Carlsbad, CA
HomeScapes Home Staging
Home Staging in San Diego
(760) 224-5025
2790 Loker Ave. W, Carlsbad, CA 92010
San Diego Home Staging Blog
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Tips on things you can do to help sell your home! even if it has been on the market a while
Posted on August 26, 2018 at 8:12 PM |
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What are some things I can do to help get my home sold? We all hope that when we put our home on the market that it will sell quickly and for the price we want. Your home is most likely one of your biggest assets & you're going to want to take the time to figure out how to maximize your investment when you are getting ready to put it on the market. As a home stager my advice to sellers is to do everything possible to increase the home's appeal to your target buyer. What does that entail? There are lots of things that are going to affect how well your home sells including market conditions, location, price, condition and marketing. There is not much you can do about the first two - market conditions and location are going to be things you won't be able to do much about. If the market is slow you might decide to wait awhile to list your home. Your location is fixed. But you can do something about everything else. You can take care of the condition of your home as it goes on the market. And marketing and price will be directly related to the agent you select. So what things can you do to be sure you have addressed these factors? Condition Some of the things that you can do to affect how buyers perceive your home are to take care of: - Deep Cleaning - Deferred maintenance - De-cluttering - De-personalizing - Neutralizing decor that is highly taste-specific - Home staging Many of these things you can do yourself. Get the family together and go through each room! Take a look at the entrance to your home & be sure your landscaping is in good shape. Once you have done what you can a good home stager can help you accomplish your goals and get your home market-ready and that is appealing to buyers! A good home stager will go over the things you can do, what they offer & give you an idea of what their company can provide. Interview at least a couple of staging companies to see samples of their work, check reviews and get to know their expertise and background. Look at photos of other work they have done & ask questions about their design plan for your home. Find someone you are confident has the experience and design expertise to make your home look its best. Home staging when done well can help your home sell 90% faster and for 10% more than homes that have not been staged! Marketing & Price It's important to interview more than one agent to understand their marketing strategy, background, experience and to decide if this is someone you can work with successfully. The marketing strategy will be important in exposing your listing to the right pool of buyers. You want to know that when potential buyers go online to find listings in the area they are looking that your home will show up. The agent you select will also be able to help you determine the best price. Most agents will provide professional photos. Take a look at other listings the agent has represented and see what you think of their presentation & photos. If you take care of those things your home will go out on the market in the best possible way to find the right buyer! What if my home has been on the market for a while & hasn't sold? It's never too late to go back and look at each of the areas we're discussing. Is the condition of the home at its best? Are there deferred maintenance issues that may be putting off buyers? If buyers see obvious areas of concern the likelihood is they will infer that if you haven't taken care of something they see at first sight you may have neglected other areas of the home. Be sure your home is sparkling clean and looks its best when buyers are scheduled to see it. Before showings and open houses have a checklist and go through to be sure you have put things away. Add fresh flowers and be sure to address cooking or pet odors. Always take a look at the outside of your home as well as the inside. First impressions matter and you want your home to look well-maintained and cared for as they walk up to the front door. Take care of landscaping issues and add colorful plants or pots to the front porch where you can. If you haven't hired a stager find one you can help you go over the things that might be holding up the sale of your home. If you have staged your home & it's been on the market awhile it may need refreshing. It is never too late to go back and take a second look at the impression your home is making on buyers. Your agent should be able to give you more information on the feedback from buyers who have seen your home. If you are getting lots of remarks that the home seems dark, that is one of the issues you can address with minor changes. Sometimes it's as simple as a coat of paint or removing dark curtains. This is another area where your home stager can really help. Whatever time & effort you put into preparing your home for the best possible sale will be worth getting the best return on your investment & being ready to take the next step in your life! |
Press Release: Houzz' 2018 Home Staging Award for Carlsbad company
Posted on January 21, 2018 at 11:06 PM |
