Rose-Colored Staging

The change of seasons, getting ready for holiday guests, family dinners, and get-togethers with friends!  Tis the season for decluttering!  What?  Who has time for that?  You do!  Really!  It’s not that bad if you do a little at a time, as you go.  Here are some tips to get you on your way to a clutter-free home:

•   The Coat Closet:  The cold weather has come and the coats, scarves, gloves, and hats are at the front of the closet!  But what is lurking in the back?  What has fallen on the floor?  Get those coats that don’t fit, those hats that itch, those unwanted scarves outta here!  Take a good look at shoes and boots-do they still fit?  Are they still in good shape?  If not, place them all in a big plastic bag and take them out to your car to donate.  That’s right-take them right out to the car.  When you need to hang up your guests’ coats, you’ll be glad you did!

•   Kitchen Cupboards:  As you entertain, pay attention to what you are NOT using!  Serving dishes and trays, glassware, the odd utensil you’re not really sure what to do with-if they haven’t been used this past year, out the door they go!  When the entertaining is done and it’s time to put everything away, you’ll have a much easier time of it! 

•   The Linen Closet:  If you have houseguests, they will probably see your linen closet!  Are you ready?  Gather the worn towels and blankets and donate them to a local animal shelter.  Often animals are brought into the shelters cold and wet and most just want something to lie on.  Your donation would bring some comfort. 

A little bit at a time, baby steps, will get you on your way!  You can do it!  I know you can!

Merry Christmas!

Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs since 2004.  In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a professional home staging and redesign business, to help sellers successfully market their homes with professional home staging.

Is it really possible to declutter a home during the holidays?  There’s shopping to be done, trees to be trimmed, decorations and lights to be hung, the list goes on and on.  How can someone even think about cleaning out a house with so much going on?  Well, I’ll tell ya!  This is actually a great time of year to purge the stuff we no longer want!

Since it’s unlikely we’ll go through all the Christmas stuff any other time of year, take the time now to purge as you go.

 •   When you’re decorating the tree, toss or donate the ornaments you no longer want.  Consider each one-is it sentimental, a memory, given to you from a loved one, beautiful, or precious to you in some way?  Then keep it!  Otherwise, toss or donate!

•   Same thing with decorations-have some of them lost their luster?  Have you changed your decorating theme?  Are there some you don’t even use anymore?

•   The Unwanted Gifts:  Throughout the year you and your family may have been given gifts you had no need for or just didn’t want.  Not wanting to waste them, they’ve been set aside possibly to re-gift.  Gather them all together and give them away.  Do it this Christmas, before the year is out!    

•   Ditch the stuff that’s broken or in need of repair.  Just do it.  If you haven’t fixed those lights, glued that figurine back together, or anything else that’s on your to-do list, you probably won’t and it’s not worth the space it’s taking up in your life.

After Christmas, when it’s time to pack it all away again, you’ll have less to deal with and it will be easier to organize.  Make sure your boxes are marked clearly and all is stored safely.  And be proud of yourself for getting it done!  You’ll be bringing less clutter and more space into your New Year! 

I’ve had clients tell me they actually feel lighter, like a weight has been lifted off them after getting rid of stuff they didn’t need or want.  And who doesn’t need that after all those holiday goodies? 

Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs since 2004.  In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a home staging and redesign business, to help sellers successfully market their homes with professional home staging.  She also stages listings for fellow agents, getting those listings sold!

Townhomes and condos can be a bit more challenging to sell because often they look very much the same as many of the other homes in your neighborhood.  One can easily blend right in with all the others– not good when you’re trying to attract buyers!

So how do you make your home stand out from the rest?  How do you encourage offers on your home instead of the others?  You’ve already heard the advice for homes in general– declutter, clean, paint, and make repairs.  But what specifically can you do in a townhome or condo that will make a difference? 

Here are my top five tips: 

1.  Spiff up your curb appeal!  Within the limits of your home owner’s association, add special touches that will make your home stand out.  Add pots of flowers to the front step or just outside your door.  Hang a wreath on the freshly painted door.  Make your landscaping beautiful with color.  When the buyers get out of their cars, help them to know that yours is the house to buy!

