Feels Like Home Interiors Nominated for 2011 RESA Rookie Stager of the Year for the Northeast Region

I am so excited and honored to announce that I have been nominated as a finalist for the 2011 Real Estate Staging Association™ (RESA®) Rookie Stager of the Year™ for the Northeast Region. 
Home Stagers from all across North America submitted before and after photos of their work to be considered for this award and then the membership voted to determine the finalists for each region.  The finalists will be judged by a panel of industry professionals and the winners will be announced at the upcoming RESA Home Staging International Conference in January in Las Vegas. 

I am thrilled and incredibly honored to be named as a finalist for this award.  And I am very excited to be heading to Vegas for the RESA Conference in January!

Another Rave Review for Feels Like Home Interiors Staging Services

Another Rave Review for Feels Like Home Interiors

I'm always delighted to hear from my clients how our home staging services helped them.  I just received this from Meryl Neiman, REALTOR® with Howard Hanna in their Squirrel Hill Office: 

"It has been a pleasure working with Mary to help my clients sell their home. Although their house was already in good condition, Mary's suggestions made the property truly stand out in a competitive market. She has a wonderful eye for detail and a genuine knack for knowing what buyers are looking for in a home.


My clients want advice that is concrete, practical, and easy to implement. Mary is on the mark in all these areas and she is very budget conscious as well, which everyone appreciates. I was so impressed with Mary and the impact her advice had on the presentation of my clients' home that I decided to offer her Strategy Session free to all my sellers. In today's market, buyers want homes that are move-in ready and HGTV pretty. I would not hesitate to recommend Mary to help your home shine."

~ Meryl Neiman, Howard Hanna, Squirrel Hill Office
   http://www.picturingpittsburgh.com/

Fall ~ The Perfect Time to Go Au Naturel at Home!

Ok, I am not suggesting you decorate in the buff in order to spice things up at home, although that might get some interesting results. I am suggesting that you stick with what comes naturally when making seasonal fall updates to warm up your living spaces.

Look to nature for your inspiration and many of your materials—and you will create a fresh, organic, warm feeling in your home that will carry you right through Thanksgiving.

So here are some of my Top Tips to Add Spice To Your Fall Décor:

Tip #1: Bring the Outdoors In

Look no farther than your backyard and you will find wonderful natural items that will add life to your surroundings. Beautifully colored leaves, acorns, chestnuts, pine cones, branches, crab apples, bittersweet, and fallen pine needles are just a few of the free treasures nature provides for your decorating pleasure.

Tip #2: Head to the Market

Make a quick stop at your local Farmers’ Market to find more affordable natural wonders to welcome autumn. Look for pumpkins (white ones are a favorite of mine), gourds, Indian corn, mums, apples and pears.

Tip #3: Go with Groupings

Add the biggest impact by layering a number of fall items together in a basket, on a decorative plate, or a fall colored or textured fabric and then display on your dining, entry, coffee or end table. Adding decorative candles in your groupings can warm the look up even more. (Just be careful to have them in safe containers, not to burn them close to flammable items and to never leave a burning candle unattended.)

Tip #4: Warm up Your Palette

Look outdoors for your color inspiration, too. Now is a great time to add glowing gold, warm russet, and spicy orange shades with throws, pillows, and other affordable decorative touches.

So go grab some warm apple cider, a crackling fire, and someone to cuddle with on the couch while you enjoy the magic of an au naturel autumn—both inside and outside your cozy home.

Feels Like Home Interiors Shares Home Staging Tips on Pittsburgh Today Live ~ Whirl Wednesday



Feels Like Home Interiors interview on KDKA-TV

 I had a fantastic time sharing home staging tips with Rick Dayton of KDKA-TV and Christine Tumpson, Editor of Whirl Magazine, on Pittsburgh Today Live's Whirl Wednesday. 

What a terrific staff at the KDKA studio and Christine and the gang at Whirl Magazine are simply top notch!

Watch the video here.

Professional Staging Advice ~ A Smart Way to Avoid Costly Price Reductions When Selling Your Home

The number of homes for sale making price reductions has increased for the third month in row to 26% according to statistics just released by Trulia.com and reported in REALTOR® Magazine.   This news is not too surprising given the current market conditions.  But you can help avoid becoming part of this undesirable statistic. 