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Homescapes Home Staging San Diego was honored to receive the 2018 Houzz Award for Customer Service. This marks the fifth year in a row that the company has been honored by Houzz. Homescapes Home Staging - San
Diego Awarded Best Of Houzz 2018 Over 40 Million Monthly
Unique Users Nominated Best Home Building, Remodeling and Design
Professionals in North America and Around the World PRESS RELEASE: Carlsbad, CA, January 21, 2018
– Homescapes Home Staging of Carlsbad, CA has won “Best Of Service” on Houzz®, the leading platform for home
remodeling and design. This award winning home staging company was chosen by
the more than 40 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community
from among more than one million active home building, remodeling and design
industry professionals. The Best Of Houzz is awarded annually in three categories:
Design, Customer Service and Photography. Design award winners’ work was the
most popular among the more than 40 million monthly users on Houzz. Customer
Service honors are based on several factors, including the number and quality
of client reviews a professional received in 2017. Architecture and interior
design photographers whose images were most popular are recognized with the
Photography award. A “Best Of Houzz 2018” badge will appear on winners’
profiles, as a sign of their commitment to excellence. These badges help
homeowners identify popular and top-rated home professionals in every metro
area on Houzz. “Our goal is to offer home staging at the
highest level of customer service with a high-end look at reasonable prices in
order to help our clients sell their home quickly & for the best price.” "The Houzz community selected a phenomenal group of
Best of Houzz 2018 award winners, so this year's recipients should be very
proud,” said Liza Hausman, Vice President of Industry Marketing at Houzz. “Best
of Houzz winners represent some of the most talented and customer-focused
professionals in our industry. Follow Homescapes Home Staging on Houzz
http://www.houzz.com/projects/users/jburzell About Homescapes Home Staging Judith Burzell started Homescapes Home Staging
after several years of remodeling homes & seeing the dramatic difference it
made to a sale when the home was staged.
The company has received multiple industry awards over the years &
is dedicated to providing quality staging accompanied by excellent customer
service. About Houzz Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and
design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from
start to finish – online or from a mobile device. From decorating a small room
to building a custom home and everything in between, Houzz connects millions of
homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across
the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database
in the world and a vibrant community empowered by technology, Houzz is the
easiest way for people to find inspiration, get advice, buy products and hire
the professionals they need to help turn their ideas into reality.
Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Houzz also has international offices in London,
Berlin, Sydney, Moscow, Tel Aviv and Tokyo. Houzz and the Houzz logo are
registered trademarks of Houzz Inc. worldwide. For more information, visit houzz.com. |
Why is my home not selling?
Posted on June 4, 2016 at 4:06 AM |
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Is your home on the market & it hasn't sold? As the owner of a home staging company in San Diego, CA I
hear this question all the time. If you have your home listed for sale &
you’re not getting the offers you want, what could be the issue? Here are some ideas on what it might be. And if you
haven’t listed your home yet, here is a chance to get it on the market for the sale you
want. What factors are affecting the sale of your home? There are five primary things that are going to affect how
your home sells. 1)
Location (we’ve all heard how important location
is) 2)
Market conditions 3)
Condition 4)
Price 5)
Marketing Let’s take them one by one. *Hint: with the first
two there isn’t a lot you can do to change how your home is going to
sell, but we’ll give you a couple of ideas! The last three will be your chance
to make a difference! 1 – Location. If you picked a great location when you purchased your home you are
most likely still going to be OK on location. If you selected a home in a great location
that shouldn’t change unless something changed in the neighborhood since the
time of your purchase (was a commercial building constructed nearby, a major
road that added noise, a new flight pattern from an airport, or general
downturn in the condition of the homes in your area). If you were able to pick
well when you purchased your home, you should be fine on this point. If you are
in a location that had issues to begin with or there has been a change in circumstances that is detrimental to
your sale, what are some of the things you can do? - If you have a noise
issue, can you add plants or structures that will baffle the noise, or add sound-proofing? - If something has
been built nearby that is an eyesore, can you block it with a fence, tree, or reduce the impact in some other way by adding better window coverings, a fountain or other improvement? - If the neighborhood
has gone downhill can you talk to your neighbors or homeowner’s association?
