I'm personally a huge fan of homes built in the 1970s. While I'm not a fan of most of the decor from that era, for whatever reason I kind of love the architecture. When I got a call a couple of weeks ago to take a look at a flipper's project at Doctor's Lake that had a total 1970's vibe but wasn't moving I thought it would be a lot of fun.
Orange Park is a populated part of Jacksonville and I was surprised with a listing shortage that a flipper home had been on the market for more than 60 days. When I arrived I realized the problem. While it has a totally cool vibe, the floor plan left a lot for the buyer's imagination. Unfortunately buyer's never have any {imagination}. Instead they need things spelled out for them clearly.
Taking an Orange Park 1970s home and making it modern.
So, what do you do when you've got a great wall of white brick, spanish tile floors, and cedar walls? Yeah the answer might be to get your renovation on, but this flippers budget was done. It is time to sell. The Realtor advised that the seller take a price reduction. The flipper decided that not a penny would be reduced until a stager came to do make the most of it. That's where I come in.
Orange Park before and after home staging
This kitchen was fully updated but wasn't particularly appealing in photos. Professional photography is every bit as important to getting buyer attention as staging is.
This split room was very confusing for home buyers. While most people knew that one side needed to be a dining room and one side needed to be the living room (there's not really another place for a dining room in the home), the fireplace seemed to confuse buyers.
For staging it seemed to make the most sense to effectively ignore it. It was still going to be the main focal point of the home, but the seating needed to work for living in it. We mounted a flat screen across the room from the main living room seating to allow for today's lifestyle.
Adding a dining space still shows that there is ample space and helps define how buyers will live here, taking away the confusion. It's clear that if you had a larger table or more furniture, there would be plenty of room.
In both rooms the cedar paneling was relatively minimal and the fireplace takes most of the attention. That simply wasn't true when it came to the downstairs lounge area, however.
Now of course we'll need to hope that the new buyer's love entertaining and love wood (or aren't opposed to a little updating). Professional home staging may not remove the issues that the home still has, like the cedar paneling, but it does give the home a leg up on where it was.
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Author Bio: Melissa Marro, Home Staging Industry leader, Realtor, and entrepreneur offers a unique perspective on New Home Construction, Resale Residential Real Estate, and Home Staging
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For more information on buying or selling in the Fleming Island, Orange Park, or Jacksonville, area, visit StageListSellNEFL.com or call Melissa Marro (marro.melissa at gmail.com), Keller Williams First Coast Realty, for more information (904-466-2093).
