There are two philosophies when it comes to marketing a house.
The first philosophy is to create a ‘blank slate’, to allow potential buyers to visualize their own furnishings in a house. The problem with this philosophy is that buyers are not emotionally driven to purchase homes by whether or not their furniture will fit in a room.
The second philosophy and ours at 2 Hounds Design is to create just enough theatre for the potential buyers to see how they could live in the house, whether or not you’ve ever lived that way.
By downplaying the flaws and accentuating the best features, 2 Hounds Design stages your house to attract the greatest number of potential buyers in the appropriate target market. Marketing studies have proven emotions create the desire to purchase and logic backs it up.
Whether buying a car or a house, people shop with logic then buy on emotion.
If you are selling your house, you need it to have both logic and emotion. If your house only has logic to offer (that would be the features - 3 or 4 bedrooms, 2 & ½ baths, etc.) it will be a tough sale. It isn't easy selling a house when it has exactly the same features as the rest of the houses up for sale on the block. Buyers come to see your house because of its features, staging the benefits, or potential, of your home gives buyers good emotional reasons to buy.
If your listing agent offers to pay for a Home Stager, insist on using the stager of your choice. 2 Hounds Design offers many payment options for real estate agents.
Plan the work, work the plan.
2 Hounds Design understands budget, and project management. Working within the client’s budget, time constraints for getting to market, as well as market value of the house/neighborhood, 2 Hounds will make recommendations which can be overseen by 2 Hounds or implemented by the home owner.
No detail will be overlooked.
Your first meeting with 2 Hounds Design will be a 2 – 3 hour consultation with lead design consultant, Dane Caldwell. From ceiling, walls, cluttered medicine cabinets and closets to how your home looks from the street, Dane will inspect your house with the critical eye of the fussiest buyer.
After an initial walk through, Dane will go through each room with you, giving detailed instructions on how to best prepare it, and rearranging items (if you wish). Dane will then help to prioritize identified action items, creating a plan to be implemented.
Transforming your home.
If you require repair work, recommendations will be provided from our list of trade workers, painters, cleaners and even packers and storage.
If your home requires furniture to be rented you will be provided with a quote at the end of the consultation.
If your schedule is too hectic but your house requires art, linens, accessories, floral arrangements etc., 2 Hounds Design, can source the items for you and put them in place.
For vacant or sparsely furnished houses, 2 Hounds Design will also source out rental furniture and/or accessories and artwork to best showcase your house.
Agents: Want help moving listings faster?
For listing agents, with houses sitting on the market for longer periods currently, have 2 Hounds Design merchandise and style it and you won’t have to chase after offers, instead offers will come to you! Save on advertising, reduce the number of open houses and increase your professional image as a fantastic listing agent who will work hard to sell a clients house.
Any money you invest to merchandise and style your home can be recouped when the sale of your house closes.
If you’ve already listed your home and your agent is suggesting a price reduction, you can be sure the cost of having your home professionally staged by a 2 Hounds Design Consultant will cost considerably less then the average price reduction of $10,000! Don’t drop the price; merchandise and market your home so it stands out among the many houses with the same features on the market. It is never too late to have 2 Hounds stage your home. Remember, any money you invest to merchandise and style your home can be recouped when the sale of your house closes!
The return on any money you invest to stage your home will likely be significant. In fact, for a $350,000 home, a modest investment of $2,000 to get your house show home ready is only .57% or ½ of 1% of the selling price.
If your house is vacant 2 Hounds Design can furnish your home like a model home you would find on a new home construction site. Paint, furnishings, art and accents will draw buyers through your house, each room tapping into the emotional desire to buy. Have 2 Hounds Design turn your house into a showcase show home!