Would sprucing up your own front yard make a difference? Sometimes one owners’ efforts will help inspire others to make a
change! 2 – Market conditions.
This is another area where there isn’t much you can do as a homeowner that
will help the sale of your home. Market conditions are going to be in flux.
Hopefully, when you are ready to sell you will be lucky enough to list in a
great real estate market when homes are selling well. If not, it will be more of a challenge; but, there
may be some things you can do that will help. If
you have seasons in your area where the market fluctuates throughout the year
& you decided to sell during the slow season, you might want to wait to list
your home until sales pick up. Sometimes
if you can wait a while longer, in a few months or a year the market may
shift. I’ve seen some homeowner’s decide
to ride out a poor market by deciding to rent out their property until market
conditions improve. This is an issue where timing may be everything. 3 – Condition. At
last, something you can really do to make a difference when you are selling!
The condition of your home is a critical factor in how well it is going to sell. A clean home that is well-maintained with a
yard that has inviting curb appeal & with a great look inside is going to
sell faster & for a better price.
Here are some things you can do to help get your home in the best
condition: - Fix it. If your home has things that need to be fixed
get it done before you list it if you can.
This is the time to take care of deferred maintenance. If your property looks well cared-for
potential buyers are going to assume that you have maintained your home over
time & that they are less likely to have problems in the future. - Deep clean. Now is the time to get everything spotless,
organized & put away (you’re moving soon anyway, take this time to start
packing!) Check for details like baseboards, corners, around tubs & sinks to be sure they are fresh. How about floors & windows? Check for odors & be sure if you have pets to deodorize & put things away if you can. - Get organized. Your home will look larger & more
appealing if you follow the general guideline, less is more. Reduce clutter, pack or put away the things
you are not using, consider putting personal hygiene items like toothpaste
and shampoo into baskets that you can slip under the counter to hide. Then spruce up that area so that it
shines! And de-personalize where you
can. You want potential buyers to
envision themselves living in your home so don’t distract them with your
personal mementos & family photos.
Look at the demographic of the potential buyers you think are your most
likely buyers & focus on them. - Hire a professional
home stager. Here is a proven way to help you sell your home quickly & for
the best price! Statistics show that a home that is well-staged will sell
approximately 80% faster & for an average of 12% more than a similar home
that has not been staged! The return on your investment in home staging is the
largest return of anything you can do as you prepare to sell your home – at
over 350%. A home stager will help you present your home in the best possible
way to attract buyers. Hiring a quality
company is definitely something to put on your “to do” list. Be sure you find a
staging company that has experience & look at their website and
reviews. Interview more than one. Ask to
see photos & examples of their work or if they have a home currently staged
ask to see the listing. How long have they been in business & how many
homes have they staged? Most importantly decide if this company is a good fit.
They are going to be helping you sell one of your most valuable assets &
you want to feel like you can work together. - Look at your homes curb appeal. How your home
looks as buyers drive up to see it is going to set the stage for how they
perceive the property. Is your yard well-maintained? Are shrubs & bushes pruned and the lawn trimmed? Try freshening up your yard with
new plants, colorful flowers and mulch, gravel, bark or other ground
cover. 4 – Price. Setting
your price right is often the most critical factor in getting the right
buyer. Let the experts (your real estate
agent or appraiser) guide you when you are making the decision on where to set
the price. Many sellers get an idea in
their head about what they think the price should be & they won’t let go of
it. Being realistic is going to be a
huge help in getting your home sold.
