Stage My Home: Wrong Angle {Week Four}

I'm blogging from Nashville, TN this week! I'm here with my PDI ladies that I wrote about on Monday. I'm getting a lot of use out of my boots this week. Man, I love those boots. Since I'm in Nashville, I thought it only right to show you a gorgeous Nashville mansion after I get done tearing a new one in this week's Stage My Home MLS tragedy. This week's pictures were taken by the family pet. Or at least that's my best guess.

I thought this particular listing was so silly that it even made it to that ^ header picture for all to see every week. Dear Homeowner, I want to imagine that I am walking through your house, not crawling through it.

via

Here's the thing- I really, truly do understand what these homeowners are trying to do here. Their house is almost completely clean for the pictures and they only do this "kneel to take a picture" thing in a few of the rooms- that dining area, this kitchen, and a bathroom. What do these rooms have in common? They are all areas that people want to look bigger. Just one problem though- Sitting on the floor to take a picture does not make a room bigger. It just makes your pictures look ridiculous.

If you want to show off the fancy lights- take a separate picture of just them. If you want to make the room look bigger, clean it out, bring in some light, and step back as far as possible to take the picture.

No. Walk through your house like normal to take the pictures. :)

Now on to a gorgeous Nashville mansion...

3401 Trimble Road

If you look through the pictures, you'll see that even a $2.6M house can fall victim to the bad instinct to crawl into a room, although not nearly as awkward

Have you entered to win the Nashville earrings yet??? Get on it! :)

Stage My Home: Straighten Up {Week 3}

In Week 1 of Stage My Home we talked about cleaning up, but unfortunately some home owners also need a lesson in straightening up. I can't say it enough- that MLS picture you are posting online matters! As the market is heating up, staging your home is more important than ever. The real estate schools in Charleston are completely booked through the end of July already. Unfortunately, they apparently don't give the realtors many lessons in good home staging and picture taking. Shame.

This post is particularly painful for me since I did something weird to my neck in Pilates last night. Particularly painful post post-Pilates pain. Say that 5 times fast. I dare you.

Oh yeah, back to today's lesson- try not to strain yourself with this one...

via Charleston MLS- Asking $265K

There are only 3 possible explanations for this-

1. They're too lazy to hit the rotate button.
2. They don't care enough to learn how. OR
3. They have some serious grounds for a lawsuit against that builder!

I can't believe I just had to say that. Tragic. These homeowners aren't alone in this though. I saw WAY TOO many MLS listings with this same pain-in-the-neck type of photo. Dear Seller, I want to think of your home as my dream home retreat (or at least potentially), not as a pain in the neck. That makes sense, right?

Okay, now on to the beauty. Although I think I might be spoiling y'all with the Coastal Living Showhouse Tour that is also going on!

376 Ralston Creek

That staircase is gorgeous! Oh and that pool! aahhh. Yet another $5M Charleston real estate beauty. And none of the pictures caused me neck pain. Winner!

Stage My Home: Pet Free {Week 2}

Are you as excited about this series as I am? I love this! In case this is your first week, don't forget to check out Week 1: Clean Up!

This week's MLS nightmare is a bit of a personal pet peeve. Pun SO intended! ... Get your pets out of the pictures! And their crates, and dog bowls, and kitty litter boxes, and toys. Basically, anything that would tip a person off to know that you own an animal- clear it out!

This is part a clean issue and part the fact that there are people like me in this world- people who are very allergic to cats and/or dogs (or in my case, anything furry). When I look through pictures and see that you have a cat or dog and I'm trying to narrow my list down to 3 or 5 houses to go see with the realtor- your home automatically gets the boot.

But here's the thing- having an animal isn't a deal breaker for buying your home. It's just a prejudice that non-animal lovers are judging you by as we filter through hundreds of homes online.

via Charleston MLS

Our current home was first inhabited by 2 very furry dogs. Some days I still get annoyed when I find more dog hair, even after I spent hours cleaning each room. But we chose to buy our house, dog hair and all, because we loved other things about it so much. I can guarantee, though, I would have never taken a tour had the MLS pictures included dog crates, bowls, or the dogs themselves. The house above is actually adorable. But messes and animals have no place on the MLS. Let me love you your house!

I know many of you will file this under being "nit picky" or not a big concern since it's only a small percentage of people who are allergic like I am...

Your potential buyers' market is already fixed by things like the price of your house (income), the size, and geography. Don't give anyone another reason to filter you off of their list!

Got it? Good! :) Now for your present... it's in 2 parts so make sure to scroll down!

69 Meeting Street

via - 69 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC

Talk about some porch sittin'! I love the blue ceilings- a Southern, and especially Charleston, tradition and TWO awesome joggling boards. And that door! It's so happy looking. All I need now is some iced tea... oh and $5M. Meh, maybe I'll just sit on J's mini-joggling board. I'm sure I can get one or two good bounces out of it before it breaks. ;)

Oh you're waiting on that second present? Starting tomorrow I will be taking you along the Coastal Living 2013 Showhouse tour with me! WooHoo! I just spent the last 8 hours editing the 300 pictures I took and I can honestly say with every fiber of my being- You are going to LOVE this! Check back tomorrow! :)

Stage My Home: Clean Up! {Week 1}

Charleston's real estate market is picking up speed again and I'm guessing yours is too! Since our 1 year anniversary in our new home just passed, I'm starting to get the 1 year itch. You know what helps it? Looking at terrible real estate listings! Home Staging is an extremely important part of the selling process that FAR TOO MANY homeowners overlook. That's why every Thursday you will find me here, helping you along... And for those of you not selling/buying, I hope you still find some inspiration for your own home and maybe a few laughs. Oh and a bonus beautiful home at the end!
 

The absolute, number one, most annoying, makes my head spin pet peeve I have about real estate listings is the number of people who list dirty homes. I don't mean you haven't deep cleaned your baseboards in the last year (guilty here!), I mean you can't even be bothered to put away dirty clothes and organize the room a little bit before snapping a picture.

Or $100K or $2M or however much you're selling for and it isn't two dollars. Most people are searching all over the internet to find a home that meets their needs and hopefully even makes their heart skip a beat or two at first site. If this is the first thing they see, you have lost them!

via Charleston Real Estate Guide

Dear Homeowner, You have more laundry room space than I can even imagine and cabinets for stuff! Clean your crap up!!!

You just told all potential buyers-

1. Slobs live here. Any last hope that they were the clean-your-baseboards type is gone.
2. Maybe there really isn't that much room in this house. It's probably too small for me.
3. They must not be in a rush to sell their house. I'd rather negotiate with someone who does want to sell. Next!

via

Same home, same problem. Take all of your cute stuff off of the fridge, put the drop-everything bowl, mystery stack, and candles in another room. In fact, go ahead and remove that tea towel. And don't forget the coffee maker and any other large appliances- get them out of there. A few decor things around are okay, but you want it to be spotless for the most part. That's easy enough, right? :)

Now enough of the shameful MLS listings, I have a present for you. I love touring homes around Charleston and even have one planned in my near future. Until then, I like to oooh and aaaah at some of the best staged homes in Charleston...

You just need $6Million and you'll be set downtown! Go here to see even more gorgeous pictures of this house, including a closet the size of a bedroom!

The Dubose Heyward House

So nice and clean! But be honest- you don't need $8Million to have a beautiful listing. Just take a few minutes before each picture to clear out the room a little. Think of it as breath freshener right before your party guests arrive. :D