2.  Create as much space as possible.  These are not usually large homes and the biggest complaint I hear from buyers is that the homes are too small.  You may have outgrown the place but don’t let buyers see that.  Rent a storage for extra stuff that can be packed and for furniture that is too large.  If you have a storage space attached to your home, don’t pack it full.  It’s a selling feature– let the buyers see how much space you have!

3.  Play up anything unique about your home!  Do you have a gourmet kitchen?  Do you have a fireplace when most units don’t?  Do you have a beautiful view?  Use what you can to highlight those features that differentiate your home from the rest.  When I sold my townhome, I focused on the view of a large pond.  In fact the first photo in the MLS was of the pond.  It caught a lot of attention.

4.  Update Standard Fixtures and Lighting!  A lot of these homes still have the original builder’s grade fixtures and lights.  Add a more contemporary and “dressed up” look to yours by replacing dated shiny brass with black iron, burnished bronze, or polished nickel.  Look through current home magazines to see what’s in style.  Don’t think that just because your home store sells it, it’s the “in” thing.    

5.  Consider Your Customer!  If someone is looking for a townhome or condo, they usually are looking for low maintenance, so do the repairs for them.  Depending on your area, your buyers could be single, or young marrieds with no children, or older with no children at home.  They may work a lot.  Know who your target is.  Consult a local professional home stager to make sure your home will appeal to the audience in your area.  The cost of a consultation is a small investment and the return will make it worth every penny!

Follow these tips and you will be pulling ahead of the competition in no time!

If you’re in Burlington or Camden County and would like to schedule a consultation, give me a call!  We are here to help you get your home sold!

Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 6 years.  In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a professional home staging and redesign business, to help sellers successfully market their homes with professional home staging.

From my guest blogger, Lisa Rose   

The best part of summer for me is when it ends.  Ok, so I’ve never handled the heat well.  My parents knew this and Dad, being the practical man that he was would take Mom and us to The Philadelphia Zoo every year on the weekend after Labor Day Weekend because it was usually cooler and less crowded than the summer season.  That zoo trip anniversary is today.  The zoo was not my first choice for today, 2010.  I had my hopes set on Burlington City.  

Today, Sept. 11, was The Wood Street Fair in Burlington City and as always I missed it!  This makes 3 years of my Wood Street Fair knowledge all for nothing!  I quickly recuperated from Wood Street Fair Withdrawal when I realized that the temperature today reached 80 degrees– my ideal temp is 70 and the Fall season has just begun!

Autumn is my favorite season and unlike any other season, I find it appeals to all of my senses– the crisp leaves crunching under my feet as I walk the dogs, the smell of a fireplace, the taste of peach pie and hot apple cider.  I want to make homemade soup and I find I’m drawn to New England styled chowders and squash recipes.  Fall makes me want to burn candles and cuddle up in a blanket or sweater.  It’s cozy.  

To begin my Fall Festivities, I have decided to venture to Valenzano’s Winery in Shamong next weekend on Sept. 18 and 19 for their Winefest with my friend Keith. I discovered their fabulous Jersey Devil Port Wine at the Bordentown Cranberry Fest last year.  My sister, Michele Rose a home stager, uses the Jersey Devil bottles in her business of staging homes for the real estate market.  The artwork is fabulous and hey, the Port isn’t too bad either!  I supply her with her bottles
Can’t make it to Shamong?  Go to Kirby’s Mill in Medford for their Flea Market on Sept. 18.  

 This year, the Bordentown Cranberry Fest on Farnsworth Avenue is on Oct. 2 and 3.  I love this festival and intend to go this year.  I wheeled Mom in her transport chair last year and found the crowds to be pleasant, the food and wine to be fabulous, and the vendors most professional.  This is definitely a family event with a separate street block entirely devoted to kids.  I’m so glad sis and I stumbled upon this festival years ago! 

This year I am living close to Pemberton where the Pemberton Borough Fall Festival on Hanover Street is taking place on Sept. 25. Pemberton is a tiny town but with a few hotspots that you should know about.  If you go to the Fall Festival, you could go to Wawa or Burger King for lunch or snacks.  But a better choice is to make your way about a mile to Budd’s KNP Farmers Market 132 Vincentown Road where they will give you some good home cooking and don’t forget to try some ice cream or baked goods.  The Grist Mill Antiques Center is a great way to spend some extra hours for browsing around.  Clark’s Canoe Rental is excellent for the kids to spend a day on Rancocas Creek.  The Village Thrift is sponsored by The Christian Caring Center and brand new to “the boro.”  

