Stage To Sell

Staging Success Story – Santa Monica Townhome

Posted on 14 January 2012 | Comments Off

Towards the end of 2011, Stage to Sell | Los Angeles Home Staging was contacted by some of our favorite clients over at Sunset Park Realtors to stage one of their new listings in Santa Monica. It was an occupied, multi-level townhome that needed some minor fixing up before it was ready to be staged. The home was beautiful and well-maintained, but the homeowner’s living room furniture did not create a welcoming first impression for buyers.

As you can see, when you walked into the living room you were immediately faced with the back of a sofa and the TV was the focal point of the space.

Our solution was to bring in some smaller scale furniture and to reorient the room to open up the space and invite buyers in.

As you can see, not only did we create more seating in the space, but the space suddenly feels a whole lot larger when it’s’ not dominated by an oversized sofa.

This property sold for full price the same day it went on the market!

Here are a few more before and after photos from this staging success story:

For more information about Stage to Sell, vacant or occupied staging services, consultations, paint color selection, or furniture/accessory rentals, check out our website at www.StageToSell.biz!

 

 

 

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Recently Staged Homes by Stage to Sell | Los Angeles Home Staging

Posted on 12 July 2011 | Comments Off

Here at Stage to Sell, we have been busy staging homes all over Los Angeles this summer. So busy, in fact, that we haven’t had a moment to blog about all the great projects we’ve been working on in the last month. So here’s a list for you – many of them already sold or in escrow!

2149 Basil Lane, Los Angeles (IN ESCROW)
$929,000
This inspirational Bill Mack contemporary architectural on a rare, private cul de sac just east of Beverly Glen features a 2-story tall wall of glass looking out across an open, sunlit living room and dining area to a large landscaped patio and deck surrounded by tall trees, tranquil canyon views and sky. Listed by Elyse Gunter of Coldwell Banker.

1925 S. Beverly Glen #27, Los Angeles (SOLD)
$519,000
This sophisticated split level townhouse with soaring ceilings in the living room is just moments from all that Century City has to offer. Listed by Deborah Bremner of Coldwell Banker.

2011 Ashland, Santa Monica
$1,375,000
This stunning contemporary craftsman home, listed by Megan and Stacey Valnes of Sunset Park Realtors, is open, airy, light and bright and will entice any buyer.

1749 Wellesley Dr., Santa Monica (PENDING)
$875,000
Turn-key traditional on an over sized lot. Oozing with vintage style & charm but updated for modern living. Listed by Jennifer Field of Teles Properties.

840 20th St. #3, Santa Monica
$849,000
Exquisite north of Wilshire townhome with designer finishes throughout and a private rooftop deck. Listed by Mike Schwartz of Coldwell Banker.

2329 Castle Heights, Los Angeles
$929,000

With hardwood floors and plantation shutters throughout, this classic home exudes elegance at every turn. Listed by Trevor Thomas of Bankers Realty Exclusive, Inc.

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Sunny and Bright Santa Monica Townhome – Staged and Ready for Your Buyers!

Posted on 2 May 2011 | Comments Off

Stage to Sell recently staged this vacant beautiful contemporary 2 bedroom + loft townhome in Santa Monica for Elizabeth Wainwright of Keller Williams Santa Monica.

835 Grant St. #2, Santa Monica – $599,000

Bright, sunny, Sunset Park town home with southern exposure and great architectural feel. Living room has a dramatic, 2-story ceiling, French doors to outdoor deck and gas/wood fireplace. Spacious loft/office opens to wraparound balcony that leads up to huge rooftop deck with views of mountains and city lights. Stainless steel appliances & Sub-Zero fridge in kitchen. SxS secured parking. New carpet and a fresh coat of paint. All major appliances included.

 

Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging company. Owner and principal designer Annie Pinsker-Brown was chosen the 2011 Professional Stager of the Year for all of North America by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA). She is an ASP (Accredited Staging Professional), a member of RESA and IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals), and an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors.

Annie has Staged homes for Bravo’s hit show “Million Dollar Listing” and TLC’s “Property Ladder.” She has also been featured in books and recent articles on Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.

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Justed Staged – Gorgeous Modern New Construction in Miracle Mile

Posted on 15 February 2011 | Comments Off

Check out the photos of the finished product!

