Home Staging SOP

Bathrooms have an average recoup rate of 102 percent that is a great return on your investment. A minor bathroom update replacing the sink, bath, tile, floors, toilet, vanity and fixtures will cost around $9,750 and a recently renovated bathroom like that will generally bring in an average of $10,700 at resale. A fresh coat of paint and a tub re-glaze are inexpensive options that can really make an old bathroom look brand new. Bleaching and scrubbing grout and re-caulking around the tub can really take years off an outdated bathroom as well. These are just a few of the many home staging ideas that exist for your current home or for a property you are trying to sell. Whatever the case, the following are great tips to consider when remodeling a bathroom.

Step 1
Decide on a budget. You can remodel a bathroom for a fraction of the cost by doing it yourself or you can have it done by a professional contractor. Renovating inexpensively doesn’t always mean going with cheap materials necessarily. It is simply finding the ways and means to renovate using good materials and staying within your budget.
Write down how many tiles you need to buy.
What kind of sink or faucet you will use.
Are you going to have a full remodel or a partial remodel?
Will you be re-using existing cabinetry or existing shower doors or are you replacing them?

The answers to these questions will impact your budget. It is important to have a fixed budget and to stick with it!

Step 2
Draw out a plan of action. Before you start ripping off the dated tiles, you need to have a solid plan.
Are you doing a full remodel?
Are you going to change the footprint of the bathroom?

If you are, then that would mean you might have to re-work the plumbing and electricity. Include the new pricing in your budget.

Step 3
Do it Your-self or not. The largest amount of money people spend often goes to labor more than materials. If you do most of the work yourself, you would be surprised at how much money you would save with the project. If you are not a handy person, hire a reputable contractor.

Step 4
Hire reputable workers and contractors by being your own subcontractor. Eliminate the middle person, and hire the contractors directly yourself. You can go to home improvement stores in your area and request information of contractors they can refer to you. They would be more than willing to assist since you are buying materials from them. Also, ask for references through any of your friends or industry professionals.

Step 5
Buy materials directly through distributors and shop around for best prices. Make sure to measure correctly. Discontinued tiles are priced lower since they will no longer be available; just make sure to buy an extra box or two for future needs. There are Internet discount stores you can buy from as well. If you are planning on buying granite to replace your current counter, you can buy directly from manufacturers. Ask for scraps and see if your measurement fits, then pay a little bit of extra for finishing the edge and cutting a hole. A standard sized one sink vanity would cost anywhere between $100 – 250 if the scrap materials are available. Most manufacturers and dealers would be willing to negotiate on the price rather than just letting these unused pieces go to waste. If you cannot find bargain granite slabs, buy granite tiles instead to keep that look.

Step 6
Use existing cabinets, toilets, bathtubs and shower doors. You can refurbish or refinish them to make them look brand new again. Do not buy a new mirror if your existing one still works, you can frame it to make it look attractive.
Inexpensive (DIY) Options

Paint
Take a good look at the walls. A new coat of paint can change the look of any room and give it the new look you’re looking for. Painting your walls is easy and doesn’t take a whole lot of time. You’ll be surprised at what paint does to a room and this won’t break your budget.

Fixtures
Fixtures are another easy thing to change in your bathroom without spending your entire budget. You can buy some nice new fixtures for the sink and bathtub, and new light fixtures that are inexpensive from any home center like Lowe’s or Home Depot. You can hand pick them yourself and spend as much or as little as you want. The nice part about buying new fixtures from a home center is that if you have absolutely no experience taking old ones off and putting new ones back on, employee specialists can help and show you how to do it.

Flooring
If you are experienced with tile, you might want to consider laying tile on your bathroom floor. They are relatively inexpensive and if you do the work yourself you don’t have to pay for any labor. Tile is very popular and is a great way to change the look of an old floor. If tile is not an option however you can always lay linoleum. You can buy it in sheets or lay the linoleum squares. Both are inexpensive and easy to do. Changing the look of your floor can make a big difference.

Shower Area
Hit the shower. Nothing says “spa” like a great showerhead, and some styles, such as distinctive-looking rain-jet showerheads, provide visual interest as well as a great shower. Adjustable-height, hand-held showerheads can satisfy the tallest (or shortest) person, and also can be used as a sprayer for an easier method for cleaning the tub or shower.