The Yorkshire Alliance East Union Street Yard Sale Burlington City is from 9am-3pm on Sept.26.  Eat lunch or dinner at Francesco’s Italian Restaurant at 351 High Street.  I loved their shrimp and broccoli alfredo.  Park in the back and skip dessert because you’ll want to walk up to Umms for ice cream.  The snickers chocolate is to die for with freshly made waffle cones.  Don’t want to drive?  Hop on the Riverline.  

 Don’t know what on earth to do with gourds other than carve and pop a candle inside? Westampton at 2 Academy Drive is Bringing Vegetables To the Table: A Celebration of The Harvest on Sept 30 and Oct 1 for $3.00. The focus is on vegetables grown locally in NJ and ways to prepare and enjoy the bounty of autumn vegetables. 

Medford is an active community for Fall events. On Oct. 2 Oktoberfest is celebrated from 4pm-8pm on Main Street in Medford.   

For over age 16, Oct. 9 from 6pm-11pm is The Witches Ball in Downtown Mount Holly!  Costume contests, live music, art, shopping in The Black Market, and find your future at The Gypsy Village.  Hear true tales of hauntings from members of South Jersey Ghost Research.  Commemorate the evening with a portrait.  (Oct.31 is designated for the kids)  Check out The Historic Prison sometime, but not for “Halloween at The Prison” mainly because they do not allow you in the building after a certain time and it is strictly an outdoor event. (I learned this tidbit last year.)   

 Oct. 16 is the Celtic Cafe Concert at 7pm at the Friends Meeting House on Union Street and on Oct. 30 at 7pm is the Halloween Parade on Main Street in Medford!  
On Oct. 24, check out the Halloween Parade in Bordentown at 2pm and later on that day go on The Ghost Walk from 6pm – 9pm for $10.  Take a ride around town afterwards and check out the decorations for the House Decorating Contest. Raindate is Oct.31.  

On Nov.6 from 9am-4pm go to Saint Thomas Greek Orthodox Church for the Holiday Craft and Vendor Sale in Cherry Hill. 

 Nov. 11 is the Veteran’s Day Parade in Burlington City and Home For The Holidays is on Nov. 26 at 6pm.  I have no clue what that is, but I think I want to find out! 

And in the in-between time?  Check out Johnson’s Corner Farm on 133 Church Road in Medford for pick-your-own everything!  Hayrides are free, taking visitors to the fields for picking.  Pay by weight of produce.  Recently Johnson’s was featured on CBS, The Morning Show.  

 
Click here for Other New Jersey Festivals and have a fabulous Fall!
  

A couple of months ago I was interviewed by our local newspaper, the Burlington County Times.  They called me for staging advice, asking about choosing paint colors when preparing a home for sale.  It wasn’t a huge interview and although they included where I work, they did not include any contact information.  No worries– I was thrilled to get my name out there (every little bit helps!) and I figured anyone trying to find me could just Google my name. 

Then last week I received a call from an elderly woman who would like to hire me for a color consultation because she is eventually going to sell her home.  I asked her where she’d seen me and she said it was in the newspaper!  OK, so the interview worked! 

But then she told me the strangest thing.  She said she had the hardest time finding me!  She really had to do some searching because I was nowhere to be found!  

What?  Nowhere? 

I thought I was on practically every website, directory, and social media site I could get onto.  I even have my Google alerts set up so that when someone else is getting better rankings, I do what they’re doing.  I blog, umm, semi-regularly.  Well, I’m on my own 30-day challenge right now but that’s another story. 

But I missed something.  She was a newspaper reader.  Not an online paper—an actual newspaper, newsprint on the hands and all.  She wasn’t looking for me on the internet, she was looking in the phone book. 

The phone book?  I don’t even have a phone book.  I did a quick look around my office and it appears I’m not the only one who doesn’t use the phone book much! 

A very effective plant stand

I know seniors are using the internet more than ever— most of my clients have found me that way, but it appears there are those out there I’m missing! 

What do you think?  Is print advertising still bringing in business?  Enough to make it worth doing?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!   

Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 6 years.  In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a professional home staging and redesign business, to help sellers successfully market their homes with professional home staging.  

