Stage It

I have read many articles over time that provide advice on some inexpensive things you can do to update your home before selling.

I ran across an article today that I felt was applicable to sellers no matter where they live in the country. Credit and entire article can be found on http://bit.ly/q8gYuZ

I get a bit frustrated sometimes because I want to help my clients with this and they do not always want that help. Realtors see homes each week. We talk to buyers and we show them homes. They give us feedback on what they like. We know a lot and our advice to potential sellers is FREE. Some of them keep a house they do not use or want anymore when they close off our FREE advice.

Curb appeal must be fresh. Unless the seller has zero money to invest int he home, is upside down and planning a short sale every single piece of data and experience we have says that you should freshen up the home. It will bring you back the expense always in either a faster sale or a higher offer price.

The article outlines 5 easy updates:
1. Update your Garage Door. I just furnished a house for a client and adding a garage door opener cost $300 and it made a huge difference! If the door is old and dated an inexpensive replacement updates that first impression.
2. Replace old windows. In Lake Havasu windows are the fist thing our buyer focuses on when they get inside. Our summer heat almost requires dual pane windows. Get an estimate. You will be surprised at the price. They are not much at all.
3. Assess your floors. Here we have mostly carpet and tile. I will run out of fingers and toes to count trying to tell you how many times just this year I have suggested new carpet. One small 2 bedroom home had one room with bad carpet. After hesitation the client called and the small room cost $500 to replace. For $500 why give the buyer anything to hesitate over. Another house I made this suggestion to sat on the market for over 4 years and the sad part is that the husband needed to move as the stairs we impossible for him and his health in that home.
4. Paint the trim. This is not expensive and will freshen your home and give it curb appeal.
5 Update fixtures. Even fans now are inexpensive at Home Depot and Lowes. You can get nice ones for around $100 and light fixtures for the front of the house are much cheaper.

Make the changes you can afford. Curb appeal is very important in this time when Real Estate is down in value. Make sure you get the most you can.

Lake Havasu City Realtors, Brenda and Willie Gonzalez are standing by for your calls and questions now! Tell us your challenges and we will offer you FREE advice no matter where you live!

I  read an interesting article in Women’s Day magazine recently with this title and may of the points made me think about how we can help ourselves lose weight and keep our home nice all at the same time.  

The more mirrors you have the more likely you are to notice how you look as you walk by. They look nice over a fireplace, in an entryway or anywhere as a part of a grouping. Buy them at yard sales and spray paint the frame plus the frames of some pictures to make a grouping that adds interest to a wall.  

This is a good one. As you arrange your closet place the clothes that are form fitting or even a tad too small at the front of the closet so that you are reminded each time you look of your goal to be slimmer and healthier.  Go ahead and clean out this closet while you are here.

I am not a collector of things but it amazes me how quickly clutter can add up. There is a research study however from Indiana University that says the tidier your home the more likely you are to be physically active. One reason may be that cleaning burns calories but clutter can actually make it difficult to think clearly and focus-which means you’re more likely to find yourself mindlessly munching in front of the TV.

Perfect for today is Wii Fit Plus or other Wii games.  You can’t just buy them you also have to play them.  If you have not tired the wii bowling game you should. After a night of playing this with friends I had a few sore muscles. I also bought the Zumba for wii and it gives you a quick workout that is also fun.

When I first moved to Lake Havasu the biggest challenge I had as a Realtor who stages homes to sell was finding good places to shop for home decorating items. I also needed sale prices because I stage free for my clients.
I am pleased with our newest home decorating and hobby store, Hobby Lobby. I spent over an hour yesterday browsing all the isles and can’t wait for the next vacant house I list so that I can buy what I will need for that stage!
Some great places in Lake Havasu for sales on home decorating items are:
Hobby Lobby
Michaels
Kirklands
Big Lots
JC Penny’s
If you move here or if you live here now use the sales at these stores to refresh or decorate your new home!