Mirrors
Replace old single pane mirrors with picture frame mirrors. This is an inexpensive way to update and add charm to the bathroom. Mirrors cost between $20 – $80 each and are easy to mount.

It has been noted in a survey that this kind of property styling serves more beneficial than reducing the cost of the property. The house doctors are experts in staging homes that get your property noticed in a shorter span of time as compared to a property that is not staged. The home design London companies very well understand that an empty space is more difficult to sell. In contradiction to the popular believe, empty room looks smaller than an effectively staged room. This is because in an empty room you will not have anything to compare the dimensions with. The house doctors arrange the furnitures and other dressings to show a possible layout of the area to their perspective customers but in a very appealing way.The home design companies take care of all the requirements of sourcing the accessories, furniture from furniture rental shops, supplying and installation of the furniture. The house doctors even take care of arranging the tradesmen and managing the project in case major changes like changes or repair work in flooring, building new bathroom, making new kitchen or garden are required.

The furniture rental London shops rent furniture for home staging so that you can save a huge amount of capital in purchasing the furniture and still are able give your property interior a high quality look and feel. The home staging gives your property a look that is so appealing to the prospective customer as if the design is straight out from any design magazine.
The home design companies start by viewing and surveying your property and understanding your requirements. They have a verbal discussion on the areas that require more attention and changes. After this verbal communication the house doctor will make a quotation that fits your budget and requirement. A clever sourcing is planned by either renting or buying the required accessories and dressing at the best possible deals. The house doctor arranges the sourcing of the dressings and furnitures from the furniture rental shops and also takes care of the installation of the furnitures. They are also in charge of removal and return of the pieces at the end of the contract. Most shops rent furniture for the property styling for a period of one month to three months. The home design London companies get you bespoke furnitures as a package for a particular room and also at times pick individual pieces of art work and dressings to go with the theme of your property. They show homes from the perspective of the customers. The house doctors are capable of transforming any dull space into an interesting useable area.

We spend a lot of time thinking about what our homes look like when we are trying to sell them. Don’t forget that the sense of smell is one of our strongest senses. Because we spend so much time in our home we can no longer tell what it really smells like to others. This is no time to be shy- get an honest opinion from someone you trust. Chances are if you have a dog, love scented candles or enjoy cooking different foods your home could use some neutralizing of scent. This doesn’t mean masking with perfuming deodorizers. Clean is the best smell of all. Your home can not be too clean and any scent of mold or mildew will spark a big question in the noses’ of buyers. Think about your old carpets and dirty clothes in laundry hampers. Put fresh linens on the bed and clean, new towels in bathrooms. Give your home a breath of fresh air by saying good bye to odour and hello to a fast sale.

oOpen some windows for at least 10 minutes. There is nothing worse than walking into a stuffy house or one that smells of smoke and pet odors.

Use candles for aromas…NOT sprays which are obvious and indicate something concealed Play soft music during tours (if possible because it helps people to relax). Bake breads or cookies and leave the dish out for visitors. DO NOT cook smelly foods (fish, onions, garlic and grease) prior to sales tours. Keep the home spotlessly clean. Would you want to buy a dirty and unkempt home? Repair any damaged wood, tile or lino flooring. Clean carpet of stains and odors and replace worn carpeting. Remove pets or have them put in the laundry room or garage with a sign to not open door.

Colette Robicheau, President of Organize Anything, is a consultant, coach, and public speaker offering corporate, residential, and personal organizing services. For more information contact Colette Robicheau, Organizing Consultant and Coach visit her website www.organizeanything.com, email , or read her blog at http://organizeanything.blogspot.com/

Despite the fact that each individual has his or her own demands together with tastes, the majority of us still possesses a the same understanding of luxury and comfort. Due to this, staging a home for sale, it could be not so difficult to follow some general points, used to create an attractive atmosphere within the exterior and interior of a house, that could be appreciated by many.
So, first of all it is actually crucial to make your home looking nice and trim. The presence of garbage or clutter will surely spoil the impression produced by your property, if you will demonstrate it to your prospective buyers. Secondly, the rooms at home need to be well-lit, to permit your prospective buyers to observe the furnishing of the home. And thirdly, the furnishing of your home along with its style ought to provide the atmosphere of harmony and comfort, where your prospective buyers will be able to relax and enjoy their time, while residing at home.
You can attempt to make such an pleasing atmosphere, using your individual knowledge of comfort and style with some general principles we’ve mentioned above above. On the other hand, if you wish to get the best results, while making the house looking expensive as well as obtaining the highest price for its sale, it will be essential to think about the advices of an expert concerning how to stage a house to sell.
Presently the real estate staging a house to sell definitely seems to be quite intricate issue that requires a distinctive approach and consideration of the amount of significant points, that could be missed by non-professionals. Just to start staging a home we offer you to read about the decorating ideas provided by Lise Desormeaux, which is called a successful Home Staging and Decorating Educator. Her home staging tips present an excellent guide as for realtors as for homeowners, which are wanting to transform their houses into the million dollar homes, which might be quickly sold. These hints will be also ideal for those, that are planning to embellish their abodes into the clutter-free and beautiful homes by not employing a decorator.
Go through the ideas of Lisa Desormeaux, on www.lisedesormeaux.com, and you will be able to save big money, discovering the powerful recommendations for home staging.

