Staging New Hampshire

Yesterday I worked on a vacant condo and as it turns out came up with an idea for props that I found very useful.  It may not be very original and you may have already thougt of it, but I'm excited to share the idea.

The condo is a restored older home and the kitchen has no upper cabinets.  The only lower cabinet is the one under the sink.  You know how useful that one is.

The good news is that there are two pantry closets which are very roomy.  I wanted to display one closet for dishes, small appliances and pans and the other closet for food storage.  Originally, the plan was to pick up some canned goods and boxes of cereal for the closet.  While packing my Jeep in preparation for the job, I went to add some paper to my recycling and it hit me...

I pulled out several cereal boxes, a tea box, a coffee can and brought them with me to the condo.  They were so easy and light to transport, look great in the pantry, and who cares if I ever get them back!  Now, this may not be something you need for every staging job, but it sure comes in handy for a vacant with questionable storage space.

This whole experience reminded me of when I created a "store" for my young children to play with using empty food containers.  I had family members saving all their empties for me.  My mother, sister and even grandmother became experts at opening  cans from the bottom so when placed on the "store" shelf they still looked unopened.  We were all very careful with labels and packaging. I even put polyfil in flour and sugar bags.  We had every kind of product imaginable.  It was quite the competition, each of us wanting to come up with the most original items.  I actually got quite excited when someone would drop off their collection of groceries for our store.  The kids loved when new inventory would arrive and they could put it away. The kids had a little cash register and loved playing in their store.  I ended up donating all the pretend food to a pre-school when my children out grew it. 

I look forward to playing "store" again someday, with grandchildren....until then I'll just have to keep playing with my staging props in other people's houses.

Well, I've always known that my home city is something special, but now it is official. 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Portsmouth one of the nations top "Distinctive Destinations" for 2008.  The title was given to Portsmouth based on its "captivating blend of coastal beauty, historic buildings and packed history, which includes seven National Historic Landmarks."  Also mentioned was the description of "a lively downtown."  Everyone who visits downtown on a warm summer night experiences a wonderful blend of culture; past, present and future.

Communities across the nation that offer experiences different from the typical vacation destination have been annually selected since 2000. Portsmouth was the only New England city to make the list.  Pretty impressive with all the historic cities in this area.

The National Trust will not only be promoting Portsmouth as a destination, they will also feature the city in their travel marketing and annual diretory for historic destinations across the country. 

To see what other Cities were chosen for his honor, visit The National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Well, I'm pretty excited.  The Seacoast is getting a Christmas Tree Shop.  The planning department has issued a permit and they soon will begin excavation at Home Depot's old address on Durgin Lane.  Sharing the location is supposed to be Bed Bath & Beyond and one other undisclosed store. 

The stores are expected to open next Fall.                                                                 

The store will come in quite handy for those of us with a staging business!  Looks like Christmas comes early next year!

I just read a post by Amie Chaney, What Does Staging Cost?

I am sure that Amie had no idea when she wrote it what direction the comments were going to go.  I started to add a comment and soon realized that my "comment" was getting rather lengthy and needed a post of its own.

I agree with Amie that sellers really cannot afford not to stage their homes to sell.  It is very frustrating to hear that a client "cannot afford" to stage and then watch as the price is reduced by $20,000 a few months later.  When you consider the mortgage payment, insurance, and utility payments that are adding up each month it stays on the market, the cost of not staging is pretty high.

However; I understand where the comments re: cost and disclosure of fees is coming from.  I sympathise with the fact that many sellers are under great financial stress and truly believe they can't afford this service.  Staging is perceived as expensive, and unfortunately, still in some areas as unnecessary.

I believe, that in many cases, there is a misunderstanding that comes from the perceived definition of staging. 

To many people staging involves a total remodel, all new furniture and accessories brought in by a team of workers...costing thousands of dollars.  That is the most common representation of what staging is. Not helping this perception is that many, if not most, home stagers do not list prices for their services and if you have to inquire further to find out how much something costs, that traditionally translates into being expensive.  Many people will just assume it is too expensive rather than ask price.  I'm not criticizing this policy, I'm saying how it can be perceived.   The way stagers charge for their services varies.  For those that don't charge hourly, every job is different and needs to be priced individually.

We need to continue to educate sellers that staging is for all budgets and that the term covers a lot of services.  

Staging can be as basic as getting professional direction towards what needs to be done and then making those improvements yourself.  Cleaning and decluttering doesn't cost money, painting is not expensive.  Many times the existing furnishings and accessories just need to be rearranged or replaceed  Slipcovers and new pillows can be purchased instead of new furniture.  It may be a lot of work, but it doesn't have to be expensive.  

Most stagers are very passionate, we strive for excellence.  Our ultimate goal is a house that is emotionally appealing to buyers.  We are happiest when our work contributes to a successful sale.

Who knew there were so many sexual performance issues out there?  Have you watched television lately? 

 The media is constantly promoting new wonder drugs for every possible condition.  Weight loss without exercise or dieting is promised for lazy people who don't want to give up fatty foods and desserts.  Eat what you want, no effort on your part required...just take the pills.

No need to eat healthier to lower your cholesterol when there is a pill to lower it.  You don't have to give up fried and spicy foods if you have acid reflux...

 just take a pill before you eat the chili dog with extra onions.

In today's quick fix, instant gratification society people want what they want immediately and want to pay very little, if anything, for it.  More and more people just aren't willing to invest the money, time, or effort to achieve the better end result. 

What surprises me is that people don't seem to understand, or maybe they just don't care, that drugs may relieve the symptoms but they are only band aids and the core problems are not getting resolved.

  In the long run we are only hurting ourselves and we will pay...one way or another.  Have you read the disclaimers and list of side effects on the drug advertisements?

What does all this ranting have to do with real estate, you ask? 

Today's buyers have a lot to choose from and they are choosing wisely.  They are buying the homes that appeal to them emotionally.  They are buying the well maintained, clean, stylish, warm and welcoming homes and they are getting them for a lower price.

Home sellers can be their own worst enemy.  Many sellers want to sell their house for top dollar, but are willing to put forth very little energy or spend very little money on improvements.  When the house sits unsold, month after month, they blame "the market."   It is ironic that every day it sits unsold; it is costing them the precious money they didn't want to spend in the first place.   

Smart sellers, who realize that it takes a lot of work to prepare a home for sale, hire an experienced realtor, a professional home stager and understand the value of an investment in home improvement.  By putting together a strong sales team, putting in the time, and spending a little money the seller's house will spend less time on the market and sell for more money.

 There is no miracle pill you can take to ease the stress of selling a house, just good old fashioned hard work and common sense.   If only our medical care was that simple!