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Real Talk with Sterling Real Estate Group is your go-to resource for all things real estate. In our episodes, we break down the latest market trends, share insider tips, and provide expert insights to empower your property journey. Whether you're buying, selling, building, or investing, we're here to help you navigate the dynamic world of real estate in New York's Capital Region and beyond. If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to cover in a future episode, we’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us at info@sterling518.com.
Speaker 2 (00:35)
Hi, welcome to Real Talk with Sterling Real Estate Group. Today I'm honored to have two of my agents here with us to talk about home staging. We have Laura Muschott and Bridget Archer. Welcome ladies, I'm so excited to have you guys here. you. So let's get into it, home staging. Briefly tell me, what is home staging?
Speaker 1 (00:49)
excited to be here. ⁓
Yeah, so home staging can mean a lot of different things, but overall it's really preparing a home to be put on the market by making it more visually appealing to potential buyers, making it more inviting, and just really setting it up for success on the market.
Speaker 2 (01:15)
Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:16)
And I mean, we can talk about the different, like what that can mean. Because it could be anything from just cleaning and decluttering to doing a renovation, honestly. It really depends on what the buyer, or excuse me, the seller's goals are. you know, sometimes the seller wants to sell as quickly as possible. Sometimes they want to get the most money as possible. Most time people want to blend of that. But it really just depends on the needs of the homeowner. The homeowner. as to like
what's going to be the appropriate.
Speaker 2 (01:48)
So
walk me through, I just wanted to do a follow up question. If rooms need to be painted, sometimes, you know, a children's room, you know, pink, blue, we've seen orange, we've seen red. Is that part of the home staging? Do you guys recommend like neutral colors for them to paint over it if they can?
Speaker 3 (02:07)
Um, yeah, I would say typically when I come into a home and I'm prepping to stage it, my goal is to, how do I help the seller attract as many buyers as possible? And so a lot of the times it's just giving advice on what I think needs to be done. And it could be depersonalizing, taking down photos of the family. So a buyer can come in and envision themselves living there, helping them feel comfortable there. And yeah, sometimes bright colors.
turn off the buyers. Which is not what we want to do.
Speaker 2 (02:39)
Nope,
no, not at all. So walk us through the process from start to finish. You've walked into a house, you're doing a consultation actually, a listing, you know, presentation and because you're both home stagers, you know, you have extra value with your businesses as being, you know, stagers. So just kind of walk us through, start to finish. What does it look like?
Speaker 3 (03:03)
So the first question that I always ask is who's hiring me? Is it the real estate agent or is it the homeowner? And it doesn't really differ in what services I provide, but it helps me just get an idea of what the project is going to look like. And I also want to get their expectation, meaning do they want a full house where I'm staking every room or am I just doing a small tweak here and there to, again, attract more buyers? So usually I'll go in, I'll take some
Measurements, I'll get an idea of the project. I'll take some pictures And then I'll put up a proposal figure out if we need to rent furniture If I need to just bring in a few pieces here and there to maybe make the mantle look a little bit nicer and some throw pillows to add some more character Really kind of just a nice nicely made bed and you know some pillows and maybe a throw can really change a room
Speaker 2 (03:56)
Do
you, Laura, when you go in, do you recommend moving their existing furniture? I mean, after it's decluttered, do you look at a room and be like, you know what, I think we can make the room look larger by moving some furniture around.
Speaker 1 (04:09)
Yeah, yeah, that can be a big part of it. mean, some homeowners really have it set up the best way possible. They've been living there for however long and they've really figured it out and not much needs to be done. But, you know, when you live in a home, it's very personal, like you said. And so sometimes the way something is set up really works for their family. But like Bridget said, we want to be appealing to the most buyers as possible. So we need to think like what are most people
going to be able to use this space for or even so yes so to answer your question moving furniture sometimes removing furniture because something is too cluttered makes it space seem small or adding furniture because we need to show how a space isn't just like dead space or wasted space but it's really functional and it's going to be a useful part of their investment so that's all part
of it and then also.
I think the size of furniture is really important too. So a lot of times people have really big furniture because they have a big family and that's what is really practical for them. But it makes the room feel more crowded than a typical piece of furniture would make it feel. Or a dining room, for example. I see a lot of times people, dining room tables are either awkwardly small for the space or just way too big.
Speaker 2 (05:37)
Too
big.
Speaker 1 (05:39)
just
swapping out a piece of furniture for something that's more appropriately sized for the room can make a huge difference.