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Just Staged & Listed – Adorable Culver City Home

Posted on 15 February 2011 | Comments Off

As a professional home stager based in Culver City, I was recently asked to stage this adorable Culver City home. The owner had been renting it out for a year and was now ready to sell and relocate to Northern California. First there was some touchup painting to be done, as well as replacing kitchen cabinet hardware and removing overgrown trees and a chain link fence that blocked the view of the house from the street. Then we got to work furnishing the home with buyers in mind.

Check out the photos of the finished product!

4733 Marshall Dr., Culver City CA 90230

$639,000

Listed by Todd Miller, Keller Williams Santa Monica

Hidden behind mature trees this 3-bedroom home offers hardwood floors, updated bathrooms and a nice master suite. The backyard has a large grass yard & patio lined with bamboo. The garage could be used as an art studio or office. With a great Westside location (only 3 miles to Santa Monica, 3.5 miles to Venice Pier & 4.5 miles to LAX), the home sits on a quiet Culver City cul-de-sac near shops & restaurants.

If you are selling your Los Angeles home, let us help you get it SOLD so you can get on with your life!

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Annie Pinsker-Brown | Stage to Sell
Owner & Principal Designer
310-384-1084
www.stagetosell.biz

“We get you to SOLD so you can get on with your life!”

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Stage to Sell is the premier West Los Angeles Home Staging Company, and Owner & Principal Designer Annie Pinsker-Brown was named the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) 2011 Professional Stager of the Year.

Annie is an ASP (Accredited Staging Professional), a RESA-PRO, and an affiliate member of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors. She is also a Home Staging instructor for Staging and Redesign (SAR).

Annie has Staged LA homes for Bravo’s hit show “Million Dollar Listing” and TLC’s “Property Ladder.” She has also been featured in recent articles on Home Staging in Los Angeles Magazine, The New York Times, Costco Connection and Frontiers Magazine.

If you would like to see more of our Home Staging work, visit our website . There is an extensive gallery of before & after photos , as well as a list of our Staged properties currently on the market.

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Just Listed – Stunning Mediterranean Villa in Westwood

Posted on 30 January 2011 | Comments Off

We are often asked whether we can stage a property using some of the home owner’s existing furniture. The answer is a resounding YES! In this case, the seller had perfectly usable pieces for her living and dining room that she was willing to leave behind in order to save a bit on the staging rental fees. We happily agreed. We brought in additional pieces for the other rooms and enhanced what she had. Here are the results:

10740 Ashton Ave.

Listed by Daniel Bahr – CORE Commercial Real Estate. Call 818-231-2231 for more information or to arrange a showing.

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Now is the Time to Sell – Los Angeles Times

Posted on 5 January 2011 | Comments Off

If you have sellers that are “on the fence” about putting their home on the market and want to wait it out for a few months, send them this article from the LA Times.

Housing industry consultant Steve Harney says that prices may drop 5-8% as banks unload anywhere from 3 to 8 million foreclosures in the second quarter of 2011.

But here is some good news:

“Harney is among those who believe that the worst is generally over for the market, and that the inventory mess and lending issues will work themselves out in 18 months or so as pent-up buyer demand begins to reassert itself.

Meanwhile, he said, selling earlier this year will probably net a better return than late.”

Click here to read the complete article.

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Getting Your House Sold in 2011

Posted on 28 December 2010 | Comments Off

Here’s a link to an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal about what it takes to get a home sold.

Some of the highlights include:

· List in early January to take advantage of post-holiday home shoppers

“If you hit the ground running and you’re a fresh listing that has done everything right, you’ve got the best shot.” – Louis Cammarosano, general manager of HomeGain.com

· Price it right from the start

“The longer something sits on the market, the more price reductions you might have to make and the more potential buyers will assume that there’s something wrong with the home. So more often than not, it’s best not to try testing the waters with a higher price.” - Louis Cammarosano, general manager of HomeGain.com

· Get the house ready
There are two factors that predict how quickly a home will sell and for what price: PRICE and CONDITION.

In our market, homes in the $1MM and under range are often selling within the first month if they are staged and priced to sell. There is a lot of competition out there, so if your seller is serious about selling quickly, she must make sure that her home stands out from the competition (in a good way).

A well-staged home will feel spacious and inviting. It will appeal to your target buyer (whether it is a family, a young couple or retirees). It will be neutral enough to allow any buyer to envision him or herself living in the home, but will never feel bland and forgettable.