In today’s Lake Havasu City Real Estate market the completion to get your home sold is strong. You are competing with foreclosures, short sales and motivated home owners. How do you set your home apart from the competition? I suggest that you spend just a little up front in time, cost and effort to get back a return of over 50% of what you put in by doing the right things.
One of the cheapest and often neglected opportunities is paint. Today’s buyers, no matter what price range still warm up to the neutrals. If you are handy or have someone who can help you the best thing you can do for the least amount of money is freshen up the paint. Take a look around and if you have basic white or personalized colors such as pink or blue kids rooms or any bright or dark color you should paint. You can’t afford to miss any potential buyer because they do not warm up to your home. Buyers do not want to see a project. To the buyer a paint color that is not neutral is a project they have to take on right away. With neutrals they think move-in ready.
Start with flat soft white on the ceilings. Why flat? Shiny ceilings draw the eye up to the ceiling rather than eye level. If you have flaws such as a patch or even low ceilings shiny paint is not your best choice. Next add some soft neutral beige walls. Beige is warm and goes with practically anything. Todays’ Real Estate buyer is also open to trends such as a bold wall as long as it goes nicely with the décor and the buyer can see how they can use that color.
Paint or stain the front door. Don’t be afraid to break the rules here and consider red, or dark green. I have one client who flips homes and uses a signature burnt orange. Her homes sell right away.
I promise you that if you follow this advice you will get your money back in this project.
Stay competitive and sell your Lake Havasu City home by beating the competition at curb appeal and a fresh interior.

I started staging my listings in Lake Havasu City in 2005. I am an Accredited Staging Professional. We have only one other in town. As more of our clients and Realtors in town took notice the trend has caught on but no other Realtors have taken the training to become accredited yet.

A vacant home has no personality. The flaws, if there are any, become more noticeable when a house is vacant. The stage can create the personality and warmth to create a feeling of home.
Here is Lake Havasu City many of our homes for sale are vacant and I work to ensure that my listings are noticed on the internet and in person as the best they can be.

Here is how I work
My clients start with a look at curb appeal and a freshening of the landscape and front entry if needed. They have the carpet cleaned or replaced depending on the situation. Paint is touched up if needed.
Next I go to work
• Determine the focal points of each room. What do we want the buyer to see first?
• Create genera that will match the home’s personality.
• Bathrooms get towels and decorative items to set the stage for the room.
• Kitchens get a few items just to warm the space.
• Deco shelves get a grouping so that they are noticed.
• Each house gets one seating area.

Pulling this personality back into the homes helps it sell faster and for more money. National Statistics from StagedHomes.com say that 94% of Staged Homes sell on average in 29 days or less. The average non-staged home sells in 145 days.

Call me NOW at 928-505-5478 if you are planning to list your Lake Havasu Home for sale!

If you are in the market to sell your home please take a moment to think about this statement. “Buyers only know what they see, not what it is going to be.” This is the first thing I learned as an Accredited Staging Professional.

I am also a REALTOR and it still surprises me that when I am showing homes to buyers they can’t see past the dirty carpet, the walls needing paint or the lack of curb appeal or clutter. In listing presentations I have sellers say “I will just let the new buyer pick the carpet and give a carpet allowance.” I live in my home and I am not willing to change it.

There are several things wrong with this statement.
• It is a buyer’s market. In almost any part of the country there are a lot of choices for buyers.
• You just lost the emotion that drives a buyer to pick your home.
• Buyers never accurately estimate the actual costs for carpet, paint, etc. and you always lose more money with an allowance that you will if you show a well-kept home.

Buyers overlook a lot if they see a nice well staged home but most of all they will see it! With 90% of our buyers now finding their next home via an internet search which house will you ask your REALTOR to show you?

The example below is the same home. Staging cost zero dollars. The client already had plenty to work with. In example 1 the house did not sell and the listing expired. In example 2 I staged it and we got it sold in 7 days!

Do not be an obstacle in selling your home for the highest amount of money in the shortest amount of time. Remember, Buyers only know what they see, not the way its going to be.

Lake Havasu City Arizona is a beautiful town. We have an amazing Lake, miles of open trails for desert play and classic car lovers from across the country. This time of year is beautiful. The temperature averages around 80 degrees. We open up our homes and let the breeze flow through. With this breeze however comes some dust.

My staging for life suggestion this week is about dust. From one week to the next dust is obvious in our homes here. A recent Good Housekeeping article said that a typical 6 room house accumulates 40 pounds of dust a year!

Some dust is just from the desert but what about those dust mites that live in our homes too? A dust mite is comprised on human skin cells, fabric fibers, pet dander and dust mite excrement. How gross is that? If you are prone to allergies reducing these is critical to your health.

Dust Bunnies:
• Use a damp cloth to trap the dust rather than a dry one that just moves the dust.
• Do not use a feather duster. Again that is just moving it around.
• Spray your cloth not your furniture.
• Dust before you vacuum to let the dust settle first.
• Don’t forget the upholstery which is a breeding ground for dust mites. Vacuum this too.
• Put all bedding in the dryer to fluff them and remove the dust.
• Don’t forget the lampshades.
• Window blinds should be taken down and washed about twice a year to keep them nice.
• My personal favorite is to buy new pillows. They are cheap and should be replaced twice a year.

