Marketing a home for sale in this market can't be taken lightly

Marketing a home for sale has changed considerably in the last 10 years due to the internet, mobile devices, and home cable shows. In today’s market it is crucial that your listings standout. Injecting the “wow” factor is not just a good idea, but a must if you’re serious about selling your listings. The “wow” factor can be achieved in many different ways. Often with little or no cost to the homeowner. What we are talking about is “staging.” 

MLF Photography & Design can provide necessary recommendations to make the home aesthetically pleasing to the majority of potential buyers, allowing them to create their own vision from the homes potential.

Once the staging is in place the next marketing step is to take the home to the public through the listing. To do this we want to present the home in its entirety to potential buyers. The photos you receive from MLF Photography & Design will not only show the features of the home, but it will also convey the layout of the home allowing buyers to envision themselves living there. All the photos will be numbered in a “suggested presentation” order for easy uploading to the MLS system. This will act as a virtual tour and ultimately save you time.

Michelle Fox, 602-809-7710

Homeowners: Don't rush your agent into listing your home prematurely

If you do, you will be setting them up for less than great results. Who does that affect? YOU.  Let the professional do their job the best way they know how. That is why you hired them, right?

Getting the best results when selling a home requires more than a listing on an MLS site. There is plenty of preparation required. You must be ready to put forth the effort. Don't be surprised if your agent tells you to get out the moving boxes. 

The first step in selling a home is getting the home ready for viewings, and photographs. To do this you'll need to:
• De-personalize - Remove ALL personal items from sight, even those you use daily.
• De-clutter - Remove ALL piles and collections.
• Clean - Floor to ceiling, shiny and sparkly, inside and outside.
• Repair -Fix any items that are in disrepair. Broken items are red-flags. They lead buyers into thinking the home wasn’t taken care of.and, 
• Neutralize your home - That dark or bright colored wall that worked for you for the last 10 years now needs to be neutralized. I like to use the phrase "light & bright". Make sure ALL window coverings are open, and light bulbs in fixtures work. Nothing is more annoying than a light that doesn’t work. Plus, this is a red-flag. It too can make a buyer think the home was not taken care of.

Once all this is done, the photos can be taken and the listing posted. But you're not done yet. The house needs to look like this "every" day until you have an offer, or until the sale is final, depending on your agent. Your agent will most likely give you a checklist to use each morning to help you make sure the home is ready for viewing at any given moment. 

The goal is to sell fast. Why? If you sell fast you have a better chance of selling for top dollar.

The thing is, if you do all the things listed above to the best of your ability, then you are increasing your odds of selling the home fast. That means more money in your pocket and less time making your home look like a model home that no one lives in. Win Win. 

Michelle L. Fox, 602-809-7710 #mlfpandd

The Difference "Staging" Makes

MLF Photography & Design offers "staging consultations." Here are a few reasons why they do:

1) It is absolutely necessary if you are trying to sell a home quickly and for the most possible money. Your product must stand out from the rest.
2) Some agents are not comfortable or knowledgeable about the staging process.
3) Sometimes an agent has a personal relationship with the seller and does not want to jeopardize the relationship by delivering "hard to hear" recommendations.
4) Occasionally an agent is overwhelmed by a home's condition, and feel they need assistance putting together a game plan.

To address the above issues MLF Photography & Design will walk through the entire home, inside and out. This can be done with or without the agent and homeowner. Notes will be taken and recommendations will be put together in a final report. The report will list recommendations room by room. This will act as a worksheet for the agent and home owner.

Here are a few before and afters of a home done for an agent who had a "round about way" personal relationship with the homeowner. These "before" photos were taken with a sub-par (IMO) cell phone camera. I wish it had shown a wider angle. The home had a lot of clutter and disorganization happening. As you can see the homeowner got it looking great for final photos.

This "before" photo was taken after the window treatments had been tweaked and the arrangement of the seating area had been configured as you see it in the after photo.

This room was cluttered and crowded. Furniture was removed and de-personalization and de-cluttering was done. Leaving this space looking more open and spacious.

The kitchen still had clutter despite homeowners efforts.

This picture is a very good example of the type of clutter that was throughout the home. When you are "living" in a home this may be acceptable, but when you are selling a home it needs to look like "anybody's" home, not "yours". You can see the difference in the before and after.

One thing no one can guarantee - and that is that the homeowner will comply with all the recommendations. This home looked satisfactory, but a few recommendations were made that were not taken. The staging consultation works as a tool to help the home owner realize that it's not just the agent saying so, but that there are others who believe that a little (or a lot of) work is necessary to prepare the home for the market. It's also a tool for the agent to separate themselves from this aspect of the listing process, which is often one of the hardest for the homeowner, outside of the move itself. 

If you have any questions about the "staging consultation" process, please give me a call I would be happy to answer any questions. 602-809-7710, Michelle.

Great show I discovered

My to-do list today contained laundry and dusting. Yeah. (Sarcasm) But we gotta do what we gotta do, right? About mid-morning I stopped to take a snack break to refuel. During this time I turned on the tv to a new show on A&E called "60 seconds to sell". I'm not sure that it's actually a "new" show, but it's new to me. I loved it! It demonstrated how staging makes a difference in the final selling price. If all seller's watched this show before contacting a real estate professional, the agent would only have to work half as hard! 

Staging baby, staging is where it's at!

If you're a real estate professional and you'd like some assistance with staging, give me a call. I'd love to help. 

OR

If you're a home owner and would like help staging your home for sale give me a call. I'd love to help you too!

602-809-7710, Michelle

The more eyes that see your listing in a short duration of time often leads to a faster and better sale.

When planning out your MLS listings keep in mind that you are putting together a mini commercial. Your photos need to show all that there is to see, and your description needs to tell all that there is to tell about what cannot be seen.

The listing is most often your first impression. Don't leave anything out. If you do you could be giving a potential buyer a reason to move to the next listing. Wow them into wanting to see the house.

I'd love to discuss your current marketing strategy with you. We can do this by phone or over coffee. In this market, a good marketing strategy is the difference between selling quickly or NOT. Give me a call now!
602-809-7710, Michelle.

Also read: The Whole Package, Making photography affordable for "all" real estate listings

Testimonial from Brandy Drew!

"Michelle is an incredible asset to my business.  She does a great job of highlighting the best features of a home.  Her photography is outstanding.  She is great to work with as an agent and as a homeowner.  I used Michelle for the first time on a beautiful home I was not able to get great pictures of on my own.  She was able to do the magic needed to accurately display the home."

-Brandy Drew

Brandy put this example together and posted it on a group site for others to see! Her pictures are on the left and mine are on the right. I took the photos on the right before MLF Photography & Design was established. Since then I believe I have improved my skills and knowledge 10-fold.

Well needed vacation

This last month has been a whirlwind for me (in a good way),  and it’s kept me from having the time to keep in touch. I just got back yesterday from a well needed week long vacation with my family. I’m back at work today feeling renewed and anxious to pick up where I left off. This little business of mine is growing, but there is always room for more growth. So when you get your next listing, please give me a call. Sure I can take photos and put them in a great presentation order for you, but I can do other things as well. Such as: staging consultations, or graphic and layout work. Big or small let me know how I can help you.

Also, I am bringing back “referral credit” PERMANENTLY. Anytime you refer someone to me, and they mention your name, you will receive a $10 credit. You can do this as many times as you want. The credit will add up and be deducted from your next shoot! Oh, and I still offer first time clients a $50 credit off their first shoot! So start referring ;)

Have you ever been here?