Your agent is going to look at the comps (the selling price of homes
similar to yours in your area that have recently sold) to help you set the best
price. And for some tough love,
remember, buyers don’t care what you need to get from the sale of your home,
they want to know that it is priced right. If you set the price too high you risk letting the house sit
on the market. If a home has been listed
for too long buyers are going to question if there is something wrong with
it. You will also open the door to
people thinking you are in a financial bind & need to sell the home, which
will attract low offers. The cost to hold on to a home that doesn’t sell because the
price is set too high is almost always more than the first reduction in
price. The same is true for the cost of
fixing things from deferred maintenance or investing in the cost of quality
home staging. When you are selling your home you want to get on the market
with all of the boxes ticked that say your home is going to make the best first
impression possible, that it’s priced right, the value is there & the
condition is such that it helps buyers fall in love when they step through the
front door & can’t wait to get their checkbook out! 5 – Marketing. How
your home is marketed is also critical to your sale. Your best friend when you are putting
together your marketing plan will be the help of a qualified real estate
agent. Interview two or three agents
& get referrals from past clients.
Check their reviews & look at their website. Ask questions about their prior sales. How many homes have they sold overall? In the
past 12 months? And most importantly, decide whether they are the right fit
for you. You’re going to be working
closely with them & you’re selling what is most likely your most valuable
asset. You want the partnership to work
to get your home sold. You want your
agent to create a marketing plan where the greatest number of your potential
buyers will see your listing. A good agent will see that you have professional
photos for your listing. Buyers today
are most likely going to see your home for the first time when they are looking
online. Having great professional photos
of your home looking its best is going to attract buyers & get them out to
look at your home! Have I done all that I can? If you take a look at each of the areas that are going to
affect the sale of your home & do your best to work with each one to have
your home looking its best, it’s priced & marketed right, then you are in
for a great sale! If you are having
trouble getting the right offers, think about what you can do to make some
changes to get the results you want. As a home stager I am sometimes asked to come into a home
that has been on the market for some time & add staging to help showcase
the best that the home has to offer. I
have seen great results over the years & many homes turn the corner on
sales after staging. But if you can,
take the time to do your research and get it right the first time.
Are you ready for a great sale? It’s true, you only get one chance to make a first impression! I would wish you “good luck on your sale”
but perhaps a better way to close is to say that if you are getting ready to
put your home on the market your best results will be if you “do your homework”
– if you do that your chance of getting the sale you want is greatly increased. |
What are the 5 most important things that will affect the sale of your home?
Posted on December 4, 2015 at 4:43 AM |
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Are you getting ready to sell your home? Here are 5 things you need to know! If you are getting ready to put your house on the market there are five primary things that are going to affect the sale. Two of those things you can’t control
– but there are three that you can! 1) Market conditions –
market conditions have a huge effect on how your home is going to
sell. The things that affect the market
are inventory (availability of homes for sale), affordability (the ratio of
prices to earnings), housing values, interest rates, mortgage rates & the
overall economy. There is nothing any of us can do to affect the housing
market. It simply is what it is – with
some exceptions! If the market
traditionally fluctuates in your area through the calendar year if you can plan
to list your home during the peak season (traditionally mid-March to mid-April - this will vary regionally) you may increase your chances for a quick sale at the price you want. 2)
Location – you’ve heard it all before!
Location, location, location – where your home is located is probably the most
important factor in how your home is going to sell. If you chose well when you
purchased and your home is located in a desirable area, you are set. If the
area has declined or your specific location has issues with things like noise
or proximity to something like commercial or industrial areas, your sale is
going to be negatively affected. Again, there is really nothing you can do
about the location of your home. So focus on taking care of the things you can
do to make a difference! 3)
Condition – the condition of your home is
going to be one of the most important factors in getting the sale you want. Unless you are prepared to put your home on
the market with the idea that someone will come in and completely renovate it,
top to bottom, you are going to want to make the best impression possible on
potential buyers. Be sure to take care
of deferred maintenance, curb appeal & deep clean. And most importantly, be sure to have it professionally
staged. A staged home will sell 80%
faster and for 15% more than a similar home that has not been staged. A professional stager is trained in
maximizing every area of your home to appeal to the broadest range of buyers.