I have also learned recently that most bedding can be washed even if the label says to dry clean only. Go on line and find all kinds of tips and suggestions for this.

This month while staging for life think about how you can minimize the dust in your own home. I can live with the desert dust but I don’t want the other kind.

Spring is here and this month go ahead and get rid of some accumulation of dust!

See you in Lake Havasu!

Staging to live is a way to keep your home clean, clutter free and ready to showplace ready at anytime. This article and many more are about simple things you can do just one step at a time to live this principle.

A few months ago I cleaned out my kitchen pantry and I wrote about it. I was surprised at the outdated food items. As I looked again at my pantry today I realized that December and January is a perfect time of year to complete this task on an annual basis.

There are 3 really good reasons to do this cleanout in December and January.
1. Food banks are low and there are needy people who could use what you no longer want.
2. Unless you are independently wealthy it is the one of the months where finances are stretched.
3. You can verify annually that you are not serving your family food past its expiration date.

In order to not overwhelm yourself do one shelf at a time. Take everything out and wash it down inside. If the shelving is worn put on a fresh coat of paint while it is empty.

1. Toss the outdated products
2. Make a bin for non perishable denotable items
3. Start a grocery list using the items you already own.

I have learned that the internet has a recipe for everything so go on line and select an idea that uses your item in a new way.
If you haven’t started yet to “Stage to Live” consider this small task and get started. You will be amazed at how good it feels to live clutter free, just one small step at a time.

If and when you completed this project can you share what you were surprised to find?

The G-Force of Havasu, Brenda and Willie Gonzalez are here for all your Real Estate Needs. Put the Power of The G Force to work for you today! Call Now! Office 928-505-5478 Brenda Cell 928-846-6044 Willie Cell 928-846-6046 www.YourLakeHavasuHome.com

LOCAL PROFESSIONAL EARNS ACCREDITED STAGING PROFESSIONAL® (ASP®) DESIGNATION

The softening Real Estate market is increasing homeowner demands for tools to help bring a profit in the sale of their homes. ASP Home Staging has become one such tool. By properly cleaning, decluttering and preparing a house before it is listed on the market, homeowners have a better chance of selling their home at
or above list price.

In a recent study conducted by Stagedhomes.com, of over 1000 homes, (55% Vacant, 45% occupied) across the United States and Canada, showed that homes that were prepared for sale by an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP®) were on the market 80% less time before selling than non ASP Staged
Homes. And the average ASP Staged Home sold for more dollars depending upon the market, price range of the house and the neighborhood. Averages ran from 7.9 % more dollars to over 25% or more than non ASP Staged Homes.

Brenda Gonzalez and The G Force of Havasu Realty  is now serving the Lake Havasu City area as an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP®). (Name) is among the network of more than 21,000 Real Estate Agents and professional Home Stagers worldwide, who are providing sellers with the knowledge and tools they need to sell their homes faster and/or for more money.

Brenda Gonzalez has completed the Accredited Staging Professional Course provided by StagedHomes.com, where she received hands-on instruction and was required to and demonstrated techniques by Staging a home that was listed on the market.

The Accredited Staging Professional Course was created by Barb Schwarz, the Creator of Home Staging®, President and CEO of Stagedhomes.com and the International Association of Home Staging Professionals®. Barb developed the concept of Home Staging in the early 1970’s and has since educated more than
one-million people on the subject. She is a nationally known and award-winning speaker, author and trainer and has been featured on ABC’s Good Morning America and 20/20, NBC’s The Today Show, PBS, The CBS Evening News, Fox News, as well as many local news programs.

To have your property ASP® Staged please contact Brenda Gonzalez at 888-501-5478 or HavasuGForce@gmail.com.

The G-Force of Havasu, Brenda and Willie Gonzalez are here for all your Real Estate Needs. Put the Power of The G Force to work for you today! Call Now! Office 928-505-5478 Brenda Cell 928-846-6044 Willie Cell 928-846-6046 www.YourLakeHavasuHome.com

When you are ready to sell your Lake Havasu home consider the stage that you set for the buyer. I stage my listings in part to make better pictures. It is the whole lights, camera, action scenario.

As many as 90% of today's buyers find the home they purchase on the Internet. Isn't it worth a little time and effort to make your home the best it can be? Pictures get the buyer in the door.

Take a look at these 2 examples:


Here is my most recent staged home. The seller had some furniture so I used that and brought in accessories.

http://www.tourfactory.com/idxr657710

The second one was a vacant home and when they are vacant I stage the kitchens and bathrooms.

http://virtualtours2go.point2homes.biz/Listing/VirtualTour.ashx?HideBranding=true&ListingID=12376001

Would these pictures make you want to look further if this was your price range? If so give me a call! This is a free service I provide for my sellers.