Speaker 2 (05:46)
So tell
me, know here, ⁓ for instance, a cellar is getting ready to move ⁓ and maybe a couple of the bedrooms or one of the living areas is ⁓ empty. Would you recommend bringing in furniture or would you recommend doing virtually staging the space? Or is it really dependent on the client?
Speaker 3 (06:08)
depends on
the where the house is meaning that the neighborhood like you almost want to figure out who or try to envision what person is going to buy it. always recommend doing the primary bedroom because you can see you know typically someone's going to sleep at the house. What they're going to use the other bedrooms for you don't really know it could be an office it can be a playroom it could be a kids room it could be a guest room so a lot of people don't see the value in staging those
because it could be. So virtually stating yes, I mean you can do that if you choose but again everyone's gonna use it for something different so it might not be necessary.
Speaker 2 (06:40)
even virtually staging.
Primary bedroom,
family room, living room, if they have both, and kitchen, would you say? Is good to stage?
Speaker 1 (06:58)
Yeah, I mean I think the entrance way is really important as well.
Speaker 2 (07:02)
Good point.
Speaker 1 (07:04)
I've heard from a couple different sources that you have like 10 seconds to create that first impression and for a buyer to decide if they like the home or not. And then maybe 30 seconds for them to decide if they even want to keep looking at the house. so that entryway, I mean, buyers are very emotional and they buy with their emotions. So that first impression when you walk in, I think is huge and it really sets the stage.
as you're walking through the rest of the home, a lot of times people's entryways are kind of blah ⁓ or they're very overcrowded because we drop our stuff there for whatever reason. So I think that would be almost the number one thing I think of when I come in besides functionality and things about the rooms.
Speaker 2 (07:57)
That's
a good point. I just made a note on here about the foyer. You never think of it. look at that. 26 years in the business. You always learn something new every day. So thank you for that. What are the benefits? We talked about what are the benefits of a seller wanting to stage their home.
Speaker 3 (08:14)
So I think it just helps people feel more comfortable in the house. You buyers want to be able to picture themselves living there. And so they can, one, envision themselves living there with the placement of the furniture and seeing how useful the space could be. But then also just to feel comfortable and like, this is a nice house that, you know, I can see myself living in. ok
Speaker 2 (08:34)
Do
you think sellers get more money when a home is staged?
Speaker 1 (08:39)
I do. staged doesn't... Yes, staged doesn't have to mean fully staged with a ton of furniture. It can even mean if your home is empty, repainting all of the rooms to be more neutral color and having everything clean and maybe doing some touch-ups. I mean, that's not what we think of traditionally as staging, but that in and of itself can completely change the impression. It changes the pictures.
Which most people are looking at pictures before they view the home and that's what's making them decide whether they're even interested in going in or not. So that's all part of it. I would say one of the number one things I do with clients is helping them pick out paint colors. Because that's overwhelming to people. It makes a really big difference and it...
I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but I think that often clients, my clients think that people are going to be able to have vision for the space. they think that, well, you everyone watches HGTV now. We're all like kind of trained to come in and put on our, you know, creative caps.
Speaker 2 (09:51)
Yeah
Speaker 1 (09:53)
really
problem solve and they're going to be able to look past this paint color and of course you could paint a house and all but I would say that most buyers cannot visualize and it's overwhelming when you're looking for a house they're thinking about all these things and when they come in they just really wanted to feel good they don't want to have to spend a ton of time there you know and even as a stager like we'll go in and sometimes we're sitting there for a while like what would we use this space for and it takes
even though as professionals we're used to it, it takes us a while to do that. You don't want to risk putting that on a potential buyer. You really want to set it up for them.
Speaker 2 (10:32)
And
paint, paint colors go a long way. You see a house freshly painted or even the main living areas, it takes on a whole new look. And obviously using neutral colors is always the best. And I agree, it is hard for people to visualize and it is hard for people to pick paint colors. If I have to pick a paint color, give me two choices, A or B. When C and D get involved, I can't do it.
overwhelming, you know, for most. What are some of the most common mistakes homeowners make when preparing their home to put it on the market?
Speaker 3 (11:15)
At least a lot of times people, it's a personal experience and so kind of you're saying they don't realize that maybe their style isn't everybody's style and so they think it's completely fine and they don't think to maybe take down their decorations or maybe neutralize their design choices a little bit. ⁓ They don't see a problem with their house because it's their home and they love it.
