Home Staging

Can you over stage a home for sale?

Thumbnail image for Can you over stage a home for sale? June 7, 2010

Michael M. wrote me last week, “I was just wondering, is it possible to over stage a place, or go too far with the decluttering?” Yes and maybe. According to Stager Invasion’s Lisa Lynch, a home can be over staged when there’s something in every space. Check out her video on over staging. What Lisa Click to continue...

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 Click to continue...

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! Click to continue...

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 Click to continue...

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 Click to continue...

Viking and Subzero Appliances cannot fully compensate for a messy home

August 3, 2009

Yesterday one of the houses I showed 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 was the basement. The moment we reached it we all noticed the Click to continue...

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 Click to continue...

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 Click to continue...

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 Click to continue...

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 Click to continue...

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 Click to continue...

Use the Colors Already in a Room When Staging It

February 11, 2007

Yesterday I did some home staging on a home in Palatine that I’ll have on the market next week. The home is vacant which is not ideal for selling. Home staging helps “warm-up” a vacant home. The first photo shows that the master bath has dark brown cabinets and pink floor tiles. The second photo Click to continue...

Dirty Laundry

October 9, 2006

Saturday’s Chicago Tribune Business Section had an interesting article on home staging titled, “Stagers enter home sale scene” by Mary Umberger. The owners of a Lindenhurst home I showed on Sunday need some staging assistance. The photo on the right shows how their laundry area looked when my buyer and I visited. Even if they Click to continue...

Empty Beer Bottles Don’t Cut it as a Home Staging Accessory

July 28, 2006

The photo to the right is from a house in Vernon Hills priced over $300K, I showed to buyers last week. The dishes in the sink are bad enough, but the case of empty Corona Beer Bottles on the countertop is the crowning touch for a kitchen already short on countertop space. Attractive bottles of Click to continue...

Extreme Home Staging

June 29, 2006

Home staging was invented in California and a public relations firm there has now made it truly a staged production. According to the NY Times article, “Model Homes and Model ‘Families’“, the model home in a real estate development in Santa Clarita features a family living in the home. Well, they aren’t actually a family. Click to continue...

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