What is an important way to help avoid having to make costly price reductions when selling your home?  Of course your house needs to be properly priced to begin with and your Realtor® will be a huge source of advice on that decision.  And, in addition to proper pricing, it is essential that you make sure your home is properly prepared for sale so that it presents as well as possible to potential buyers. 

What is the best way to make sure your house maximizes its potential when selling?  Get advice and assistance from a home staging professional.  A home staging expert will help you take a fresh look at your home through the buyer's eyes.  A stager's goal is to help you sell in the least time for the highest possible price.  How great to have someone in your corner wanting to make you money and reduce your stress level. 
 
Want to get the biggest bang for your staging investment?  Consult with a Home Staging Expert before your house hits the market.  Remember, you only get one chance to be a fresh listing.  When buyers view a home that is "move-in ready" and makes an emotional connection with them, they will be more motivated to act.  They will be concerned that other buyers will likely be making solid offers on this hot new listing and they will be motivated to move quickly to make your house their home. 

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Looking to sell your house in the Pittsburgh, PA area successfully? Feels Like Home Interiors helps you maximize your home's potential. For more information, contact us at mary@feelslikehomeinteriors.com .

Dining Room Do Over

Take a look at the original MLS photo for this formal dining room.  This space has some terrific features like its size, a tray ceiling, great windows, but they are not being highlighted enough for buyers to notice them.  Also there are items in this photo that distract a buyer including an electric wheel chair and a stuffed bunny. 

 

Simple changes made a huge difference in the appeal of a room.  For a formal dining room make sure the lighting is up to date, the walls have a nice neutral fresh coat of paint, and that you create an inviting setting.  Also, taking the photo from the best angle to highlight the features works wonders as well. 

Now thanks to a few simple and inexpensive changes, this is an updated dining room where buyers can picture themselves enjoying holiday meals and entertaining friends. 

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Looking to sell your house in the Pittsburgh, PA area successfully? Feels Like Home Interiors helps you maximize your home's potential.  For more information, contact us at mary@feelslikehomeinteriors.com .

Feels Like Home Interiors Featured in Whirl@HOME Article on Staging

So excited to have been interviewed by Jessie Cadle for a recent article ~ Set the Stage in the fall issue of Whirl@HOME, a new Pittsburgh area magazine. In the article, several Pittsburgh professional stagers share excellent suggestions for preparing a house for a successful sale.  Feels Like Home Interiors explains the importance of the "bling factor" (think hardware, lighting, fixtures) as a wise investment when wanting to make a home appeal to potential buyers.  The article even includes before and after photos of one of our kitchen transformations. 

 

Sooner or Later? A Key Question for Savvy Sellers

Lately, I have been working with a number of clients who decided to seek my professional staging advice--AFTER a stretch of time on the market with no offers and little interest. 

I am happy to work with these smart sellers and Realtors(r) who now understand first hand that they need to package their home properly for a successful sale. We make key changes to the interior and exterior of the home that result in an increase of traffic and finally some genuine interest from buyers.

But I always wish they had called me sooner--long BEFORE the house hit the market.

Why?

Because despite the fact that the changes we make will do great things to help their home appeal to buyers, they can never get those crucial first weeks as a fresh listing back again. Savvy sellers will always get the biggest bang for their staging investment by properly preparing the home BEFORE they list their house.

Sellers often tell me they want to “test the waters” first and if they don’t sell, then they will call me for a Stage to Sell! Strategy Session. But this is a very costly decision by the seller. By the time they realize their “test the waters” strategy isn’t going to work, they have usually have had to drop their price once or twice by many thousands of dollars.

You only get one chance to be a fresh listing on the market. Be smart and invest wisely with both your time and your money in order to assure that you take full advantage of your house’s big debut.
 
 

 

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Looking to sell your house successfully?  Feels Like Home Interiors helps you maximize your home's potential.   For more information, contact us at mary@feelslikehomeinteriors.com.

Another Rave Review

Love getting feedback from my clients.  Check out this rave review from a couple I recently had the pleasure of helping get settled into their new home.  

