Re-Posted from http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2017/02/27/the-essentials-to-styling-your-home-to-sell-quickly/ By Patti Stern, PJ & Company Staging and Interior Decorating It’s hard to believe the early spring selling season is already upon us! This means that homeowners who haven’t prepared their homes to list now should implement some of the following PJ & Co go-to styling tips if they want to get their listing noticed and sold quickly when the market gets flooded in April and May.   Remove clutter to maximize space. Play up key features such as windows, hardwood flooring, walk-in closets, spacious cabinets and counters by removing clutter and personal items that are distracting to buyers. Enhance the size of a room or storage area by doing the following: Remove heavy window treatments, replace or cover carpeting with bright, modern area rugs, paint walls and dark trim in lighter neutral tones, and rearrange or remove furniture. Give each room a purpose. Savvy buyers are looking for a house that will match their lifestyle and accommodate their needs. Therefore, it’s important to put yourself in their shoes and determine how a room should function instead of how it already functions for that homeowner. If along the way the owner had converted a living room into a game room (as shown in the photo above), you’ll need to take the space back to its original purpose. That may mean bringing back the sofa and coffee table that’s hiding in the basement so that the home doesn’t look deficient in any way. Freshen walls with neutral colors and artwork. The perfect starting point for an instant boost is a fresh coat of neutral wall color, such as a warm grey or beige. It not only brings a fresh, modern feel to a space, but it also creates a backdrop that showcases the other elements in the room, such as the bright white trim, wall art, and furniture. It’s also a great fix after taking down dated wallpaper as well as for covering up imperfections.   Use bright, modern accents for inviting style. When possible, we like to add furniture with clean lines for universal appeal and complement beautiful bold accents that really bring a neutral room to life. And if the homeowner decides to keep their tired, worn or more traditional furniture, camouflaging with modern pillows, throws, rugs, lighting and colorful accents in geometric patterns, fabrics and finishes will create the warm, inviting vibe that today’s buyers are attracted to. Don’t forget about curb appeal! Especially after the cold winter months, it’s just as important to style the outside of your home to welcome buyers inside. Spruce up the yard, make necessary repairs, and update the front porch with cheerful accessories such as a fresh welcome mat,...

Before listing your home, tap into the talents of a home stager. You may sell your home faster and at a bigger profit Karen Egly-Thompson Houzz Contributor Home staging has become an increasingly formidable force in helping people sell their homes more quickly and for more money. Its overall goal is to help prospective home buyers emotionally connect with a space, hopefully leading to an offer to buy. Home staging isn’t limited to just high-end properties. It has become a norm for homes at all price points. While staging may seem like an additional hassle and expense, the investment can pay off. Here’s a guide to home staging, including the benefits, process and reasons to stage your home if you’re considering a move. Who Hires Home Stagers? Anyone selling or buying property may benefit from home staging. Homeowners selling single-family homes, condos and townhouses make up the greatest percentage of those hiring home stagers. However, property developers selling new construction, and real estate agents, also are in the mix. While home staging was created primarily to benefit the seller, seeing prospective properties in their best light also can be advantageous to buyers because it can cut down on their search time. Benefits of Staging a Home Most people have trouble visualizing a space’s potential, whether that’s figuring out how to lay out an empty room or trying to ignore oddly arranged furniture, clutter or decor that’s not their style. The majority of home buyers can’t easily look past what’s in front of them to appreciate a room’s potential. Staging helps eliminate the buyer’s guesswork. “The key is to set the stage for potential buyers to imagine themselves living there,” says home stager Robin DeCapua of Madison Modern Home. A 2015 study by the National Association of Realtors confirmed that more than 81 percent of home buyers find it easier to visualize the property as their future home when it’s staged. Had the staged living room seen here been empty, many people might have found the large space intimidating and possibly off-putting. Instead, Audrey Gourguechon of Staging North Shore in Chicago created multiple seating zones to highlight it as an inviting living and entertaining space to potential buyers. Prelisted staged homes spend 90 percent less time on the market than their nonstaged competition, according to a 2016 report by the Real Estate Staging Association. Considering the monthly carrying costs — mortgage, taxes and utilities — that translates into a lot of saved cash if the home spends less time on the market. Shopping for many things these days is done online, and real estate is no exception. “Today, buyers look at the online photos before deciding to come in and view...

Posted by eReplace Staff on February 23, 2016      Whether you’re an avid fan of home improvement shows or not, you likely have an inkling that fresh updates and renovations can entice homebuyers. But how much will a certain remodel run you? And perhaps more importantly, will it really help you come resale time? The Remodeling 2016 Cost vs. Value Report, produced by Remodeling, details estimated costs for 30 home-improvement projects. The report also includes an estimated value homeowners can expect to recover from a specific renovation or addition when they sell their home. With the help of the report, we break down the cost and resale value of some of the most popular renovations—from kitchens and bathrooms to decks and basements. The figures are organized by region as well as the national average. To learn more and view all 36 project cost and value estimates, check out www.costvsvalue.com, where you can download the report in its entirety for free. © 2016 Hanley Wood, LLC....

  Whether they generate reliable business is a debate among many professionals, but it depends on how you use them. APRIL 2015 | BY JARED JAMES If you were to ask 100 agents if they think open houses work to create new business and generate leads, half would probably say yes and half would say no. So do they work or don’t they? I believe that, as with most things, the issue is usually not the tool you are using but the implementation of the tool. For example, if you gave me a wrench to fix the engine in your car, I can tell you with almost 100 percent certainty that by the time I’m finished, your engine will be no more “fixed” than when I started. Why? Because I don’t know how to fix an engine in a car, regardless of the tools that you give me. But I’m not going to go on a tirade about how the wrench doesn’t work. Most of us know that Internet leads have become a huge part of our business, but converting them is another story. Generally, the agent who pursues a lead the longest and actually gets an in-person conversation with them wins, but that can take months — if not years. With an open house, you are getting these same potential leads in person, and you’re able to have a conversation right then and there. What could be better than that? But wait — I know what you’re thinking. Those aren’t the people who come to your open house. You only get “nosy neighbors,” right? Well, that’s a marketing issue. When done effectively, open houses can be incredibly profitable, so let’s talk about four ways to run them in a more successful way. Use targeted Facebook ads. Most of you reading this have heard all about Facebook ads, but few actually understand how to create and target them correctly. This is a shame because they are an absolute game changer. Gone are the days of putting your open house ad in the Sunday paper and getting overloaded with traffic. However, this isn’t an article on how to create Facebook ads, so I advise you to either watch tutorials on YouTube or hire a company like mine to do them for you. You can create either an ad or a boosted post with your Facebook business page that is targeted at buyers in your area and promotes your open house. You should offer something of value to those who register beforehand or to the first 50 people who show up and mention your ad. Offer exclusivity/privacy. Don’t underestimate the power of allowing potential buyers to get in for a private or exclusive showing...

Welcome to my new real estate blog.  Please check back often to see my latest posts.   We would like to announce the launch of ABQ House&Home! New Mexico’s newest Real Estate Firm is open!