Will the costs of staging be expensive?

I recently had a leading Hobart agent (who happened to be engaging my services for the first time) ask me about the value he would be getting for contracting me to stage his brand new vacant property. It was a beautiful location, quality fit out and finish but in order to truly display the potential of this property, staging was the way to go.

It is a good and fair question I think. This agent who had never dealt with me before was suddenly trusting me with his property to present it to the market as a quality home of distinction. Not only that, but he (like all my clients) was paying in advance to secure the rental goods. What would his money get? Would it be quality furnishings? Would the end result reflect his wishes for the property? It is hard to allow someone into your property to complete work on your behalf when you cannot really gauge the end result.

At the end of the day it comes down to trusting the stager and knowing they know what they are doing.

In valuing the worth of staging it is important to understand the costs associated with staging covers many different elements, especially in a vacant property where all you have to work with is the walls and windows. The costs cover the furniture, the rugs, the lamps, the linen, the pillows, the artwork and all the decorative accessories that make a home a home. Add to this the time it takes to select the right pieces for an individual property (as no properties are alike in any form or way) and then prepare them for transport to the site (plus the transport and hauling of heavy sofas and dining tables). The installation of the property takes considerable time. Despite some military like pre-planning to get a job just right even before arriving at the property, often plans need to change on-site. And once you are at the property you can be confronted with mess, furniture that was requested to be removed and many more obsticles that you need to work around. Then, once this is all sorted you need to measure up walls for artwork, you need to iron linen for multiple beds and then set and style each room to ensure it looks the best it can.

The work does not stop there. Once the rental period is over the stock must be packed away, transported, unpacked, cleaned and prepared for entry back into inventory in readiness for its next usage.

So although there appears to be a price involved in having your home or property staged, keep in mind the effort that goes into making a property look its best. And remember, the amount paid to a stager is an INVESTMENT in the sale price of your property.

Shift by Design ensure that all projects undertaken are priced accurately and fairly for the work and inventory required. We don't waste money by advising clients to install items not needed and keep installation costs to a minimum. For more information on property presentation or to arrange an inspection of your property visit www.shiftbydesign.com.au

Drive-by home staging

While working on bedrooms, living rooms and bathrooms in a property for sale is key for a home stager in presenting a property, the most important element of the home is quite often neglected as part of the preparation. Clients and buyers like to see a nicely made bed, or perhaps a nice sofa that has been hired for the sale process, but home staging and property presentation is so much more than that.

The art of home staging is all about first impressions, and where does the first, first impression occur? The front yard. This vital piece of real estate is where you can win or lose a prospective buyer and if it is not right or does not convey the right message, all the internal home staging work in the world is not going to get the buyer back for a second look, particularly if they are only doing an initial drive-by. Curb appeal in any property for sale is a MUST.

Lawns must be cut, overgrown trees must be pruned and tidied, paths must be clutter free and easily accessed and gardens beds weeded and mulched.

The front of the home needs to be carefully reviewed too. Are there loose bricks, rotten timberwork, inoperative doorbells or cracked glass in the windows? A buyer looks for these issues and mentally calculates what it will cost to replace should they decide to buy. Then, typically, they multiply that cost by two to be safe and then look for that figure off the asking price.

Worst still, if the buyer is making these calculations and looking for issues with the property prior to getting to the front door, imagine what they will find when they enter the house and the dollar value they will tally up inside the property.

Yes this process is time consuming to correct if you work all week and have limited time of a weekend, but this is where Shift by Design can assist. Shift by Design are specialists in preparing property for sale in the Hobart, Tasmania market and can provide cost effective creative solutions to assist you sell your home faster and for a better price. We review property from a buyer perspective and as such see the issues that will put buyers off. A small investment in property presentation may save you thousands in a price drop.

Is staging a home subjective?

It is an interesting experience being a property presenter (or home stager) in that you can encounter some negative feedback from people who have never used your services. I recently heard 2nd hand comments from an agent who had advised their vendor not to consider staging a property as the process was 'too subjective' and really only reflected the ideas of one person.

This raises an interesting point. Having your home evaluated for sale by a home stager IS a subjective practice. It is the review of one property by one person. So in that case, how does the home stager know what the buying audience is actually looking for? Well, I would suggest experience, training, knowledge of home types and the fact that as a stager, I am independant of that property as some pretty good reasons. I have no emotional link to the property other than to see it presented in the best possible light.

It is also knowing what the buying audience is NOT looking for in a property. How many times have you seen property listings in the real estate guide or online where you struggle to see the carpet for the boxes packed up on it, or the kitchen counter colour is hidden due to last night's dishes being piled up waiting to be done. While these are easily sorted, it is the issue of funiture layout, the quantity of furniture and the amount of knick-knacks that go with it that people cannot see past.