Gone are the days when sellers on the west side of Los Angeles could just put up a sign in the yard and have their property sold within days. In this buyer’s market, it takes a lot more to get a home sold. You as the Realtor know what the best price is for your listing. Let a professional Home Stager help you determine the best way to show the home off in its best light and attract your target buyer. Working as a team, we can get it sold!

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Stage to Sell Nominated for RESA® Pro Stager of the Year™ in West Region

Posted on 15 November 2010 | Comments Off

I am very proud to announce that Stage to Sell has been nominated for the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA®) Industry Award for RESA Professional Stager of the Year™ for the West Region.

Fabulous stagers from all over North America submitted their before and after photos for consideration, and I am humbled and honored to be counted among the finalists.

The finalists will be judged by a panel of industry professionals, and the winners will be announced at the RESA Home Staging International Conference, January 24th in Las Vegas.

It may sound cliche, but it really is an honor just to be nominated!

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Staging Under Construction

Posted on 12 November 2010 | Comments Off

I have had two stagings recently where we’ve showed up to the property, moving van full, staging crew ready to go, and walked into a full-on construction site!

Now you would think I would know better, seeing as how I posted this article back in 2008, warning other stagers to make sure their properties are “Stage Ready” before they show up. However, even the most experienced of us can sometimes slip when the agents and sellers are in a hurry to get a property staged and on the market.

So it happened (twice) that I found myself and my crew at a property that was simply not ready for us.

A couple of months ago, we were asked to stage a property that had been in the middle of a big remodel when the owner ran out of money before s/he could finish it. Our client purchased the home with the intent of quickly finishing the work and flipping it. While most of the construction seemed to progress fairly quickly, there were some issues with the electrical that the inspector refused to sign off on. Until he signed off, they couldn’t have electricity at the property. I informed the client of the reasons that we can’t stage without water and power and he assured me that the water would definitely be turned on in time, but that he wouldn’t have confirmation on the power until closer to the staging day. When I pushed him on this, he responded that the contractor knew my schedule, so I shouldn’t worry. Famous last words!

We arrived to the job site to find that not only was there no electricity (so we couldn’t steam any of the bedding or turn on any of the lights to take photos when we were done), but the contractors were actually still working. They were just beginning to install a large Jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom. The tub itself (which was quite large) had to sit inside the master bedroom while the workers  poured the concrete and waited for it to set before they could install the tub. Unfortunately that meant that my furniture delivery guys couldn’t get the bed, dresser and nightstands into the room!

After much back and forth, we compromised with the workers. They would move the tub into the very large master closet so we could install the furniture and stage the master bedroom. Unfortunately we still didn’t have power, so we couldn’t steam any of the bedding in the three bedrooms. We took photos, but they were taken with natural light only since none of the overhead lights or lamps worked.

After almost two months of me checking in weekly with the owner about when we could come back to do the steaming and photos, we finally got the go-ahead that they had power this week. We showed up on Wednesday only to find that, once again, the power was off (though it had been fully functional just the day before). The sad part is that the owner has paid for two months of staging rentals and hasn’t had the full effect of being able to show the property in its “best light” – pun intended. The Realtor has continued to hold open houses and to do showings, despite the lack of power, and the good news is that there may already be an offer on the table! That would be a wonderful result for this seller and I certainly hope it goes through. But lesson learned – or so I thought…

A mere month and a half later, I was asked to stage another property that was in the midst of a major remodel. In fact, this is what it looked like on the day I went to preview the home.

But the Realtor assured me that they would be ready for us in 8 days, which was how long we had before the staging date.

The good news is that we arrived to both water AND power! The bad news was that we also arrived to a house FULL of workers – electricians, painters, and more. The kitchen was full of appliances waiting to be installed. The tile guy still needed to grout the tile in both bathrooms and the kitchen, and there was a bunch of electrical work that still had to be done (fixtures installed, half-hot outlets set up, etc). To their credit, the construction crew was as accommodating as possible. They really tried to stay out of our way so we could work. But I had a four-person staging crew plus two delivery guys, and for much of the day, we were stuck waiting for workmen to finish so we could stage.

Luckily both of these stagings turned out great in the end, but let it be a lesson to other stagers not to repeat my mistakes. Confirm and reconfirm in the days leading up to the installation. And make sure you have a backup plan if you walk in to a construction site. You’ll be glad you did!

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