631 N. Martel, Los Angeles. MLS#10-463635

Call today for a showing! 323-697-5157

827 Wilson Place, Santa Monica

Contact Revi Mendelsohn at 310-963-7384 for a showing. Hurry, this one will go fast!

We knew immediately why this home wasn’t selling. Despite its beautiful bones and spacious rooms, the layout confused even the most savvy buyer. With a very long and narrow living room, a small space right off the living room that no one knew what to do with, and 3 connected bedrooms on the top floor, buyers were stumped. All it took was the right furniture to help them figure it out.

In the long living room, we created two distinct seating areas – one to take advantage of the beautiful fireplace, and the other to be the TV watching area. Suddenly the spaciousness of the room didn’t feel so overwhelming.

Oh, and that awkward space off the living room (visible above through the opening)? Now it’s a library/office – a bonus to any home.

Now for the 3 adjoining rooms upstairs. When this home was built, they added doors that led from one room right into the next, and planned for those doors to stay open for light and flow and to give the space a suite feel. But for today’s buyers, that equates to fewer bedrooms (if indeed it’s used as a suite) and less privacy.

Since putting a lock on the middle door wasn’t an option, we used a door stopper to make sure the doors remained closed during showings. The 3rd room that was attached to the middle bedroom was very small, so we decided to stage it as a playroom off of a young child’s room. Now the open nature of that bedroom to the playroom seems more of a feature than a deterrent to buyers.

See the double doors to the left of the bed? Those lead into the adjacent bedroom, so we closed them off with a door stopper.

The master bedroom didn’t really need much help at all. This is a very large and bright room. We simply brought in the furniture, art and accessories to showcase it properly. Mission accomplished!

Now we’re just waiting to hear that this beautiful home is SOLD!

Here is a testimonial from the Realtor. I’ll admit I got a little teary reading this one.

“I can’t say enough about Annie…not only is she a real professional, she goes beyond the call of duty… This home was vacant and the seller was out of state, so all the correspondence was conducted via email, and having a very particular seller, details were a big part of it…She did not disappoint either myself or my seller!  The staging was done on time and our first Broker’s open brought out a huge turnout due to the fabulous photos that I was able to post after the staging was complete in enough time to tantalize the buyers. We had four offers right away and it was in escrow within 5 days of hitting the market, I say that’s a REAL SUCCESS STORY! Thank you Annie once again for making me look good and doing what I promise my clients, have the home in the best condition you can, and they will come! Looking forward to the next opportunity to work with you!”

-Claudia Border, GRI

Due to its proximity to UCLA, it is probable that this two bedroom condo might be purchased by a UCLA student (or his/her parents) for use while the student is in school. For this reason, we made sure it felt as if there was plenty of room for a bed and a desk in both bedrooms, in case the buyer wants to rent out the second bedroom to another student.

As a professional home staging company, it is crucial that we take into account who the target buyer is for any property. Then we must make sure that our furniture choices will appeal directly to the chosen demographic and make the property irresistable to our target audience!

Here are photos of this fabulous condo.

Living Room After

Living Room After

Dining Room After

Master Bedroom After

Master Bedroom After

Master Bath After

Guest Room After

Guest Bedroom After

Guest Bath After

Property Address: 1840 Camden Ave #106, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Price:   $418,900

MLS #: 10-453691

Listed by: Regner Globus, Amazing Grace & Assoc. 310-476-7722

Living Room After

Family Room After

Dining Room After

Master Bedroom After

2nd Bedroom After

Property Address: 12041 Clover Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Price:   $769,000

MLS #:  10-453409

Listed by: Elizabeth Puro, Teles Properties 424-202-3249

Case in point: our latest Staging job at 1533 South Point View.

The Realtor (who is flipping this home) called me after reviewing – by her estimation – 15 different Stager websites! I was very flattered that she chose Stage to Sell.

She is a huge believer in Staging (don’t you LOVE clients who already “get” us and what we do??) and knew that this home would sell quickly and for top dollar only if it was Staged.

Here are the “after” photos of our work.

When I visited the home, I fell in love with it. Sure there was some deferred maintenance that would have to be addressed, but the height, the light and the materials were to die for!

Now the only problem became what type of furnishings to use with this style of architecture. I needed inspiration. Luckily the agent, Mary Young of Prudential in Santa Monica, tracked down these amazing pictures of the home in 1975 when it was photographed for a magazine!

Now the gold shag carpet in the living room probably wouldn’t appeal to today’s buyer, but seeing the home in its former glory really got my creative juices flowing.

Here’s our modern interpretation of this 1970s classic. According to the agent, 200 Realtors came to yesterday’s Broker’s Open House. Looks like this one won’t last long!

Photography by Michael McCreary

As any professional Home Stager will tell you, we spend probably a quarter of our work week in the car, driving all over town from one listing to another, and back and forth to our storage facilities. So I was incredibly psyched to be able to Stage a  home right down the block. I even gave this client a really good deal on the price for the convenience factor. Budget was an issue for her, but for my own sake as well as hers, I wanted to make sure I did everything in my power to keep both our property values high!

This home is a gorgeous mid-century design, with beautiful built-ins and a stunning fireplace. The layout would be confusing to buyers if the property were shown empty because of the very long living room that’s divided by the fireplace wall. By placing appropriately scaled furniture in just the right arrangement, it will now appeal to even the most particular buyer!

Oh, and when we were almost finished Staging, but didn’t have quite the right vases for the coffee table, we just walked down the street and picked them up. How great is that?!

"Shift" Author Gary Keller on Good Morning America

His most publicized quote from this interview (which has set Stager Blogs around the nation afire) is as follows:

“Price gets you interest.

Staging it gets you offers!”

Keller hit on a point that I often emphasize with my Los Angeles Home Staging clients. Right now we’re in a buyer’s market, and you’re kidding yourself if you think your buyers aren’t well aware of that fact!

Unless you create a sense of urgency for buyers to make an offer, they are likely to sit back and wait for your first (or second, or third) price reduction!

So how do you create a sense of urgency? That’s simple! Gary Keller has already told us:

1) PRICE

and

2) PRESENTATION (or STAGING)

Let’s look at both of these factors:

Price

If buyers perceive that the home is listed for an already competitive price (versus at or above market value), they are much more likely to move quickly to make an offer. Why? Because despite the market slump, everyone knows that eventually real estate will rebound. And if your buyer is looking for a long-term investment, s/he will have time to wait that out. If a home is perceived as a good value for the money, savvy buyers know they will not be the only ones interested and will be quicker to write an offer.

Presentation/Staging

The second way to create a sense of urgency with buyers is to make your home stand out from the competition. And the best way to do that is with Home Staging.

If your want your home to stand out from other similar homes on the market, you have to make your buyer fall in love with your home. Without that emotional connection, your house will just be one of many a buyer might consider based on price, condition and location. BUT if a buyer walks into your Staged home and falls in love with it, she will begin to “mentally move in” and to envision herself and her family living in – and loving – your home. Once the buyer starts picking out which room little Johnny will sleep in and which room she’ll use for her home office, you can be sure an offer will follow!

As a professional Home Stager in Los Angeles, I can attest to the fact that the well-priced single family homes and condos that we Stage are selling QUICKLY and in MULTIPLE OFFERS for OVER ASKING.

Want proof? Here are just a few of our recent results:

So remember when you’re preparing your home for sale that there are two important factors to consider if you want results like these. As Gary Keller so nicely put it, “Price gets you interest. Staging it gets you offers!”