Speaker 2 (11:42)
and that's yeah that's where they live yeah right so they're home yeah right so that
Speaker 3 (11:47)
At least
for me, it's always a delicate conversation to have. You have to tell somebody that maybe their design choices weren't appealing. So I think they have that personal connection, you need to kind of hold their hand a little bit and walk them back. And then know what? This is going to help you by taking down some of your things. ⁓
Speaker 2 (11:57)
you get by.
Especially,
well, pictures I know you both touched on personal belongings and pictures, and that's hard when you have to have the conversation because they're taking down pictures of their family. And I know just, I'm not a home stager. I call you guys when I need help. But when I was in the field, I was like, you gotta move, so you gotta start packing. So you might as well start with the decluttering and getting the pictures down. So it is a tough.
Yeah, conversation.
Give me some staging tips on maximizing appeal, but I want to turn that, because we always talk about the interior of the house. I know I'm going to throw you guys for a curveball, but you guys are professionals. You're going to answer this. How about curb appeal, even for staging? We've got to talk about that, right? Someone drives by and the lawn's not mowed. like, you know, it can affect it. So do you guys talk to your clients about the curb appeal and what do those conversations look like?
Speaker 1 (13:04)
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (13:10)
So.
Well, and it's the first picture typically that buyers see when they're looking online.
Speaker 2 (13:20)
We
have to post that the know for our analyst route rules. It has to be the exterior of the home. Yeah
Speaker 3 (13:26)
And kind of piggybacking off of the foyer comment, having a nice front porch, because that's where buyers are going to walk up and they're waiting for their agent to unlock the door. That's where they're going to wait. So having some flowers there, a wreath, a nice welcome mat, even pieces like that are helpful. And then, yeah, making sure the lawn nice, make sure the leaves are raked up, and so it looks nice and clean and well maintained.
Speaker 2 (13:52)
I have
two more questions for both of you. Holiday decorations. Someone puts their house on the market and we're around, you know, Christmas time. Do we put the tree up? Is the tree up? Do we ask them to take it down? They have children, so it's kind of hard. What are your feelings on that?
Speaker 1 (14:13)
I say put the tree up. mean, so here's the thing. I guess there's no right or wrong. If a home is small, I feel like a lot of times the tree is like in the way. It takes up space and it's not helpful. But if you have a really nice place for it and you have...
Speaker 2 (14:16)
I'm just letting off the-
Speaker 3 (14:27)
Thank
Speaker 1 (14:37)
can be tasteful, decor, not like Santa Claus exploding everywhere. I think that it can be very cozy and inviting.
Speaker 3 (14:50)
It can invoke that personal touch that buyers want when they walk into the house they can picture it for Christmas morning.
Speaker 1 (14:56)
But I do think that there's a lot of times where a home, even my home personally, like we have to move furniture like where we want our tree. And I wouldn't do it in my house because just because of my personal living space. So I guess it depends.
Speaker 2 (15:11)
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:12)
So I'm going to say the opposite only because my experience is sometimes houses sit on the market for a little bit longer. Now if it's a seller's market, they'll go quickly. let's say it doesn't and you have to put it back on the market. And now it's March and the photos have a Christmas tree in it. Right.
Speaker 1 (15:31)
for the pictures. I didn't think about it for the pictures.
Speaker 2 (15:32)
Yeah. Right, so for that reason,
Yeah, you know and even we talk about you know, we mean in its houses usually are not on the market right now. Yeah, but you know in general they used to be but even if you take a picture and we have three feet of snow sure right in the exterior picture and I'm always right sending emails. Hey guys, it's springtime. We got to change those exterior photos.
Speaker 3 (16:01)
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:07)
Yeah, and for the general public, is May 21st and I gotta tell you it's freezing so to Laura's point, I think we're still in winter. Hopefully it's gonna turn ⁓ next week but we shall see. ⁓ Another question I thought of when we were talking about staging the dining room table for pictures. Yes? No. If there is a dining room that's fully set as if you're having company over.
Speaker 3 (16:32)
I think
it depends on the house and again, is it a very formal dining room with the grand chandelier. I think putting placemats down with plates in the dining ⁓ room could be very nice, but if it's in the middle of the kitchen, it may just be clutter if it's a small place.
Speaker 2 (16:45)
utensils.
Right,
so more like a great room kitchen, you know where your kitchen table will go, maybe not even a dining room. So does that hold true to even just a kitchen table and there is no dining room? Would you set that table or do a centerpiece?
Speaker 1 (17:08)
I like the centerpiece idea, that's what I feel like what I typically like and especially dining rooms are sometimes a little more plain so having a big like a nice centerpiece appropriately sized but with you know big flowers and stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:24)
really nice.
