From the category archives:

Home Staging

The master bath was perfect except for…

Thumbnail image for The master bath was perfect except for… December 26, 2009

My buyers, Lisa and John, and I were curious to see a duplex condo that looked great online. The photo of the master bath showed dual sinks and a huge, tiled shower. However, the “spa bathroom” (as the listing agent described it) lost a little of its luster when we spied the toilet paper roll [...]

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Time to clean the gutters

Thumbnail image for Time to clean the gutters November 22, 2009

Here’s a photo of the front gutters on a house I showed yesterday. To be full of debris is one thing, but to be sprouting new growth is another!
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Bathroom Ranks Among the Worst
The Ugliest Door in America
Use the Colors Already in a Room When Staging It
How not to stage a dining room
How NOT [...]

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Paint fumes are a great way to drive away home buyers

September 24, 2009

I showed several houses in Naperville on Tuesday evening. My buyers quickly ruled out the first home which as shown left clearly wasn’t ready for market. Not only did it not show well, the drying paint fumes were horrible!
Can you imagine car dealers selling cars that smell like exhaust fumes inside?
A fresh coat of paint [...]

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How not to stage a dining room

August 31, 2009

Each room in a home for sale should have a clear identity. If not, it makes it harder for buyers to imagine how they would use the rooms. Just one item such as the scale in the dining room of a house I showed in Glen Ellyn shown left can make buyers wonder about a [...]

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Viking and Subzero Appliances cannot fully compensate for a messy home

August 3, 2009

Yesterday I showed houses in Naperville, Downers Grove and a few other southwest suburbs. One of the listings advertised a high end kitchen with Viking and Subzero Appliances. It also had 42″ kitchen cabinets and granite countertops which were very nice.
However, what my buyers and I will remember the most about the home [...]

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Bathroom Ranks Among the Worst

June 4, 2009

A house in the west suburbs sure looked nice online. Priced in the $300Ks it even featured a private tennis court. My buyers and I were intrigued, so I scheduled the showing first on our list of homes to see that morning. The basement bathroom (shown below) left us speechless. Yes, that’s pieces of wood [...]

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Survived a Badly Staged Home in Lake Zurich, IL

February 28, 2009

This morning I showed houses in the northwest suburbs including a badly staged house in Lake Zurich. Yes, the fake bread and cheese shown left greeted my buyers and I was we walked into the kitchen. Of course, there was also a bowl of small fake fruit on the counter.
I understand that not all sellers [...]

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Messy Home For Sale in Arlington Heights

October 5, 2008

I feel bad for some listing agents. Some of their clients make it next to impossible to sell their homes. Such is the case for a house I showed yesterday in Arlington Heights.
Priced in the upper $600Ks, the 4 bedroom 3 1/2 bath home in a nice neighborhood looked great online. It had nice curb [...]

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Looking Beyond a Badly Staged Home

June 3, 2008

About a month ago I showed a house in River Forest to a couple. The house was nicely rehabbed, but the home staging detracted from rather than enhancing the look of the home.
The furniture and accessories used to stage the home weren’t of the caliber one would expect for a home priced at just under [...]

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How NOT to Stage Your Home: Disgusting Shower Floor

May 5, 2007

I showed a house in Glenview today that had great curb appeal and showed well until my buyer and I reached the master bath. The photo shown left is a close-up of one of the corners of the shower floor. ICK!!!
The mass of hair is bad enough, but the accumulation of crud between the [...]

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