“We LOVE the window treatments! Eric loves, loves, loves the changes in the downstairs retreat (aka—his “man” cave). And we are both thrilled with the living room, dining room, kitchen and sunroom transformations. It is amazing what a difference moving the furniture around and properly placing the art and accessories can make in each space. 

Words cannot express how grateful I am that you have been here to help me as we settle into our new home, Mary. You have been so wonderful to work with and I am absolutely delighted with what we have accomplished. Our house has gone from a cold, bland structure to really feeling like HOME!

Looking forward to having your help in the rest of the rooms!”

~ Lisa Gauthier

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Please let us know if you would like Feels Like Home Interiors to help you maximizie your home's potential.   Visit our website for more information or contact us at mary@feelslikehomeinteriors.com.

Real Estate Staging Association Releases 2009 Staging Stats

The Real Estate Staging Association's (RESA) 2009 Home Staging Statistics Report

126 vacant and occupied homes previously on the market sat on average 263 days unsold--this is about 9 months! Those same homes were professionally staged and sold in an average of 60 days ~ 78% less time on the market after staging!

284 vacant and occupied homes that were staged before they went on the market ~ sold in just 40.5 days on average with staging--significantly quicker than the 9 months plus average for unstaged properties.

Professional Home Staging continues to be one of the smartest investments a savvy home seller can make!

Download the complete RESA report here.

Don't Let "Spot" Stop Your Home Sale

If you are thinking about selling your house and own a dog, check out this excellent article about common mistakes dog owners often make when selling their homes...Thanks to Djuna Woods, a dog-friendly Realtor® from the Silicon Valley, for this "Spot"-on advice!

Pittsburgh PA Home Selling Strategy—Start Now to Sell Well

Every year, more savvy home sellers are seeing the value in properly preparing their homes for a sale, yet just about as many are still confused about when is the ideal time to start getting their home ready for a successful sale. If you hope to be a seller who sells quickly and for the best possible price, then “the sooner the better!” should be your home preparation mantra.

If you are fortunate enough to know that you may be moving in the next year or even in the next two years, there are many tasks that you should start on now that will help you be ready when listing day arrives and at the same time keep the prep process manageable. You may think this seems ridiculously early to be getting ready to sell, but it is not.

The process of getting the home you are living in expertly prepared for success on the market takes a good bit of planning and time. While it can be accomplished with Herculean effort in a shorter period when need be, the best scenario is to be able to break the preparation process down into manageable steps and slowly work away at the steps. Decluttering, depersonalizing, painting, updating, rearranging, sprucing up of curb appeal/outdoor spaces, and other tasks take time to be done well. Making your the most desirable one in your price range is what will bring in quick and strong offers.

So how do you know where to start and what needs to be done? You’ve likely been living in this home for a while now, and it can be difficult to figure out what will be the best way to appeal to the broadest range of buyers. You will benefit hugely by getting expert advice on how to most effectively and efficiently spend your time and budget on getting your home ready for a successful sale. This is why now, several months or even a year or more before you plan to be on the market, is the ideal time to call a professional home stager and set up a strategy session to figure out your game plan for preparing your home to sell well.

Bang for your Buck—Savvy Sellers are Smart Investors

A home staging consultation or strategy session costs only a few hundred dollars and then many smart sellers invest a bit more and bring their stager back in to help with the finishing touches shortly before their house hits the market. And the statistics show that if it is staged before listing, your home will likely sell for 7% to 11% more than it would if you had not staged it to sell.

Let’s crunch the numbers. Let’s say your house would list and sell (eventually) for $300,000 without staging. But being the savvy seller you are, you invest $1000 in a staging consultation and then some finishing touch staging and a $1000 in materials to update your house. Now you sell your home in a short time for between $321,000 and $333,000. So you invested $2000 and some time and elbow grease in preparing your home to sell. And now you walk away with between $21,000 and $33,000 more in equity—a 1050% to 1650% return for your $2000 investment! Not to mention a quick and painless sale.

“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.”
~Thomas Edison

Plan and prepare now to ensure your good fortune when you sell your house!