Speaker 2 (17:25)
Is there anything else that we missed that the public would want to know about home staging? Is there anything that we didn't touch on or any last minute advice that you ladies have?
Speaker 1 (17:35)
I would say...
One of the most important things to me is that when your buyers come in, you want to make them feel like the home has been cared for and is clean. Cleaning goes a really long way and it's, I think, essential. Smells is important. All this stuff is all wrapped into it. So a clean home just feels good and is visually appealing, obviously, too.
And lighting, i think is essential. As much natural light as possible. Make sure your blinds are open. Make sure your curtains are open. If you don't have natural light, consider adding lighting in. Sometimes there's bedrooms that, especially in the wintertime here, I mean we have such, a lot of times people are going after work and it's completely dark. And so making sure that your rooms are well lit.
Speaker 2 (18:34)
Yeah, it's a good point. Good point. And when you talk about dark, so I'm going to throw another question in there. Not really about home staging, but it could be. In the winter, right, it's dark here at 4:30pm Do you guys like to show houses at night in the winter?
Speaker 3 (18:51)
As necessary, but yeah
Speaker 1 (18:52)
I prefer it for the seller or the buyer. Sometimes you can't get around the schedules. But if I do show a house at night, sometimes, depending on feedback, I like them to come back in the daylight.
Speaker 2 (18:58)
It's hard to see the outside.
Speaker 3 (19:12)
Bring a flashlight.
Speaker 1 (19:13)
First impressions are big so yeah show and I've had clients before block out nighttime because they don't want their they want people seeing it you know they can't come during the day and we come on the weekend you know they have off so I mean that's something to talk about with your clients
Speaker 2 (19:16)
I do.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:21)
Right.
Speaker 2 (19:36)
Another question.
Do you stage if there's animals? you have like a little area where the dogs toys would be or the cat toys would be? Everyone, right? Everyone, mostly everyone loves dogs and cats and animals and you know, so is that something you look at if they have maybe two dogs or a couple cats or something? Do you like stage a little or do you just hide all the toys?
Speaker 3 (20:01)
I usually
put it away and I'll tell you why. Because my husband is not an animal lover. So when we were shopping for our own house, he would walk in and he would see the dog toys or the cat food and he would be turned off by it.
Speaker 2 (20:06)
Good points.
Good point.
Speaker 3 (20:19)
Okay,
so you don't want to lose even though even if it's just one buyer who's gonna come in with the best offer you don't want to lose anybody and so I usually from my personal experience with my husband I
Speaker 1 (20:30)
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (20:31)
to
tuck it all away. Experience is good. I mean, you you see that, you know, during the showcase of homes. Sure. You know, some of the houses actually have a room with the dog shower, the dog bath, and the dog bed pulls in and out. Yeah. You know, and it just.
Speaker 3 (20:46)
It's very cute.
Speaker 1 (20:47)
Yeah,
something like that a custom feature. think is a little different than if you're like dogs water dish. Yes entryway or well no Yeah, I think that if you have a really cool custom feature like that Then maybe that home is gonna more appeal to someone. Yeah, it's someone without a dog or an animal What are they gonna do with that custom dog bath in their mudroom? Yeah, I guess
Speaker 2 (20:56)
like toys or something.
well you could depending on how big they are right? Yeah, get in there take a shower. that's great. Do any of you have anything else to add before we wrap up?
Speaker 1 (21:15)
It's down in there.
Speaker 3 (21:16)
You
Speaker 1 (21:20)
I'm the roadside.
Speaker 3 (21:28)
No, but this was great. I feel like we covered a lot of good stuff and hopefully people find it.
Speaker 2 (21:32)
Yeah,
wonderful.
Speaker 1 (21:34)
I will say, I'll say I think that staging and like talking to a professional about staging is really for anyone. It's a lot of times people think it means only like bringing in furniture and all of that. But there's just so many things you can do with what you currently have to improve the curb appeal like you're saying. Right. interior. So I think any, every person putting their home on the market to some extent needs to think about staging.
Speaker 3 (21:52)
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (22:02)
staging. Well good, thank you ladies. I know you guys are busy out in the field so thank you for taking some time to come in and I appreciate it. So we're gonna wrap up Real Talk with Sterling Real Estate Group and we're gonna have the contact information for Bridget and Laura in the comments. ⁓ Certainly you know feel free to reach out at sterlingrealestategroup at info at sterling518.com. Thank you.