The G-Force of Havasu, Brenda and Willie Gonzalez are here for all your Real Estate Needs. Put the Power of The G Force to work for you today! Call Now! Office 928-505-5478 Brenda Cell 928-846-6044 Willie Cell 928-846-6046 www.YourLakeHavasuHome.com

I changed the colors in my bedroom this week. I was using taupe and rust as my primary bedspread colors and had that same look for about 8 years. I even brought the bedspread in a move and did the same thing in my Lake Havasu City, AZ home.

It was time for change. Some will say why, the old one was still good but refreshing the homes interior keeps it current.

The biggest change other than the bedspread and a few accessories was the wall behind the bed. Here is a look at the faux painted wall before. There is really nothing wrong with it but I wanted a darker richer look.

I had a local Faux painting expert give me advice on how I could make it blend better with my new brown look. Cathy Smith is the local expert for any faux painting you might want done if you live here in Lake Havasu.

She came up with the idea and an inexpensive solution of a color wash to the already textured wall to give it a leather look and richer statement.
WOW! My husband Willie and I helped her do this and we were done in one morning! Great Job Cathy!

8 Camera Tips to Capture a Room's Size

Make sure every square foot counts when photographing interiors. Try these tips to expand the space.

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
August 2010

Buyers love spacious homes. They also love to look at online property photos. But it’s not always easy to squeeze square footage into a camera shot—and sometimes furniture arrangements or floor coverings actually do a disservice to the way your listing is presented online or in marketing photos, says Debra Gould, president of home staging company Six Elements Inc. in Toronto and creator of the Staging Diva training program.

She offers these tips for making sure that every room of your listing looks as large in photos as it does in real life.

1. Remove area rugs. Rugs break up the expanse of the floor and can make rooms look smaller. Keep the floor as clear as possible.
2. Use a wide-angle camera. A camera with a wide-angle lens (28 millimeters or less on a DSLR, or the equivalent on a point-and-shoot) is best for interior shots because it magnifies the distance between objects and showcases a room’s depth, Gould says. But beware of fisheye lenses or ultra wide-angle lenses, which tend to make rooms look wider but can mislead buyers into thinking there’s more space than there is.
3. Get creative with furniture. Make sure that furniture doesn’t block views or walkways so you reveal as much of the floor as possible. If there’s too much furniture packed into a room or the furniture is too large, it can also work against you in photos.
In a crowded room, try removing a few pieces of furniture or swapping in a smaller piece. In a kitchen or dining room, it might look better if you remove that extra leaf from the table. Try using furniture to create new spaces in large rooms and really show off that square footage. For example, Gould added a reading corner in a master bedroom to show that more than just a bed could fit.
4. Fill up an empty space. Buyers have trouble imagining how their stuff will fit into an empty room; the space can seem smaller than it really is. If possible, bring in furniture for staging. "If the rooms are furnished, they look larger and much more inviting," Gould says.
5. Use mirrors to your advantage. A reflection in a mirror can reveal more of a room when you can’t squeeze everything into your photo. This can be a great technique particularly when photographing bathrooms. Use the reflection of the bathroom mirror to show the extras, such as that soaker tub. Just be sure to shoot photos at an angle so that you don’t capture your own reflection!
6. Lighten up. In photos, brighter rooms typically come across as more open and welcoming, whereas dark rooms can look small and dingy. Pay attention to the light sources in a room to get a better shot. Turn on all of the lights and open the curtains to let in natural light and expand the space. But don’t shoot directly into a light source; it’ll darken a room.
7. Shoot at an angle. The diagonal line is the longest visual line in a room. Try shooting from the corner; back up as far as you can before you shoot. But don’t limit yourself: Take shots from three or four different angles so that you have plenty of options, Gould recommends. Also, try getting low to the ground to show off the length of the room. Eye level doesn’t always work best to capture floor proportions.
8. Remove clutter. You’ve heard it before, but clutter makes a room look cramped and steals attention from a room’s intended focal points. Clear away paper stacks, crowded walls of artwork, cluttered countertops, magnets covering the refrigerator, and towels hanging from the stove.
Finally, do your best to ensure that any major changes you make to a room’s layout for the purpose of photos are kept in place for showings. "You’ll create a disconnect if the house looks great only in the online photos," Gould says. "If buyers feel let down, they’re not going to buy the house."
























Melissa Dittmann Tracey is a contributing editor for REALTOR® magazine. She can be reached at mtracey@realtors.org.

