Buyers seek ‘homes,’ not houses: Top reasons for staging a home for sale

Nov28 by Houstory Publishing

This week, Megan Gates — a writer for Douglas Elliman Real Estate — is our guest contributor. Established in 1911, Douglas Elliman has grown to become the nation’s fourth-largest real estate company. It has a current network of over 65 offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island (including the Hamptons and North Fork), Westchester and Putnam Counties, as well as South Florida.

By Megan Gates, Special to The Houstory Hearth

When you are preparing to list your home for sale, there are many details to be seen to and home staging should be at the top of your list. Home staging allows you to highlight the best features of the home while downplaying the weaknesses. First impressions are everything and, with the majority of homebuyers now beginning their home search online, prepping a home to look best both for a showing, and in it’s online gallery is more important than ever.

Home buying is part emotional and part logical. (Photo: Douglas Elliman Brooklyn Real Estate)

Staging aids potential homebuyers in being able visualize themselves in the space more than an empty house will. Here are a few reasons; including some tips on how to stage a property to help it reach it’s market potential and turnover a sale quickly.

It’s Difficult to Visualize the Placement of the Furniture

Many homes remain on the market for months because homebuyers cannot visualize how they can place their furniture in the home. Most buyers cannot distinguish between a 14 x 12 foot room and a 12 x 10 foot room. The first room is 40 percent larger, but most buyers look at the rooms as the same. With furniture, buyers can visualize the difference. Buyers can also view the potential of the room if furniture is included in the home.

An important tip to remember is to not place too much furniture in a space. Look around the property and think of function of a room—if there are other pieces that don’t help define a space, store them away and allow your room to look uncluttered. Hiring a home stager can provide ideas and help sellers view the potential of the space.

People Are Looking For Homes and Not Houses

Home buying is part emotional and part logical. Most people focus on the emotional side of buying a home. The emotional side of buying a home includes the homebuyers becoming attached to the aesthetic aspects of the home and visualizing themselves living in the home. It is more difficult to visualize living in a home for 20 to 30 years without furniture.

Part of the emotional attachment to a home can include connecting with the home’s history and helping buyers see themselves as part of that history. Highlighting a home’s unique house history by including information about past owners or noting interesting events that have taken place in the home or staging a home with historically significant furniture can help buyers make that connection.

When homebuyers tour a staged home, they can automatically visualize themselves in the home. When a seller removes all of their personal pieces, like family photos and taste-specific artwork, it will provide a buyer with a neutral and appealing look. This service is invaluable because an emotional buyer will purchase a home faster than a buyer who focuses on the logical aspects of the home buying process.

Buyers Focus on Negative Details and Not the Home When It’s Empty

When a room is empty, prospective homebuyers focus on everything, but the overall appeal of the home. For instance, prospective homebuyers may judge a house on its paint colors, may ask whether the carpet can be replaced, or why the molding is not finished.

Noticeable flaws could prevent a buyer from making an offer. If the buyer does make an offer, he or she may ask for price concessions for the flaws in the home. With some easy and simple updates to a home, these flaws can be fixed or will not be as noticeable if the room is staged. Not only will this help the home sell quicker, it will also sell for a higher price.

Home Stagers are Beneficial

Home stagers require a small investment compared to the amount of money recouped from the home selling process. The service is growing in popularity because most home sellers recoup 200 percent from the home sale and also reduces the time on the market by almost one-half. Home sellers should consider the services of home stagers because of the significant benefits of the service.

Whether selling a sprawling farmhouse in the Midwest or listing a penthouse apartment in New York City, home staging can benefit any seller. With some small reorganization steps, a huge reward can be reaped when a property is sold for top dollar.

Megan Gates is an active creative writer for Douglas Elliman, writing on topics including home improvement and the latest architecture, design and home buying. Follow her on twitter @MEGatesDesign.

Family history holiday: To say thanks, Houstory has a gift for you

Nov19 by Houstory Publishing

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Houstory hopes you have a great time with your family this year. Scroll down the page to see the special gift we have for you!

family heirloom, family keepsakes, provenances, family stories, family heirlooms, heirloom registry, houstory publishing, house history, home history book, family history, genealogy, mike hiestand

Houstory Founder Mike, along with his gorgeous family (wife Patty, daughters Jessica and Ally)

Houstory Marketing Director Dan, with his beautiful wife Tasi

Would you like to try the Heirloom Registry for free? Now thru Thanksgiving, you can receive a free permanent registration to save the story of a precious family heirloom.

If you aren’t saving these family stories, who will?

Please visit our Facebook page and “Like” us to receive this limited offer. Feel free to share with other friends, family who may be interested!

Click the logo, and “Like” us on Facebook

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Mike and Dan Hiestand

Houstory: The Stories of Home

Happy Birthday Houstory Publishing!
Our first year in photos

Oct17 by Houstory Publishing

By Dan Hiestand, Houstory Publishing Marketing Director

I was talking with a friend the other day about our business, Houstory Publishing. As we were chatting, a couple of things dawned on me during the conversation: (1) Houstory was about to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the “official” launch of our business (more on that later), and; (2) Just how fortunate I have been to be able to follow my dream with my best friend — who also happens to be my big brother and Houstory founder, Mike.

