Easily Increase Your Home’s Value & Sell Quickly!
Read below Steve’s full interview with Lynnette. In it you will learn how telling your home’s story through interior design drives a higher sales price. Your marketing will look fabulous and like so many of Steve’s clients a buyer will quickly fall in love. After all. . . you never get a second chance to make a good first impression!
Keep reading to see how choosing the right Realtor can be like the financial equivalent of choosing a good heart surgeon in the midst of such a massive, complex and vital procedure.
Q&A: Steve talks staging and interior design with Lynnette Hardy owner of Hardy Interior Design
Lynnette:
Excited to be speaking with you today. Let’s jump on in! What is a common issue you see with home owners trying to sell their house?
Steve:
Thank you for connecting with me. I’d say homeowners frequently fail to place a significant enough value on a proper presentation of their home. Not only does the right presentation help buyers who visit fall in love emotionally, resulting in a quick sale and more money, but it also helps the marketing that’s used everywhere else look amazing.
Often times, people will rush a home to market and then when the market doesn’t respond favorably, they try to backtrack and change things that should have been done in the first place and unfortunately, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.
You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.
Lynnette:
First impressions are important! In the interior design industry, we are always thinking about the first impression, especially when working with real estate agents to prepare a home to sell.
What is your advice for a homeowner starting their search for a real estate agent?
Steve:
I often say to clients, “If you were getting heart surgery, would you want the doctor that does it a hundred times a year or the doctor that does it ten times a year?”
Look for someone with experience who not only has longevity in the business, but also a sufficient sales history year after year to have proven success. Much wisdom and proficiency comes from experience coupled with repetition and all that goes with it.
That said, there are people who do a lot of business but don’t pay as much attention to detail so make sure to look into their reviews on various sites to ensure their clients are saying good things about them and echoing their proposed commitment to you.
“If you were getting heart surgery, would you want the doctor that does it a hundred times a year or the doctor that does it ten times a year?”
Lynnette:
I love the heart surgery analogy! It easily applies to both real estate and interior design.
What would you say is the number one doubt homeowners have with working with a real estate agent and why?
Steve:
Sometimes consumers focus too much on the search – whether that’s the search for a home or a search for the right buyer. In other words, they will think to themselves “well I can post this house online and find a buyer or I can use an online search site and find a home”. While that is certainly part of our job, it’s only a small portion – there’s so much more that goes into the process.
A great agent is going to either be the expert or know the expert on everything from marketing to negotiations to inspections, and will be able to guide you through every step of the process. No matter how many homes a person has bought and sold, they’ll be in a much better position to win in the end with the expert advice of an experienced broker throughout the entire transaction.
“A great agent is going to either be the expert or know the expert on everything from marketing to negotiations to inspections, and will be able to guide you through every step of the process.”
Lynnette:
That goes back to your point about someone having experience in the industry. Through time, you really get to learn who the experts are in the different areas.
You tell a home’s story by providing amazing print and digital marketing for your client’s properties. Part of that is the design presentation! How do you work with interior designers to help potential buyers feel at home in the property for sale?
Steve:
I bring the designer to the house and we interactively and collaboratively brainstorm what is best in every home, each of us bringing an important element to the table – the designer with their style and taste, and me with my knowledge of the market and how the staging will impact the sale. It’s a very collaborative and very enjoyable process.
Lynnette:
Since you’ve worked with home stagers before, what would you say is the biggest benefit of staging the home prior to taking pictures and listing the home online?
Steve:
It showcases the home in its best possible manner. Staging illustrates how the home would be lived in, makes room sizes look accurate and manageable – it dresses the home up to its best.
Proper staging makes buyers emotionally attached, it invites visitors to stay longer because they literally have a place to sit and discuss their thoughts and own plans for each space, and it makes the marketing look better, ultimately driving in a higher price.
Lynnette:
I agree! It’s to a homeowners advantage to showcase their home. Make it a home that is dressed to impress. What is your pre-qualification process to determine which interior designs you work with?
Steve:
Exactly! I’m very loyal to the professionals I use and don’t generally jump around in this regard. A lot of this comes from up-front research but ultimately trial and error over time comes into play. I feel strongly my partners are worth their weight in gold and I work hard to continuously build and keep strong mutually beneficial relationships.
“I feel strongly my partners are worth their weight in gold and I work hard to continuously build and keep strong mutually beneficial relationships.”
Lynnette:
That’s great. Homeowners can be assured of consistency when working with you.
Last, but not least, what’s the most common advice you’ve given to homeowners when it comes to preparing their home for sale?
Steve:
Do your research. Look online at other listed properties and typically, in that process, you’ll identify the homes that pull you in and the ones that push you away and you’ll glean a lot from that. Additionally, hire a great realtor. Find one that understands this process and they’ll bring to you all of the industry’s best other players that you will also need.
Lynnette:
That is really great advice. A little bit of research can go a long way. And when you want your home to sell quickly for top dollar, that research is worth it!
It’s been great chatting about real estate and interior design. Thank you so much for your time and sharing your expertise!
We'd love to hear from you!
For help creating a home that is true to its style and appealing to the next owner, feel free to reach out to Lynnette Hardy by email at hello@hardyinteriordesign.com or visit her website at hardyinteriordesign.com.
If you’d like to learn more about working alongside Steve Nassar, please email steve@nassarteam.com or call (503) 805-5582.
