Dolan Home Group

Dolan Home Group

Why Staging is Important

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First impressions are everything! When it comes to selling a home and attracting potential buyers, appearance can make or break a sale, especially in a competitive market!  Almost all buyers these days start their home search online, which means the first impression they get of your home is the posted pictures. Home staging will create the beautiful and professional look needed for your property to stand out to buyers who are scrolling through real estate websites. Instead of seeing cluttered, dark rooms with outdated furniture and family portraits to distract them, they will see a beautifully presented home they will want to see in person.

A staged property will always immediately stand out, and draw more interest!  If people don’t like what they see online, there’s a good chance they’ll pass on seeing it in person. If there’s more than one home for sale in your neighborhood, staging can also help your home stand out from your neighbors. This can be especially important if your home is older and going up against new construction.

Before and After Staging

One of the greatest benefits of staging vacant homes is the fact that it helps downplay a property’s flaws and highlights its best features. When buyers walk into an empty room, their eyes will immediately be drawn to anything negative/flawed. When a room is staged, flaws are no longer the focus of the space, and instead buyers will see the fireplace that’s highlighted by the artwork above it, or the beautifully styled built-ins!  Similarly, vacant rooms will appear smaller when empty than they do when furnished, making staging a must! A buyer might walk into a bedroom and think it’s too small to fit a queen bed and dresser, but if the small room is staged buyers will see just how much and what type of furniture they can actually fit inside! It’s all about how the space is presented, and staging helps present every room in its best light!  

Before and After Staging

Home under contract in 3 days with multiple offers!

Heather Jones | Owner/Designer of STAR STAGING AND DESIGN

Occupied Staging – What is it??

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What in the world is ‘OCCUPIED STAGING’,

and

why should a seller consider it?

 

Provided by

Katherine Frazier, Owner of Decorating Delight

 

The seller’s home is lovely to them as it is filled with their keepsakes, family photos, children’s treasures, Dad’s favorite lounge chair, Mom’s sewing room complete with floral drapes.

And there lies the problem…. the house is occupied with one families’ treasures, and prospective buyers simply can’t picture their family in the home.  Enter a Stager who is experienced in neutralizing spaces by pre-packing the family photos and treasures, even removing Dad’s favorite lounge chair to open up the room, turning Mom’s sewing room back into the 4th bedroom, and replacing the floral drapes with updated ones.

The house is now viewed by prospective buyers as a neutral space, without clutter and the seller’s personal items, and they can visualize themselves living in this lovely home.  And the best part of staging an occupied house, is that statistics show occupied staged homes sell faster than non-staged homes and at an increase in price of 1% to 3%!  Staging works!

BEFORE & AFTER

Enjoy Your Yard in the Summertime

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Summer in Florida can be hot and humid but there’s nothing like a neighborhood barbeque in your backyard. Prepare your home for guests with some landscaping upgrades in the backyard.

We suggest Martin Garcia with Extreme Cutz to many of our buyers who want to make their yard stand out for all the right reasons. The photo collage below is a beautiful example of Martin’s work.

landscaping before after

 

When improving your landscaping, you will want to make sure to abide by your HOA guidelines. Many Home Owner’s Associations require homeowners submit an application for changes to beds or addition of trees or shrubs.

To get a similar look, try the following:

Define plant beds. Widen existing plant beds and add new ones to bring visual interest toward the house.

Use materials that are low maintenance. A rock bed instead of mulch can be lower maintenance and make it easier to spot snakes lurking. A stone or concrete border can make keeping up with the edging easier.

Plant trees and flowers native to Florida.  When planning your landscape design, try to stick with plants native to Florida. They will be more likely to thrive in the climate. You can get some ideas to start at Floridayards.org.

We suggest Martin Garcia with Extreme Cutz to many of our buyers who want to make their yard stand out for all the right reasons. Contact Martin at 904-805-3467 for more information about how Extreme Cutz can improve your yard.

To see other examples of Martin’s work and read more landscaping tips, read our blog post Upgrade Your Front Yard.

Upgrade Your Front Yard

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Your home should be your favorite place to see at the end of a long day. Whether you are returning in the afternoon after a day at the beach or are pulling into the driveway after work hoping you remembered to leave the porch light on, you should feel an immense sense of satisfaction when you look at your home. There are many ways to increase the curb appeal of your house, and we have covered many of them here.

The front yard of your home will be a point of pride if you adapt a few guidelines for your family:

1

  • Add fresh mulch. There are many options for mulch in Florida. Whether you choose to use pine needles, wood chips, or bark nuggets, your beds will look amazing.
  • Improve existing edging. A clean border can add subtle visual interest and create defined areas for entertaining.
    2

 

  • Power wash the driveway and walkways. Pavers and concrete driveways alike will benefit from a thorough power washing. It will remove the debris of daily life and could lighten some stains as well.
  • Add a planter box near the entry. Make it easy to swap our seasonal flowers by adding a decorative planter box near your front door.

 

No one knows your home as well as you do. Identify your favorite features of your home and hire a landscaper to help you bring out those features.

Need landscaping for your home? The two before/after pictures above demonstrate the excellent work of Martin Garcia with Extreme Cutz.  You can reach him at 904-805-3467.

4 Tips to Make Selling Your Home Easier During the Holidays

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This time of year has historically been one of the slowest for real estate.  Many people go out of town to visit family, and those who stay in town can struggle to plan showings around holiday parties and unusual work hours.  Modern technology has made shopping for a home more of a year-round process than it was in the past.  Today’s buyers can continue their home searches in the midst of holiday festivities with the help of the internet and mobile apps.

Contrary to popular belief, sellers who weather the real estate market during the holiday season may enjoy several advantages. With so many realtors and homeowners clinging to the assumption that it is not worthwhile to list until January, buyers will have a smaller selection of properties from which to choose.  Less competition increases the likelihood that a particular home on the market will garner an offer.  When more properties flood the market after New Year, this advantage will disappear.

Furthermore, buyers who are taking time off from their holiday activities to search for a home are more likely to be serious about moving as soon as possible.  Therefore, while homes on the market during the holidays will attract fewer potential buyers, the showings that they have may be more likely to yield an offer. If you are facing a holiday season with your home on the market, heed these tips to help you secure a sale without sacrificing the festive spirit:

1. If you do not feel ready to move and do not have a strict timeframe within which to do so, consider delaying until you are more prepared. If you find yourself resisting changes that will make your home more appealing to buyers or insisting on a high listing price against the advice of your realtor, you may simply not be ready to leave. Do not feel pressured by your realtor’s agenda; selling your house is a deeply personal process and you do not want to regret rushing it unnecessarily.

2. If the move is necessary but unwanted, be honest with your agent and tell him or her that you will require some patience. Realtors are accustomed to working with sellers facing all sorts of difficult situations, and being upfront with your agent about potential problems that you foresee will enable him or her to act in your best interest.

3. Preserve memories with the help of technology. As you are preparing to pack your belongings, take photos of your favorite spots in your home, and scan letters and other important papers into the computer.  This will help you eliminate paper to reduce your moving burden while still maintaining a permanent copy of the things that are important to you.

4. Use a professional stager. He or she will help you remove your personal items and neutralize the home so that buyers will view it as a blank slate. This should help accelerate your process of moving on and seeing your home for what it is when it is for sale: a commodity that must be marketed and purchased by the right buyer.

The holidays can be a good time to sell your home. If you are interested in more information about listing your home, please contact Carol or Linda.

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