Mike and Dan Hiestand, taking a break while attending the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree this past June.

Okay, before you break out the tissue and think this is a, “Hallmark moment,” it’s not. I sincerely mean what I write. I just genuinely like the guy. What can I say? When we first started the company way back in 2007 (wow, starting a business takes ages!), and I heard his idea for the Home History Book archival journal, I was hooked right away. A couple of years later, when he came up with The Heirloom Registry concept (yes, I didn’t come up with that idea, either, darn it!), again I became a believer. A big believer.

Essentially, our roles are these: He is the visionary. I am the implementer. This arrangement has actually turned out to be a great match. You never know what it’s like working with a best friend or a family member until you do it. That’s not to say it hasn’t been an at-times stressful year, or an experience filled with steep learning curves and unforeseen circumstances. But, looking back at how far we’ve come, it feels darn good to know we made the right decision.

We have wanted to go into a family-style business for as long as I can remember — ideally with our three other brothers in the mix as well — and we floated many ideas around (remember the bagel shop, Mike?) before we hit the jackpot with Houstory. It just felt right. And it still feels right today, more than ever. In fact, over the next couple of weeks, we are going to be rolling out some big announcements which we are very excited about.

Much of our success, we owe to you, our supporters and customers. We really couldn’t have made it this far without your help, so thank you! We hope you stay with us for the ride. We think its only going to get better.

And finally, thank you Tasi and Patty, — our understanding, courageous and supportive wives — as well as Mike’s daughters, Jessica and Ally. We love you all very much!

After more than four years working on weekends and weeknights to turn our “dream” into real-life products that we’d be proud to stand behind, we “officially” opened for business on Oct. 18, 2011, when we launched our social media. Below is a look at some of the highlights from that time until now. It’s been a very busy but exciting year!

After a year in business, I believe in two things more than ever: historical preservation, and conservation. What we do is steeped in these concepts. My belief is this: The more people know about something, whether a house or a family heirloom, the more likely they will take care of it. This means both the priceless stories and histories, as well as the physical materials, won’t just be discarded with trash. These are the things that drive me. Let us know what you think, and thank you again!

: SEPTEMBER 2011: Dan and Mike, welcoming their first shipment of books at “Houstory World Headquarters” in Ferndale, Wash. 🙂

: NOVEMBER 2011: The Home History Book archival journal visits the Oregon Coast.

: DECEMBER 2012: This was the image used in our first media article in our hometown newspaper in Ferndale, Wash., published in late December. What studs! 🙂

: MARCH 2012: Rick Read, a professional photographer and avid genealogist, wrote an article on fusing the past and present with house photos. It was very popular with our readers. What a cool shot, eh?

: MARCH 2012: Our first trade show (The Mid-Atlantic Innkeepers Conference) and our first Home History Book customer who wasn’t a friend or family member! 🙂 Dan with the lucky No. 1, Sharon Bates! Sharon is the owner of the beautiful Caledonia Guest House in Mont Alto, Pa.

: MARCH 2012: Dan with wife, Tasi, at the Mid-Atlantic Innkeeper show in Williamsburg, Va.

: APRIL 2012: This was our very first review of The Home History Book, written by DC house historian Paul Williams. We had a chance to meet Paul in March, and his review was very kind!

: MAY 2012: Dan and Mike at the Professional Association of Innkeepers International Conference in Cape Cod.

: MAY 2012: MER-MAN, dad! MER-MAN! If you watched the movie Zoolander, you’d get this. 🙂 Mike clowning around in Cape Cod…

: MAY 2012: Our little book has been from coast to coast. Here, it takes a break in Cape Cod.

: MAY 2012: We had a chance to stop in and say “hi” to the folks at The Harcourt Bindery in Boston, the largest and oldest hand bindery in the country. It’s where our Premier Home History Book is manufactured. These are the fine folks that so lovingly create our art.

: MAY 2012: One of the highlights of the year for us was FINALLY meeting Maureen Taylor and Marian Pierre-Louise. Maureen had helped us choose our materials for our Home History Book as we were building it, and Marian is, of course, a highly accomplished house historian.

: JUNE 2012: Even on vacation in New Orleans, I can’t get away from cool houses!

: JUNE 2012: Mike visited Austin for a few days, and Dan and he put together the storyboard for the Heirloom Registry video, “A 3-Minute Love Story.” Watch the final product here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S69zuPIw89s&feature=plcp

: Mike and Dan Hiestand, taking a break while attending the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree.

: AUGUST 2012: Dan travelled to Corpus Christi, Texas from his home in Austin to see the Antiques Road Show in person. He talked to folks about the provenances of their pieces, and even gave a few Heirloom Registry stickers away, too!

: AUGUST 2012: Mike, with Maggie McLaurin, Jessica Hiestand and Gabby Hall, outside the Antiques Roadshow event at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. They passed out free stickers to attendees. The Antiques Roadshow even asked for some stickers!

: AUGUST 2012: House historian and genealogy expert Marian Pierre-Louise wrote the first review of The Heirloom Registry. She had very kind words for our service in her popular blog, Roots and Rambles, which we were most grateful for.