How This Home Went Under Contract in 1 Week & For Full Asking Price
The answer: The homeowner implemented a well thought out plan that brought the prospective buyers in and captured their attention. So what was this well thought out plan?
- He priced it right
- He used a real estate agent
- He made the home look beautiful inside and out
Clearly his plan worked. The majority of the homes that are on the market today rarely go under contract in one week and for full asking price. Given the success, I thought it important to share more specifics. Here they are:
What he did to make the home look beautiful inside and out?:
He used professionals: A home stager and a landscaper. As the home stager selected to stage this home I had the good fortune in lending a helping hand on both the exterior and interior of the home. When I previewed this home for the first time I arrived to find the home had been painted white and the front door red. Not bad, I thought, as I sat waiting for the homeowner. The challenge wasn't with those particular colors. Instead, it was the celery color shutters that had me shuttering (smile). When the homeowner arrived one of the first questions he asked is what I thought of the colors. Given that my objective is the exact same as his and that is to help sell the home quickly, I gave him my honest assessment. The celery color had to go and the shutters needed to be painted black. As we moved in to the interior of the home, there were some minor recommendations I had made; replacing the tile around the fireplace was one.
Next he hired a professional landscaper. The entire lot, front and back, was laid with sod and fresh flowers planted.
What role did the real estate agent play?:
The agent helped to determine the price point for the home and ensured the property got as much visibility as possible. If you're a homeowner reading this blog post, I can't stress enough how important it is to a) use a real estate agent and b) to spend the time finding a good agent. As I tell each of my prospective clients - I have the utmost confidence in my abilities as a stager and know definitively that I can make a home look beautiful. However, it benefits no one if the house isn't being shown either due to the price or the lack of marketing.
While some may state that it takes a village, in this case it took a team of top notch professionals. My hat goes off to every professional used on this project!
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Georgia Interior Solutions (GIS), LLC is Atlanta Georgia's Premier Home Staging Provider. Owner and Real Estate Staging Expert, Kathy Nielsen has appeared on the pages of Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Home Improvement; Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. You can also see one of her staged homes on HGTV's hit show Sleep On It.
With their extensive home staging portfolio, you'll quickly learn that they have the experience and knowledge on what it takes to make your home and/or listing appeal to the prospective buyers. Contact them today for your free no-obligation appointment: 678 522 8392.
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About the Author: Kathy Nielsen, a RESA 2010 Home Stager of the Year Finalists is a nationally recognized leader within the home staging industry, offers affordable home staging solutions to help sell your home more quickly. Kathy can be reached via email at info@homestagingatlanta.com or by phone at 678 522 8392. Their Atlanta Home Staging services offer a variety of options to accommodate all budgets. To view examples of their before and after pictures, visit their portfolio at Home Staging Atlanta Gallery.
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Kathy, this post should be a "must read" for anyone wanting to sell their home. It's a matter of recruiting the experts and developing and following a plan. Great work!
Kathy why people think that they can get away with less still baffles me. Great work and informative post. Of course I'd like to see more photos!
Thanks, John!
Hi, Ginger. More photos to come in future posts.
Kathy
The room looks beautiful Kathy! Your post is fabulous too! A must read for all serious about selling.
Fantastic results Kathy. Teamwork is powerful!
Kathy -- thanks so much for your post. I always appreciate your relevant (and timely) content and terrific staging pictures. Congratulations on contributing to a successful sale!
Hi Kathy,
In my area a property sells in each price range about once a month. This is exactly what you need to do to make sure it's your property.
Kathy,
Great transformation of the fireplace treatment! Full price contract in just one week could only be the result of fantastic teamwork! Congratulations!
I totally agree, hire the professionals, if you really are serious about getting it done. Sometimes DIY'ers can take weeks or even months and the job may or may not turn out. I like the fireplace too!
Kathy ~ Good post with important points for homeowners ... professionals are worth their weight in gold. I can't wait to see more photos of this project! Congrats on the lightning fast sale!
Hi Kathy, I couldn't agree more. I just did a seminar and stressed that staging works, but it works wonders if you have 2 other factors in place. Price the home right, and get great photos to market the inside and out. Great post and great staging.
Excellent points! It really is a team effort!
Nice posting Kathy N! Finding the BEST professionals makes all the difference in the world! Marketing is important....having the house look great and priced right is only part of the equation...and you did a great job of pointing these facts out!! Regards-Kathleen G
Kathy, great call on the fireplace, and yes, celery would kill the red and white. You continue to do stellar work and write interesting, informative posts. Thanks.
Kathy ~ Great job on the staging and the post. When you have the right recipe for selling a property it will work. Pricing it right and looking great.
Great post Kathy! I absolutely love the tile around the fireplace. It instantly upgrades the whole room! Great advice to bring in the pro's. No one can navigate the rough waters of selling their house on their own and expect to succeed.
Great news and congrats on a home run. Good news like this helps us all.
Excellent example of how team work gets the job done. I know it works in my area.
Kathy: Great job staging and great post explaining the benefits of hiring professionals. I'm glad the home sold so quickly. The seller deserves the benefit of a fast sale since he did everything right.
Kathy....yep...we ARE professionals and we CAN help you Sell your home!
Great post! Are we scheduling time this month...it will be gone before we know it!
Hi Kathy-
I also recommended a dark marble tile update around a white fireplace mantel that had nondescript tan tile. The installer actually placed the new tile right over the old, using a super liquid adhesive product, and stated that the heat from using the fireplace would not cause any separation problems.
Wow, love the work that you did. Thanks soooo much for displaying the before/afters. As an ASP and a realtor, I am amazed how few people in this area realize the importance of preparing your home for the market. Thanks for stressing the importance of finding a great realtor AND pricing it right. I just posted on Staging before/after of the home that our staging crew did in Indiana for the paper and TV. You had mentioned earlier that you would consider featuring it so wanted to bring it to the forefront. Thanks a million. Gina
Hi Kathy, I already commented on this but wanted to let you know I just followed you on Twitter! Looking forward to your tweets. :)