Remember when you first started college? As a freshman, the classes you took were all general education courses like math and English.

By your second year if you were a Business major, you started taking general classes within your major like basic Accounting and Economics. Then by the time you were ready to graduate, you were taking advanced classes specific to a subject within your major like Marketing.

This is very similar to your growth as a Staging Design Professional. When you first get started, you’re working with everybody (the general public), or in some cases, “anybody” because your business depended on it. You didn’t have the luxury of being choosey because you just needed to get business NOW.

As your business evolves, you may naturally start creating a niche because you just organically attract certain clients or types of projects. If this doesn’t come naturally, you will eventually want to figure out what your distinct segment of the market is or more affectionately, “define your niche”.

This is not only the “who”, but also the “what” in the marketplace you serve. For instance, as Stagers, you can work with homeowners, Realtors, builders, developers or investors.

Choosing to work with one of these types of folks is part of your niche. The “what” or your specialty, such as model home merchandising or only staging owner occupied properties is also part of your niche.

I was recently at a Mastermind meeting where one of the Realtors mentioned that when she first started her business, she met a mentor who called himself the “Condo King” so she decided to call herself the “Condo Queen” and went on to be known as a condo specialist.

I know of a local Stager that specializes in Staging Lofts.

I found one of my niches was in Managing Remodel Projects for Resale. I was the “go to” person when those projects came up because I was known by the local Realtor community as the expert in that area. That also led to several condo conversion renovation projects that I was hired to consult on.

SO WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO FIND A NICHE?

You want to be seen as the Expert in that particular niche. As an expert you will find that:

– Experts are able to command higher fees.

Your clients want to know that they’re getting the best and they’re usually willing to pay more to have someone who is an Expert. After all, Cardiac surgeons are paid a lot more than a generalist M.D.

– Experts have more credibility.

More people want to work with Experts rather than Generalists. There is a higher demand for Specialists and as a result, they command more respect.

Just as an Enrolled Agent is paid a lot more for their technical expertise in the field of taxation, particularly IRS audits, than your local H&R Block tax preparer.

– Niching can help separate you from your competition so that you’ll be remembered.

Recognition is particularly with the “green” movement. Incorporating those principles into your Staging services will not only get consumer attention but you can potentially dominate that market since this is an emerging concept.

– Niching helps you clarify your marketing message.

Now that you know who your target market is and what your unique service offering is, you can now build your customer’s awareness of your services as well as your brand with more focused campaigns.

SO HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR NICHE?

You need to ask yourself a few questions.

– What do people already see you as an expert of?

– What are you known for or what do you want to be known for?

Take a look at your previous projects or your client profiles.

– Was there a group of folks that you worked with more often than another?

– Is there an area that you’re particularly better at than anyone else?

– Where can you be a “first” at in your marketplace?

It could be that you only do vignette staging which creates a look and feel without the need for a lot of inventory which reduces your overhead expenses.

Perhaps you’re known as a Color Specialist or the “Green” Stager. By positioning yourself as the Expert in this sexy, new niche, you will probably get a lot of media exposure since it is the “HOT” topic of the moment.

As you can see, niching helps you clarify who and what you want to work with. By communicating that specialty to your clients, you can help ensure that you’re not taking on projects that are outside of your expertise and eliminate those that bring you the least joy.

Over time I found my niche just by working on all kinds of projects and figuring out which ones I enjoyed and which I could easily say “no” to, regardless of the money.

Figure out what your niche is and you will find that the journey to your Staging success is a lot more fun!

Copyright (c) 2009 Alice Chan