Buyers struggle to determine the use for any given room in a property unless it is clearly defined. As they walk around the property viewing what could be their potential home they need emotional involvement. Defining the property and the way it is presented is what stagers do, it is what they know. They use their skills to create emotional involvement for potential buyers and to make the process of selling a home easier for the agent.

So is the process of professionally preparing a home and staging it subjective? Yes. But that subjective opinion is just as professional as that of a doctor or a lawyer as we offer insight into making the most of the marketing of a home at sale time.

Shift by Design offer full property presentation and home staging service to the greater Hobart area (Tasmania, Australia) and can assist with the preparation of occupied homes, or professionally staged vacant apartments or homes with their own stock of rental furniture and accessories.

Visit the Shift by Design website for more information

Why property presentation?

Property presentation is a growing industry in the United States and is rapidly gaining momentum in the larger capital cities of Australia. More commonly referred to as 'Home Staging', property presentation is all about increasing the visual benefits of a given property and to make it more attractive to a larger buying audience.

Property presentation provides the vendor an opportunity to make their home stand out from the crowd, to have it looking its very best and to attract the right buyer.
A better presented property will always make the home buyer feel more comfortable and give a better impression right from the start. In some cases, it may reduce the chance of price negotiation which means your property sells for a greater price.

Most people when selling their homes have an expectation of price which they have researched based on similar homes which have sold in the neighbourhood. But is your property really ready for makret? Does it have that wow factor that will convince a potential buyer to sign on the dotted line?

Shift by Design are specialists in the area of property presentation and interior redesign. We are experienced at preparing properties for market and ensuring all of the key features of your property are properly presented.
Shift by Design can also arrange furniture rental, accessory hire, project manage contractors and assist in installing and making changes within your home.

Visit the Shift by Design website for more information.

New rental furniture stock arrives in Hobart

Shift by Design, Tasmania's leading specialist in property presentation and home staging services, has received its new range of rental furniture direct from the recent Furnitex expo showcasing the emerging trends in furniture design from around Australia and the world.

"Shift by Design is pleased to be at the forefront of providing innovative and quality furniture to assist Tasmanian vendors prepare their property for sale and gain the best price they can for their property" said Director, Adam Luttrell.

"We have chosen a contemporary range that will suit homes across the board, but will look particularly stunning in a vacant property for sale."

"Short term furniture rental is a difficult commodity to obtain in Tasmania and this is where Shift by Design hope to assist home sellers, real estate agents, landlords and property developers."

In addition to our existing service offering including property aesthetic reviews, project mangement for contractor services such as gardeners and painters and accessory rental Shift by Design hope the addition of their new stock will make the process of selling a home in Tasmania a less stressful process for the vendor.

For more information on the full range of services Shift by Design offer visit http://www.shiftbydesign.com.au/

Selling homes in Hobart

Shift by Design were contacted by Kerry and John of Sandy Bay in Tasmania to assist them review their home for ways to improve the overall look and feel to potential buyers. Kerry advised that the property had been on the market for some months but had not generated any real interest much to her frustration. After reviewing the property Shift by Design submitted our findings for their property in order to present it to buyers in its best light.

Both Kerry and John were very receptive to the ideas and could see the potential and contracted Shift by Design to complete the install and arrange accessory and furniture hire. While this work was underway, the owners decided to take the property off the market during the makeover to ensure everything was ready next time a buyer walked through the door.

The property was a great base to work from as it was well maintained and with some decluttering, fresh paint, hired furniture and some accent accessories such as rugs, vases and fresh linen the property came alive.

With some hard work by the owners to complete the list of required jobs and Shift by Design's eye for what was required the property it was soon back on the market.

After only one week back on the market the property was sold. A great result for both the owners and Shift by Design.

See Kerry and John's testimonial and before/after shots at http://www.shiftbydesign.com.au/portfolio_testimonials.html

Welcome to the Shift by Design blog

Finally, Shift by Design has a blog. This is where news and success stories will be shared for all to read.

Let me introduce myself, my name is Adam Luttrell and with my partner, Donielle, we have set to create Tasmania's leading Property Presentation service providing home sellers, landlords, property developers and real estate agents a method to showcase their properties in the best possible light.

The services Shift by Design offer the market are:

• property presentation consultations (home staging)
• installation and property styling (creating the right look and feel in your home)
• furniture rental
• accessory rental
• contractor project management (gardeners, painters, electricians etc)
• renovation project management
• open home styling

This service is cost effective and represents a small investment in the selling price of your property.

For leading advice and quality service delivery, discuss your property presentation requirements with Shift by Design - the property presenters.