 Home Matters
"Staging spaces to sell, live, entertain"
August 2008, Vol. 1, Issue 2 |
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STAGING SOLUTIONS!
For Indianapolis Metropolitan Realtors
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 Greetings!
Indianapolis is getting hotter. Unfortunately that's not the case in home sales. So what can you do to breathe new life into an old listing? Try something that can impact the way the house is perceived by improving its visual presentation. Making changes to the home's visual image will lead directly to improved photos and vitural tours and, therefore, improve your chances of a sale. We are here to help you with all of your goals. Allow us to show you how real-estate staging can enhance your listing presentations and change your bottom line.
Linda, Patty, Danielle, Amy and Gary
Your Home Matters Team
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 Introducing Home Staging to Your Clients
You know about home staging. You've read the statistics. You've seen the results. But the question we always hear is, "How do I introduce home staging to my clients?" It can be tough because you don't want your potential clients thinking that you are suggesting home staging as a way to "clean up their act" or that you are forming an opinion about how they live in their home.
You simply need to explain that home staging is a marketing tool which helps their home compete aggressively for its targeted audience. A home stager can help clients showcase their home for optimal appeal. Statistics tell us that homes that are priced right, and staged to maximize buyer appeal, sell in half the time of non-staged homes.
Incorporating home staging into your business is easy. Here's how...
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Build a relationship with a home stager. Make a home stager part of your team by taking advantage of their expertise in marketing properties through the art of visual merchandising. Form a professional relationship with a reputable staging company that can offer your clients a variety of services, from consultations to hands-on staging. This can build your business reputation and positively affect your bottom line.
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Offer home staging within your list of services. When you meet your client for the first time, home staging can be a part of your service package. You can be the referral source or even offer to pay for a particular service as part of your marketing campaign when owners list with you.
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Recommend that a home-staging professional see a property before it is listed. Preparing a home properly, before putting it on the market, will help you and your clients reap the financial rewards of having the "best of show" from the onset of a new listing. Having a home stager provide a pair of fresh eyes and their wealth of expertise to a property is a cost-effective investment. You can rest assured that your product has been prepared, packaged and is now ready to be presented. Home sellers will see the results and appreciate your efforts in helping them prepare their homes to compete agressively in today's market.
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Provide information in your listing packets. We are happy to support your efforts in educating and informing your clients about the benefits of home staging. We can provide you with marketing materials regarding our service levels, as well as how and why home staging works. Having this information on hand helps your clients make informed decisions about what is available to them. 
By offering home staging, you will differentiate yourself from other Realtors
and put your listings ahead in the marketplace. List a home that is ready to be SOLD, not just ready to be put on the market. |
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What a Client is Saying...
Dear Home Matters,
"Thank you for your quick and insightful services. Vacant homes are hard for buyers to picture themselves in and even harder to sell. Linda and Danielle came by to give me suggestions. I was able to secure their full staging services and rented furniture. The next day the house was put on the market. The day after Memorial Day there were three showings and 3 offers! In fact, one of the agents asked if the furniture was for sale. I CLOSED a month later. Thank you Home Matters! If it was not for you and God Almighty, my sister and I would have never sold the house."
Crystal C., Indianapolis
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Approaching Sensitive Issues
As a Realtor, you always want to safeguard your relationships with your clients - and this is as it should be. Yet it can land you in the awkward situation of knowing that you need to broach "sensitive" issues with clients in order to get their homes sold, while worrying that doing so could damage your rapport with those clients. Fortunately, this is just one more way a reputable home stager can provide support to you and your clients.
Typically-sensitive issues include: outdated or design-specific elements; personal photos and collections; dirt and clutter; and odors from pets, smoking or cooking (even general mustiness). Addressing these issues without offending homeowners requires an objective, professional and diplomatic approach. The rapport we build with your clients allows us to help them understand that we always have their best interests at heart; that we are dedicated to preparing every home to appeal to the broadest range of buyers so it can sell for the highest price and/or in the shortest period of time. This rapport also allows us to help homeowners understand buyers' expectations and be receptive to our practical, prioritized, cost-effective solutions to even the toughest obstacles.
Our experience with nearly 600 homes tells us that, once we take  the time to tell clients why we are making certain recommendations, the focus is no longer on their decorating tastes or the way they live in their homes. Experience also tells us that, once we give clients the steps and tools to address the obstacles to selling their homes, they feel motivated and prepared to tackle any necessary issues - even the most sensitive ones - so they can move on to their next dream home. |
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Home Staging Tip of the Month
When it comes to painting walls in a home for sale, make it easy and choose one paint color that works in all the rooms--fewer paint colors means fewer brushes to clean.
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In Upcoming Issues
Realtor Interviews
Staging is not just for vacant homes
Decorating vs. Staging
Fun Facts
about
Staging/Design
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| Final Thoughts |
Home staging is a three-step process that starts when a staging professional evaluates the needs of a house and ends when the house is at its best. First comes the consultation or evaluation of a property, second is the work involved, and last is showcasing the finished product. We'll see you next month! |
| Contact Information |
For more information about Home Matters or to schedule an appointment, please contact us at
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