From my “Guest Blogger,” my sister Lisa Rose:

This past year I went out with some friends and somehow 9/11 came up in conversation.  One friend’s response went something like, “It’s the past, so what? It’s over.”  I was shocked and mortified! (and oddly, speechless!)

It is in my make up, no, not just my make up but my entire being to never forget my history, our history, America’s history.  Was I cut from a diffferent form?  Am I the odd one here?  History is how we got to the place we are today, including the events of 9/11.  Am I the only fool who gets choked up over the thought of our forefathers battling the harsh winter, breaking the ice to paddle up the Delaware River to Trenton to surprise attack the enemy troops?  America’s history is what makes an American.  Watch the History Channel, “America: The Story of Us.”  It’s how we came to be.  9/11 made us who we are today.

The year after 9/11, the local radio stations and television news reported a scheduled Moment of Silence in memory of those who died because of 9/11, in honor of the brave men and women who fought to rescue and recover the victims, and in honor of the people who meticulously cleaned up Ground Zero.  I was on my way home from having bloodwork done and listened closely to the radio, preparing to “Stop Everything” as they said. “Park your car and take a Moment of Silence.”  I pulled over into the shoulder and had my Moment of Silence as the radio waves went quiet.  I prayed and I cried.  I looked up to find that only one other car had pulled over, but I felt a camaraderie with just that one person.

Was a Moment of Silence really that important?  I’ve seen footage of people in other countries who participate in a Moment of Silence and am in utter awe.  Thousands upon thousands of people unified in spirit, unified in grief, simply being quiet.  Silence is the most humbling and powerful form of unity I’ve ever seen.  Why can’t we just be quiet for just one minute?

One minute.

Today marks the 9 year anniversary of 9/11.  I haven’t forgotten and being the sensitive one that I am, I admit, I get weepy.  As suggested on Facebook, I’ll be lighting a candle and setting it on my front porch at sunset to burn throughout the night.  Nine years ago, when it became apparent that there were no more survivors to be rescued at Ground Zero, the media suggested burning candles on porches.  I lived in a condo and burned 3 candles, a red, white, and a blue.  When I walked my dog that night, there were candles all over the neighborhood.

Will you light a candle tonight? Will you have a Moment of Silence?

Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 6 years.  In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a professional home staging and redesign business, to help sellers successfully market their homes with professional home staging.

From my sister Lisa, my Guest-blogger!

Hunting for a new house can be so exciting!  Potential buyers have a vision of a desired lifestyle, they crave the “perfect” house, they know everything will be better in “the new house.”  Isn’t life grand?  They’ve done everything by the book.  They are ready to buy.  Their agent brings them to your house and then?  No offer.  Why?  You may not know it yet, but your home may have just been labeled by the consumer.  Or worse, YOU may have been labeled by the consumer!

As a consumer, I have visited Smelly House (not just a smell– this odor remained on me after a 10 minute drive with all the windows open.)  Note:  Don’t wear open-toed shoes when house hunting for bargain priced homes!  Which brings me to Squirrel House.  I wanted to run away crying from that one.  There was a home we visited when no sooner in the door I said, “Get out of here quick!”  We don’t like to discuss that one.

Ok, so maybe your house isn’t that bad.  But the gross and dirty are not the only houses being labeled by picky buyers.  I visited Lightbulb House.  Or actually, Lack-of-Lightbulbs House.  No lie, the homeowner carried their one lamp into every room we visited.  What did the house look like?  You got me!?!?  Bean and Rice House was a boy at his kitchen table eating beans and rice.  Nothing horrible, just a distinct odor really.  Pee Pee Bathroom House obviously had young boys.  Nothing a good cleaning couldn’t take care of.  In Scary Bird House the guy said “not to worry ’cause they don’t hurt ya.”  Not comforting!

There is a whole different list for carpet– Bleach Stain On Carpet House, Pink Carpet House, No Carpet House, Pea Green Carpet House, Ugly Brown Carpet House, Nasty Carpet House.

I bought a condo that we called The Precious Moments Hallmark Store House.  It was fairly clean and kind of smelled like a Hallmark Store.  I could see past the cutesy wallpaper.  She had a curio of Precious Moments figurines nestled in Easter grass surrounded by a picket fence and stuffed sheep animals.  Why didn’t that condo sell faster?  Didn’t exactly send a message of serious seller.  She taught kindergarten for a living.  I bet she was good at it.