Remember the week you moved into your home? Everything was clean and everything had a place. You did not move in clutter. Before you moved you went through the stuff. You threw away the trash, gave away the things that still worked but were no longer needed and brought only what you “needed” to the new place. This is the process that most people go through with a move.


Fast forward 5 years. Did you keep to the same standard? Most of us keep things we don’t need and often dangerously expired drugs and vitamins and yes even food! If you look around a room, any room will do to start, and do you see things you have collected that add no value to your life but just give you more work? My project this week reminded me of this new start when I moved to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. We have only been here 5 years so it doesn’t take long to accumulate junk.

My husband and I painted the cabinets in the bathroom this week. Before we did this we took everything out and put them on the floor in boxes and washed down the inside of everything. I went through each item. What is a keeper? What goes in the trash? I found a bottle of vitamins expired in 2008! Who needs 3 different mascara’s anyway? I had 3 bottles of conditioner. I guess I won’t be buying that for a while. What can still be used by someone else? An example of this is flat irons. My hair is not long enough for these. It will not likely ever be as I am now past that prime in my life for the long flowing hair. These usable items can either go in a yard sale bin or for me it just goes to a charity.

It is easy to “Stage for Life” by taking on one small project at a time. Are you up for your own small challenge today? Let me know how what you did and how you started your own “Stage for Life” program.

http://www.yourlakehavasuhome.com/

I know what some of you are thinking. If you are a 60’s baby you might be thinking of a different kind of pot shelf. In Lake Havasu City we have “deco shelves” or a term I never heard until I moved here “potshelves”. These are quite common here. I know one person who liked them so much that when she had her home in Colorado remodeled she added potshelves.
The intention I think with these shelves is to provide a decorating opportunity. They do look quite good with fresh accessories. The problem is from a staging and home improvement challenge is that they sure get dirty fast. You should plan to take everything down at least twice a year and clean both the potshelves and the accessories. This provides a good time to re-evaluate what you have up there.

I want to remind you all that I am a stager not a decorator so my focus is always on making your home staged to live and making the best of what you have. To me that is keeping your home as neat and fresh as your budget allows.

Often less is more when it comes to staging for life or even staging to sell. The idea is to not overwhelm the space with a bunch of stuff. Pick a theme for each area. You can make almost anything work if you keep scale in mind. The old trick decorate in odd numbers seems to work very well. Groupings look better than things spaced out here and there.

It had been about 6 months since I got out my tall ladder and cleaned mine and boy they were dirty. If you plan to sell a Lake Havasu Home do not forget this area in your cleaning. Little fuzzy dust balls will start to hang down over the edge. I have been in a lot of homes where this is evident and my clients do not usually have the vision that the house just needs a good cleaning.

Before you sell Your Lake Havasu Home take a look at your potshelves and make sure they are staged to sell. If you are buying a home in Lake Havasu City and it has potshelves you will love the added places to show off your collections but keep in mind a spring cleaning and maybe a fall cleaning will be best. If you do not live in Lake Havasu feel free to post a question and if we don't know the answer we will find it for you!

The G Force of Havasu
Brenda and Willie Gonzalez
888-501-5478 Toll Free
http://www.havasuhomevalue.com/

The newest data says that as many as 90% of buyers are now finding the home they buy on the internet.
That makes it important to stage for the internet shopper. How do you do that? The traditional staging rules apply to having a clean and clutter free home but to take that one step further you must make sure that the internet shopper does not see anything in the pictures that rule out your home.

Lighting:

All lights and fans must be operational. Use the highest wattage bulbs you can during the picture taking and during all showings. It is important to show light. Open up the blinds! Make the house as light and bright as it can be. Pay special attention to distracters to the light. No collectables on the window seals for instance. Let the outside in everywhere.

Pictures:

Step one is to have your home clean and clutter free. This is so important it means money to you so please; please do not disregard the feedback about this subject. According to StagedHomes.com 95.6% of staged homes sell in 37 days or less and this is just one of the important rules in staging for sale. To further add to those statistics a cleaned and clutter free home brings $1500-$2000 more on he sale. Now isn't that worth it?

Your Realtor must have a good camera and know how to take the pictures using the most effective lighting. Use a Realtor that uses pictures on the advertising. With buyers using the internet to search for a home don't let yours get missed. Some Realtors are now hiring professional photographers and that is a great choice for some.

If you thinking about selling your home please take a look at the important information on our website. The tools we provide are free and easy to use. We will be glad to answer any of your questions right here on this site!

Brenda and Willie Gonzalez

The G Force of Havasu

888-501-5478 Office

http://www.YourLakeHavasuHome.com