Guest Blogger – Terry Haas

Guest Blog Entry – March 29, 2010

One of my love’s is home staging.  I love being able to help people showcase their home in the best light possible.

I was thrilled to pieces when I learned that Terry Haas, from HGTV’s ‘Designed to Sell’, would be a guest blogger on Stagetecture. Read on to read Terry’s – Top 10 Staging Tips for homeowners. Today she will offer 5 tips, and the other 5 she’ll share next Monday, April 5th!

Terry has a great Ebook available, let her tell you about it!

Meet Terry Haas

from

Terry Haas

Maybe you have seen me on HGTV’s Designed to Sell.  I am

Terry Haas, the one who tells sellers the cold hard truth!  I have been in real estate for a long time and have seen just about everything.

What I love the most about this job is the opportunity to really help people and make a

positive difference in the real estate world.  In other terms I help you sell your house and

move on with your life!

When the market was booming, selling a home was very different than today.  Seller’s can’t do the bare minimum and expect great results.  It is time for more, more service, more value and I am here to help.

Designed To Sell puts me in the lucky position of interacting with viewers/homeowners every day.  The challenges and issues are the same no matter where you live.  When it comes right down to it there are only 2 reasons a home does not sell, number one it is priced wrong or number two, it is UGLY!

The goal behind writing the You Win Guide Ebookwas to tell sellers what the buyers are really thinking, to give you all the

secrets, tips and tricks.  This is an easy to understand room by room guide for preparing your house for sale.  If you were going on a date you would get dressed up so why not get your house ready?

I am excited to be able to participate in Stagetecture’s blog and hope you like what you read.  Cheers,

Terry

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Top 10 staging tips for homeowners – Terry Haas

1.) PARTICIPATE IN YOUR OWN RESCUE

A staged home will sell, on average, 17% higher than an unstaged home. (US Housing and Urban Development)

Participate in the sale of your home, you can’t sit back and watch the offers come in like the old days you need to get your hands dirty and contribute.  Spend the money now to prepare your home for sale and you will get more money when you

sell it.

2.) KNOW WHAT YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE DOING

In controlled tests selling identical homes professionally staged vs. those not staged, the unstaged houses sold in 102 days, the staged houses sold in 45 days! 

Visit Open Houses; arrange to preview the other listings in your neighborhood so you know what you are competing against.  By

You only get 10 seconds to make up their minds!

being aware of the other homes in the neighborhood you know how to put your best foot forward.

3.) FIRST IMPRESSION IS A LASTING IMPRESSION

Buyers will judge a home in the first 7-10 seconds and whatever emotion is evoked will carry with them the entire showing.  Curb appeal is so critical!

4). LET’S TALK ABOUT THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

It is estimated that only 10% of home buyers can visualize the potential of a

Clean everything!

Most buyers can’t see past these major flaws and even though your home may have potential all they see is a house they don’t want to put work into.  Buyers estimate repairs to be three times the price.

5). THINK HOTEL, NOT HOSTEL…PICK IT UP, CLEAN IT UP!

Make sure the house is clean, de-cluttered, neat and tidy.  Remember buyers get to be really critical, the media tells them to be because the assumption is that everyone selling right now must be desperate.  There is no excuse for mess.  Clean it up!

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Guest Blog Entry #2 – April 5, 2010

Thank you for joining us last Monday, and for those of you who left comments – kudos to you!  Terry is back today to discuss the remaining 5 of ‘Top 10 Staging Tips for homeowners’.  Feel free to comment and Terry will respond.

Meet Terry Haas

from

Terry Haas

Maybe you have seen me on HGTV’s Designed to Sell.  I am

Terry Haas, the one who tells sellers the cold hard truth!  I have been in real estate for a long time and have seen just about everything.

What I love the most about this job is the opportunity to really help people and make a

positive difference in the real estate world.  In other terms I help you sell your house and

move on with your life!

When the market was booming, selling a home was very different than today.  Seller’s can’t do the bare minimum and expect great results.  It is time for more, more service, more value and I am here to help.

Designed To Sell puts me in the lucky position of interacting with viewers/homeowners every day.  The challenges and issues are the same no matter where you live.  When it comes right down to it there are only 2 reasons a home does not sell, number one it is priced wrong or number two, it is UGLY!

The goal behind writing the You Win Guide Ebook was to tell sellers what the buyers are really thinking, to give you all the

secrets, tips and tricks.  This is an easy to understand room by room guide for preparing your house for sale.  If you were going on a date you would get dressed up so why not get your house ready?

I am excited to be able to participate in Stagetecture’s blog and hope you like what you read.

Terry

—————————————-

Top 10 staging tips for homeowners – Terry Haas

(To see the first 5 staging tips visit: 10 staging tips for homeowners – March 29th)

6.) FEBREZE IT OR FORGET IT

Most buyers are very sensitive to smells.  It is imperative that the house does not have an odor of dirt, must,

food, pets, laundry, bleach or anything that will trigger a negative emotion.  Would

When you have a showing, make ‘reservations’ for your pets.

you stay in a hotel room that smelled awful?  Probably not, why would you buy a stinky house?

7.) PET HOTEL, RESERVATIONS PLEASE!

More than 1 out of every 7 people has a pet allergy (Discovery Health)

Pets must be removed from the house for showings and open houses.  Arrange for pet sitting or make reservations at the pet hotel.  Pets can break a deal, this is critical for sellers to grasp.

8.)KEEP IT G RATED, APPEAL TO THE MASSES

Remove all offensive or distracting decor from the home.  Buyers

Rooms should flow freely through your home

that are offended or distracted are not going to consider making an offer.

9.) KEEP IT FLOWING

Making homes more accessible, with an open flow is the top future trend according to a poll by The National Association of Home Builders

Make sure your home has a natural flow so buyers can move freely through the home.  This includes catering to the baby boomer population who need to be able to move easily through the home but also because younger buyers may have a parent living with them.

Welcome guests into your home

10.) TREAT YOUR BUYERS AS HOUSE GUESTS

Sellers who spent $500 on staging recovered over 343% of the cost when they sold their home. 

Treat your buyers as guests.  Provide water, snacks and/or candy.  The more comfortable you can make buyers in your home the more likely they are to visualize themselves as the owners.

Leave comments, and Terry will respond!

For more Guest Blogger posts on Stagetecture, click here.