  This is a very interesting report from CBS news.

It's been a busy weekend - both work and play.  It feels good to get things accomplished that need to get done.  It's somehow easier to get motivated when the sun is shining...like you have extra charge in your batteries.

Yesterday we did some yard work in the morning and then rewarded ourselves by taking the Harley out for the afternoon.  The weather couldn't be better.  We rode along the coast with the perfect combination of sunshine and ocean breeze.  We stopped for lunch and enjoyed our first lobster roll of the season.

Today we cleaned all the windows, inside and out, and all the screens.  I totally understand why cleaning people say "we don't do windows" with such conviction. 

Hubby has hit the road on the Harley and I'm cleaning up the mess we made cleaning the windows.   I seem to be in the cleaning mood today so I don't mind staying behind.  I'll open the windows and enjoy the fresh air as I clean.   

There is a special kind of satisfaction that comes from crossing items off my to-do list!  

Sometimes the reward you give yourself is a Harley ride and sometimes it's getting the house to yourself for a couple hours to tackle those jobs that you never seem to have the time for. 

Selling your house?  Today's market requires that your house stand out from the competition with details  that buyers won't soon forget.  Being remembered for the wrong reason, however, can be the kiss of death.  One negative detail can be responsible for crossing a house off their list, when it would have been the buyer's first choice otherwise. 

I recently did a home staging consultation for a "home school" family.  The house is beautiful, but many of it's positive features were being over shadowed by the family's lifestyle. 

The formal living room was being used as a classroom.  It is one of the first rooms seen upon entering the house, and is crucial to first impression.  The walls had a painted mural and the ceiling was a "faux painted"  sky with clouds.

Advice:  Paint the room and ceiling.  Create focal interest on the shelves.  

The crown molding, wood floors, and custom shelves are what you want buyers to notice and remember. 

Across the room was a kitchen sink and cabinets that the family used for art projects. 

The realtor's suggestion:  "Try to make it look like a wet bar."

The seller had removed some of the cabinets and this is what remained when I consulted.  It was their intention to leave it as a "wet bar" as suggested by the realtor.

After I explained that the odds were slim that any buyer would consider this anything other than a misplaced kitchen sink, in what should be the living room, they agreed to remove it.  

The dining room was red with a yellow accent wall.  School science items were stored across the top of the dated, oak room divider.

Advice:  Paint the room to match the living room.  Paint the oak cabinet the trim color and add new hardware.  Remove the school items.

The office/study was...a work in progress. They weren't sure whether to finish it or leave it for the new buyers to finish. 

Advice:  Finish the custom cabinetry.  Paint walls and trim.  Paint fireplace surround to match trim.

The sellers did an excellent job following my suggestions for improvement.  I was very pleased with the results of their hard work.

Now when buyers visit this house it won't be "a sink in the living room" or "science projects in the dining room" that they remember. 

The following was written by Bridget Cella, a NJ Re/Max agent.  Bridget and eleven other ActiveRain members were selected recently to be quoted in Realtor Magazine. 

Impressive that Realtor Magazine used ActiveRain to obtain sources and great advice for the current market.