One of my favorites is the Wedding House.  Every room has pictures from their big day along with the unity candle, dried flowers, framed invitation, white gloves, the garter, the champagne glasses… the list goes on and on and guess what?  No buyer wants to see that!  I know it may seem harsh, but they don’t care mainly because they weren’t there.  They simply can’t relate.

The most annoying one is The House With Only 3 Bedrooms, But The Agent Listed 4.  How is this going to help the seller and the agent?  I’d really like to know.  It didn’t help the buyer who needed 4 bedrooms!  What a letdown!

So how do you steer clear of being labeled?

My Top Five Suggestions Are:

1. Hire a good stager before you list your house.
How do I know this?  I hired one!  My sister to be exact.  Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager.  I sold my home in a tough market.  And I would have sold sooner had I listened to her price suggestion from the beginning.  Live and learn.  We settled $100 over her initial price suggestion within 90 days.

Stagers are professionals who come to your home with an objective eye.  They view your home as a buyer would and give you suggestions to make your home more appealing “to the masses.”  They generalize decor and creatively plan how to appeal to home buyers and their senses.  It’s worth the investment, and you will see a return, whether it be in terms of lesser days on the market or a higher offer than the average seller.  Already listed?  Never too late!  Every house deserves to be staged.  EVERY house!

2. Clean it!
De-clutter the home by packing collectibles and “stuff” neatly somewhere out of sight, deep clean the whole house including professional vent cleaning, professionally clean the carpet and floors, clean up the messy paint jobs and touch-ups and such, tidy the gardens, tidy the exterior, and powerwash.

3. Make it special.
Hang nice art in place of all your framed family photos, burn a lightly scented candle, leave some snacks like cookies and punch for potential buyers, fluff some pillows, decorate with hardback books, buy fresh flowers for the entry vase and please have all the lights on so we know you’re inviting us to really look at your home.

4. Hide the unmentionables.
Take your pets and all signs of pets (some people don’t like pets!), hide the cleaners, toiletries, dirty laundry, medicines, bills and anything with your name on it.  This is no longer your home after all, it is your house– a product that you are selling to a consumer.  We don’t want to see your cat’s litter box or your rash cream!

5. Listen to trusted professionals.
If you are not getting showings after you have completed a professional staging and you have “done everything right,” and your agent has marketed your home appropriately, then you may need to lower your price.  It’s hard to hear, but it’s true and it gets you to where you want to be– sold and moved!

By the way, when I was selling my house, it was labeled The Clean House. Now that’s the kind of label I can live with!

Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 6 years.  In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a professional home staging and redesign business, to help sellers successfully market their homes with professional home staging.

Now, some of you will think I’ve gone way over the edge.  But some of you will understand, I know you will.  I’ve taken to staging candy. 

Now let me explain… I umm… well, may be just a little, just a teensy bit of a… perfectionist.

Just a wee bit.

I noticed it when I was out shopping for my latest staging project.

When I stage, I make it a point to always have an entry table in the foyer.  Just a console table, nothing large, but just big enough for a lamp, the Realtor’s flyers, a small dish for Realtor’s business cards, and, well, a bowl of hard candy.

So I was shopping for the candy for the latest project and the discussion between my sister and I (she’s my partner in craziness) went something like this:

Me:  “Ok, we need hard candy and it must be wrapped.  Unwrapped is too gross.”

Lisa:  “Definitely, but what kind?”

Me:  “Well, there’s this Country Time Lemonade candy that we used last time and it was good.”

Lisa:  “Right.”

Me:  “But this house just isn’t lemonade, is it?”

Lisa:  “Not at all!  Lemonade is all wrong for this house!”

Me:  “But lemonade was so perfect for the last house.”

Lisa:  “But not this one.”

Me:  “I’m feeling it should be more… butterscotch…”

Lisa:  “Or caramel!” (said with great excitement)

Me:  “How about Werther’s?”

Lisa:  “Perfect!  It should be Werther’s!”

Me:  “OK, now we need to decide which kind of Werther’s.”

And that’s about how it went.  I truly prefer to think of myself as “detail oriented” with a true “quest for quality.”  (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)

Really, I have fun matching candy to the house the same way I match the art, or the accent pillows, or the lighting.  And one time I got really lucky and had a listing on “Caramel Drive!”

 Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 6 years.  In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a professional home staging and redesign business, to help sellers and other Realtors successfully market their listings with professional home staging.

Can you tell which of these houses had the best chance of selling?  Let’s examine three houses recently on the market.

House #1:  “The Cute Ranch”   I say cute because it was small.  It had been on the market for just over a year when I got the listing and it had been overpriced.  The owners were discouraged and ready to give up.  Previous feedback (when they got it) had been mediocre.

House #2:  “The Mess”   There was mold present, an underground oil tank, and a septic tank that would never get a certification, among other things.  It was an estate and the previous owner was a hoarder.  The sellers couldn’t believe anyone would want the house and actually felt sorry for me, taking the listing!

House #3:  “The Early 80′s Flashback”   It featured 30-year-old bright green carpeting with light fixtures and décor to match.  It was generally well kept and had a lovely landscaped yard with a gorgeous in-ground pool.

Any guesses?  Who was our winner?

 Actually, it was House #2, The Mess, that sold the fastest but really, they are all winners!

Why?

House #1:  The owners were ready to sell, priced it accordingly, and agreed to staging.  A few simple changes made the home seem much larger than it had originally appeared.  The staging and storage investment came to under $200.00, well worth it because within 29 days, we had a buyer who fell in love with it and we were under contract!

House #2:  I arranged to have someone come and clean out the mess, so that investors would be able to see what they were dealing with.  In this case, all the staging in the world could not have helped!  Priced as a total fix-up, this house was snapped up by investors in just 1 day!

House #3:  The owners had already placed an offer on a lovely new home and were ready to do whatever it took to sell this one fast.  We replaced the carpet, lighting, and staged the entire home within 2 weeks.  The inside now matched the gorgeous exterior.  The whole investment for carpet, painting, lighting, and staging came to about $5,500.  We had multiple offers its first day of showing and it sold for $9,000 over asking price. 

Each of these homes had some serious issues that could have left them sitting on the market, unsold.  In each of these cases, the owners were ready to sell.  They were ready to price the homes competitively and if needed, stage their homes to increase the appeal to buyers.

 There is hope for every home!

Even in this market, there is NO reason for any home to remain unsold.  The fact is homes that are priced well and showing well are selling.

That, my friends, is good news for everyone!

Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 6 years.  In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a professional home staging and redesign business, to help sellers and other Realtors successfully market their listings with professional home staging.

OK– so I’ll bet there are more than just two!  But these are the two I heard this week, more than once, and from different sources.  Ready?  Here they are:

“I’m in no hurry to sell my house”

and…

“I’m not going to give my house away!”

The First Phrase:  “I’m in no hurry to sell my house.”  Translation– I want it priced higher than what is recommended, I want to “test” the market, I think I can get more for my house if I’m willing to wait.

The Reality:  Overpricing a house rarely brings in MORE money.  Especially in a declining market, the longer a home sits, the LESS it will sell for.  And LOTS of overpriced houses are out there, sitting, waiting, and waiting… and expiring.

The Second Phrase:  “I’m not going to give my house away!”  Translation– I have an idea in my mind of what my house is worth and it has nothing to do with your silly ”comparative market analysis!”    

The Reality:  Does anyone give their house away, really?  Really?  Maybe other agents have experienced the “house give-away” but I surely haven’t!  Your house is only worth what the buyers are going to pay AND what it will appraise for, given the market.  It has nothing to do with the love and care you’ve given it all these years, or what you paid for it.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it did?

Those two “phrases” that make agents cringe do so because they don’t help you sell your house for the best price possible.  So, what should you be saying if you want TOP DOLLAR for your home? 

“What do I need to do to make it show as best as it can and what price would you recommend?”

There it is:  the most successful sellers are willing to do what it takes to make the house show well and are willing to be honest about the price and the current market conditions.  Successful sellers recognize that the SELLER controls two of the most important factors in selling a home:  price and condition.

When looking for a Realtor to list your home, be willing to look at the facts, at the realities of our current market and what that means to you.  Look for a Realtor who will tell you the truth and who is not just telling you what you want to hear.   

If you want to be assured you’ll get the most money possible for your house, invest in a home stager to make sure your home shows at its absolute best.  Then, follow the advice of your agent and price it to sell!  

Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ.  She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 6 years.  In 2007, she formed Rose-Colored Staging to help sellers market their homes with professional home staging