Interview stagers the same way you would an agent. Get their background, be sure to see samples
of their work & ask questions about how they would help you prepare your
home to look its very best. The cost of
staging can vary, but this is most likely your most valuable asset! This is not
the best time to cut corners, so find a quality company. You want your home to stand out among all the
rest & get those offers coming in. In most cases the monthly cost of
staging will be less than the carrying cost if your home doesn’t sell right away. And the first price reduction is almost
always less than the cost of quality staging. 4)
Price – in order to get the offers coming
in you need to price your home right. It
doesn’t matter to potential buyers what you “need” to get out of the sale. The house needs to be priced just right – not
too low and not too high. Don’t assume
that if you price it over comparable homes buyers will come in & make a low
offer with the hope that you will negotiate. More likely they will just walk
away. And this is where your real estate
agent will make a difference. Your agent
will do a comparative analysis of the homes in your area & help you
determine a fair price. When you are
ready to select an agent be sure to interview several. Check their background & experience. Look at their marketing plan & ask them
for statistics on how the homes they have listed have sold (the number of days
on market, number of price reductions, how many homes have they sold, how many
years have they been in business, check their reviews). Then
pick the agent you think can do the best job & is someone you think you can
work with. 5)
Marketing – how you market your home will be
one of the most important factors in getting the sale you want. Marketing strategies have changed a lot over
the past 15 years. These days buyers are shopping for homes online & that may be the first place they see your home. You want an agent who knows how to get your
home in front of your pool of potential buyers – ask them how they are planning
to do that! You’ll want professional
photos that showcase the best your home has to offer and a marketing strategy
that is directed at your target demographic.
Your agent should be able to tell you who that is – are you near great
schools? Your target buyer may be a young family with children. Is your home single story? That opens up your
target market to anyone who can’t or doesn’t want to climb stairs. Do you have local shops within walking
distance? Are you close to good public transportation? Those things should all be part of a good
marketing plan. Be proactive as you get ready to list your home for sale &
you can count on the best possible result! |
6 Good Reasons to Hire a Professional Home Stager
Posted on May 23, 2014 at 9:45 PM |
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Six good reasons to hire a professional home stager We recently received an inquiry from a real estate agent asking
us how a hiring a professional home stager when you are ready to sell your home
is different than just de-cluttering & organizing your home. I wanted to share my response. “Hi, I received the comment form you submitted to my website,
HomeScapes San Diego, a local home staging company. You mentioned that
you would like some information on the benefits of hiring a professional home
stager that goes beyond what de-cluttering & organizing can do. Home
staging may include some de-cluttering & organizing, but it goes far beyond
that. Anyone could, & should, de-clutter. But if you want the
best price for your home, home staging is the way to go. What professional home staging does is give you an edge when
selling your home over other homes for sale in your area - which often means
the difference between getting it sold & having it sit on the market with
the price trailing downwards. When you put your home on the market (often
someone’s biggest asset) you want to come out of the gate running & looking
your best! 1 - Statistically, staging your home professionally will
help you sell quicker & for a better price - homes that are staged sell an
average of 80% quicker and for 10% more than those that are not & staging
is the best return on investment a homeowner can make when selling (NAR) 2 - A professional home stager, who has been trained
& has experience, knows how to showcase this particular home to make the
best first impression possible 3 - When you professionally stage, you help buyers see how
rooms can be defined, how the space can work with their furniture & it
helps them envision themselves in the space 4 - Professional home stagers are trained to know how to
showcase the home to appeal to the broadest range of potential buyers in the
targeted demographic for this home, without the personal bias a homeowner may
hang onto about the home, which could prevent them from having the perspective
needed to get buyers attention 5 - The cost of using a trained home stager is a drop in
the bucket compared to the average first price reduction if the home doesn't
sell (typically home staging can range from $1,000 - $2,500 - far less than the
