It takes a team to sell a house

Your home environment is the foundation for your family’s life. Over time, the house may get neglected. By getting acclimated to how things appear, we can’t be objective to see the potential for change or the necessity of it. It may need a facelift. This is usually the case when it is time to put the house on the market. It takes a team to sell a house.

Before photo of the office. Surrounding yourself with things that you love is great for dwelling but not for selling. Photo credit: Claudia Jacobs

After photo of the office. Major editing of furniture and items along with fresh paint and refinished flooring transformed the room. Photo credit: Steve Belner

The seller’s story as told by Peggy Kaplan:

“I lived in Goshen for 17 years and the house never looked so good as the day we listed it. I could not have achieved this without the help of so many wonderful people. It all started with Claudia and Pat.

There was too much stuff and I was clueless how to get the house to a point that anyone would buy it. I was actually embarrassed at our first consultation. Through a process of elimination we maximized the size of each room. I took really quick notes during the staging consultation and did everything you both told me to do. The final results not only sold the house at a better price, but we sold during the season when the market typically slows to a crawl.

The last people to help me were the icing on the cake. Robyn Yearwood and her team of Operation Cleanout (845-544-4831) literally changed my life. During the staging process everything was removed from the house and piled into the basement. The mess was causing me major nightmares. They came in and made it all go away. They were organized and a day that could have been so unpleasant turned out to be an immense relief and fun.”

Before photo of living room. Too much furniture crowded the living room. Photo credit: Claudia Jacobs

After photo of living room which was freshly painted, staged with existing furniture and art from other areas of the home. Dated sofas were replaced with a new sofa. Photo credit: Steve Belner of Photovisions

The Realtor’s story as told by Patricia Sassi of William Raveis Baer and McIntosh of Warwick (845-800-3937):

“I met with Peggy and her husband, Andrew, to discuss the pricing of their home based on properties that have sold similar to theirs. Their home was located in a beautiful neighborhood and had the potential of selling at a “higher price”. At first, I had suggested a lower list price, a bit more realistic since their home came across as dated and very basic inside with some wear and tear. After expressing my professional opinion, I felt like I had taken the wind out of Peggy’s sails. We discussed the pros and cons of investing in Claudia’s recommendations and their return on investment. Claudia had suggested purging, de-cluttering, painting, minor repairs and refinish the hardwood floors. The owners took charge and implemented all recommendations.

One of Peggy’s ideas was to remove the dated original kitchen island. She replaced it with a new, more stylish island and chairs that amazingly transformed the kitchen.

In the end, there was about a $40,000 swing between selling the home in its original condition verses re-vamping the home. The owners spent approximately $16,000 in updates. The end result was multiple offers and an accepted offer in 3 weeks of being on the market.

Pulling in a team of professionals can make all the difference when a homeowner is placing their largest financial asset on the market. The homeowner should always make sure their Realtor has access to a network of experts including a stager, painters, contractors and a photographer to name a few.”

Kitchen photo taken at initial staging consultation. The way we live in a home is not the way to stage and sell the house. Photo credit: Claudia Jacobs

After photo of kitchen that was de-cluttered, floors refinished, walls freshly painted. The new kitchen island along with professional photographer gives the kitchen the appearance of a full remodel. Photo credit: Steve Belner of Photovisions.

The Stager’s Story (that’s me):

Every staging consultation in every home is different, as one size does not fit all. It is never too early to start preparing for sale but when in a rush, motivation and action steps are key. It is important to hire qualified people to get the job done and who respect the emotional process of letting go of the family home.

Peggy immediately went into action. She surrounded herself with a team of people to help with the process focusing on actions with high return on investment and successfully sold her house quickly and for more money. That is a staging success story.