Episode 14: Staging to Sell with Aaron Weiner and Karen Kelley

In Episode 14 of Intelligent Equity, host Ryan Kiefer talks with Aaron Weiner and Karen Kelley of Comey & Shepherd Realtors. They discuss the importance of staging a home to sell by de-cluttering, organizing, and taking professional pictures that will portray the property in the best light online. 

 

Episode Highlights: 

• Aaron was licensed in 2000 and has seen all cycles of real estate. He wanted a flexible job and liked helping people.
• Karen staged her own home to sell in 2009 and began staging for her agent.
• When you’re selling your house, your home becomes a product.
• When you sell your house it should be 30% stuff and 70% air.
• The biggest stumbling block in staging is getting people to buy into de-cluttering.
• Balance hard surfaces and soft surfaces. 
• Balance color.
• Show 60% architecture, 30% furniture, 10% accessories.
• Bring green into every room.
• Add a pop of color and some features.
• Photography is extremely important.
• People look at homes online long before they make an appointment for a showing.
• They use professional photographers.
• They also take their own pictures with wide-angle lenses before bringing in the photographer to get a sense of things they might be missing.
• They have three storage units full of staging furniture they can provide to clients.
• Ryan Kiefer describes how staging helped him to sell his home three years ago.
• Buyers have a hard time envisioning themselves in homes that aren’t move-in ready.
• A house that shows well has an emotional advantage.
• More inventory is coming and the market will balance.

 

3 Key Points:

1. When selling your home, it becomes a product.
2. The biggest stumbling block to get sellers to buy into is de-cluttering.
3. Using professional photographers is incredibly important in this online world.

 

Resources Mentioned:

• Ryan Kiefer: LinkedIn, Facebook, Website
• Aaron Weiner website, Facebook 
• Karen Kelley website