Home Staging Warehouse Blog

4 Steps to Safely Show Real Estate During a Pandemic

4 Steps to Safely Show Real Estate During a Pandemic - The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way real estate showings are managed. In some states, open houses are prohibited unless a property is unoccupied or vacant. Masks and social distancing are mandatory for prospective buyers and their agents. In other states, rules are looser for home tours and showings.

When you're allowed to conduct home showings and tours, take extra steps to protect your clients and yourself from coronavirus. Here are four steps to conduct the safest real estate showings while the pandemic is active.

Can Your House Be Stolen on Paper? Yes, it can.

Home Title Fraud: What It Is, How It Works, What to Look for and How to Protect Yourself

You may have heard the late-night commercials warning you that your home could be stolen out from under you, that a thief could lay claim to your home's title and leave you bankrupt and in foreclosure. You may have even considered signing up for a protection service that monitors your deed and promises protection from this insidious form of identity theft. But is there any truth to all of this? Can thieves really sign on to your title and sell your home while you remain blissfully unaware?

The bad news is that home title fraud, also known as deed theft, is indeed real, and it is a growing threat to homeowners and to the owners of second homes and investment properties. If you own real estate, you do need to be aware of the dangers, and you do need to take steps to protect yourself.

Sell Your House Fast: 7 People You Need on Your Team

Sell Your House Fast: 7 People You Need on Your Team - So, you’ve decided to sell your home. Congratulations! Before you start playing with a mortgage calculator to see how much you can afford on your next home, you’ll want to know how to sell your current home fast. Ideally, you’re looking to list your home, generate interest quickly from potential buyers, and in a perfect world, a bidding war will ensue and you will get more than the asking price for your house. But before all of this can happen, you’re going to want to spend some time gathering a team of people who can help you along the way.

10 Steps to a Professionally Staged Kitchen

10 Steps to a Professionally Staged Kitchen - The kitchen is one of the first things home buyers look at, and if they do not like what they see they may never go beyond that room. If you have seen plenty of people at your open houses but still no buyers, it may be time to do some professional staging.

You do not necessarily have to stage every part of your home, and if cash is tight full professional staging may not be possible. But focusing your staging efforts on the kitchen might turn the tide, and here are 10 steps for kitchen staging success.

Why You Should Have a Home Inspection on New Construction

Why You Should Have a Home Inspection on New Construction - A home inspection is very important to the general home-buying process. Home inspection on new construction is even more important, as many mistakes could be made on new construction. 

Aren’t New Homes Built to Code?

The reality is that many new homes are only built to minimum standards. Most home builders build houses to a level that makes the construction legal. Some do not even reach the legal level. The minimum required by law is going to be worse generally than what the best building practices are. A home inspector will be able to tell you what the quality is of your new construction.

Throw Away That Real Estate Brochure Box

Throw Away That Real Estate Brochure Box - Visualize the listing ID number texted into the receiving text address, with an automatic text message reply linking to the online listing brochure. The drive-up visitor doesn't have to leave the comfort of their car to get a much more detailed brochure about the home; it's never empty either.

Once the drive-by home shoppers leave, they're taking that text message home, and they can look at it later as much as they want, often generating a request for a showing. All this is great and not terribly expensive, but there is more as well.

Home Seller Cheat Sheet for House Showings

When your realtor wants to show your home to a potential buyer in an hour or so, do you panic? Keep reading for 10 check-off items to get your home ready for the next showing. Keeping your house in order and clean on a daily basis can reduce the amount of work necessary from each of the 10 cheat-sheet items listed below.

 

(1) Vacuum the Floors

It's important to give the floors a quick vacuum immediately before a potential buyer comes to tour your home. Run the vacuum back and forth in straight lines to make pile carpet look newer and fluffier. Avoid stepping on the carpet after you've finished vacuuming to keep it looking fresh. In addition, fluff up area and scatter rugs with a quick vacuum. Run the dust mop or vacuum over hard-surface floors to collect visible lint or dirt.

 

11 Personal Items to Pack Before Putting Your Home Up for Sale

11 Personal Items to Pack Before Putting Your Home Up for Sale - Your home and its contents reflect your personality, hobbies, and what's important to you. However, potential buyers won't have similar interests. In fact, your personal possessions might even scare off a person who's interested in purchasing your home. Read the following list of 11 items that you would be wise to pack up and store before your home hits the real estate market. Make your home as generic as possible to all home buyers.

Great Bathrooms Sell Homes: 10 Staging Tips for a Speedier Sale

Great Bathrooms Sell Homes - If you want to sell your home quickly and for top dollar, you need to give buyers what they crave. Increasingly, those buyers are looking for killer bathrooms, ones that combine practical needs with luxury accouterments.

The bathroom is arguably the most important room in the home from a real estate perspective, so putting it in its best light is essential for a fast sale. Whether your bathroom is newly renovated or as old as your home, the right staging can make a world of difference. Here are 10 bathroom staging tips that will have your bathroom looking better than ever.

First Impressions Count: 7 Tips for Effective Entryway Staging

7 Tips for Effective Entryway Staging - When welcoming viewers into your home, making an immediate good impression is vital if you want to encourage a sale. Staging your entryway is hugely important for this, and here are seven tips on how to do it effectively.

1) From the Outside

Your viewers' impressions of your home will begin before they've even entered. If your exterior door is looking a little old and weathered, a lick of paint or a thorough clean will make a huge difference. Also, clean, polish, or replace the house numbers and other hardware to make sure they're fresh and sparkling.

Selling an Environmentally Friendly Home? Here Are 3 Tips

If the home that you are selling is designed with the environment in mind, its eco-friendly features can help command a premium on the market among homebuyers who care for the environment. The benefits to the environment aside, eco-friendly homes come with the promise of smaller energy bills, something that can actually increase their value on the market.

Some studies have revealed that adding solar panels to the roof of a home can raise its value by as much as $20,000. In the state of California, for example, green-labeled homes sell at a premium of close to ten percent.

If you have a green home to sell, taking advantage of its environmental credentials requires that you know how to communicate its positives to potential buyers. Here are tips.

Sell Your Home Faster by Staging Your Swimming Pool

Sell Your Home Faster by Staging Your Swimming Pool – Home staging is more effective at selling houses than any other method of real estate marketing.* Staging appeals to buyers on an emotional level, allowing them to envision themselves living in a home. Staging is critical if you want top dollar for your property.

If your home has a swimming pool, don’t forget to stage your pool area in addition to your indoor rooms. Some buyers look at pools as nothing but an extra expense of money and time. With the proper staging, however, your pool will become a major selling point. Here are five tips to help you stage your pool for maximum appeal.