first drop in price, usually no less than $10,000) 6 - Good home staging increases the perceived value of the
home - with improved curb appeal, decor & better photographs, the homeowner
gains because they have re-inforced the perception that the home has been
well-tended & has been taken care of overall. Let me know if you have any comments or questions. It was
a pleasure to provide some information on why we believe in professional home
staging to get any home sold quickly & for the best price, regardless of
market conditions. If the home is priced right, a staged home will sell faster than its competition! Thank you for your inquiry. A picture says it best - take a look
at the "Before" & "After" photos of the home we staged
last week, below. Best regards, Judy Judith Burzell www.homescapes-sd.com (760) 224-5025” |
Home Staging San Diego Style
Posted on February 24, 2014 at 10:01 PM |
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Home Staging San Diego Style ~ It's all about style these days and when it comes to what's "in style" (or "on-trend" as people are saying so often these days) where you are makes a difference! For us, here in San Diego, CA, the homes we stage and remodel for the most part are near the beach or a beach community. Styles in home decor and what's "on-trend" will reflect that atmosphere. We see lots of beach-themed design and in our opinion, it fits! Homes that we stage in this area will often enjoy ocean breezes and the people that live here tend to live an outdoor lifestyle. With out year-round temperate climate it just naturally leads people to be outdoors and active. Fashion choices, home decor preferences and even your car can be a reflection of the way people live here. The emphasis on outdoor living and our climate means that in their homes people may want a living space that brings the outdoors inside. They may want an open concept home & one where you can step right out onto the patio - a place that is likely to be used year round in our area. The coastal feel translates to a color palette that reflects the ocean and bright blue skies. You see a lot of natural elements in the design patterns in the homes we see every day. Our favorite color palette tends to run to shades of blues & greens that you would see in the ocean and sky, to shades of tan that remind you of sandy beaches and touches of coral and gold that reflect our wonderful sunsets. Decor will often include natural elements such as reclaimed wood, sea shells, sea fans, water elements and live green plants and flowers. Orchids do well here and we often stage with flowers that are in season - we have Birds of Paradise in bloom year round so those are always a option here, bringing a beautiful touch to any room. Every area has it's own "style" and those of us in the staging business are aware that there is no one "right" style. The decor we use in our design may reflect the area and it's character or may be more about the specific home and it's architectural style or neighborhood. Even the season plays a part - every year as we approach the holidays we will add autumn colors and holiday accents. At HomeScapes we are in love with the area and all it has to offer, so we are grateful to have our inspiration be the ocean at our side. What's your style? Our best to you all as spring approaches! HomeScapes San Diego |
Flipping Houses - is it making a comeback?
Posted on February 10, 2014 at 5:48 AM |
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Flipping Houses - it's on again! We have been experiencing a number of contacts for work from new developers who are "flipping" houses again. The concept of "flipping" homes became the subject of a lot of controversy during the period when the housing market experienced a downturn after 2008. With the market looking up we are seeing the phenomenon return. For a stager, whether a home is being "flipped" can make a difference in our jobs. When a developer who is new to the concept takes on a large project without knowing the basic principles to what makes it work, the house can stay on the market much longer than usual, usually because it has been overpriced or priced out of the local market. For homebuyers, keeping an eye out for homes that have been "flipped" can be important because you want to be sure the home you buy has been remodeled with quality construction and fixtures by a qualified general contractor who has taken out the appropriate permits and had done a good job. Your real estate agent and inspector can help you do the research to make sure the home you are buying is done well and is priced right. If the contractor and developer have done their job right and have completed the home using quality materials & with attention to detail, you can find a home that is perfect for your needs that is like new. If the "flipper" was more interested in getting in and making a quick profit you could be in trouble. For more information on this interesting topic, see our page "Recommended Reading" for an article by a former "flipper" (who did excellent work) on how to "flip" for a profit & still do quality work. Let us know what you think! |
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