The Linda Hall Team of Century 21 First Choice recently sat down with Kelly Vaughan, the owner of Kelly Vaughan Staging & Design. We've worked with Kelly on numerous occasions in preparing our homes for the market. This service dramatically impacts how well our sellers do in selling their homes quickly and for top dollar. We wanted to let Kelly explain her business and how it works. Here's what she had to say.
"We staged over 100 homes last year (2021). We don't advertise, but instead, our business grows each year through referrals.
The biggest challenges I face as a home stager/designer are that owners sometimes want their homes staged, but they don't want to change things as much as I think they need to. My job is to help them understand how making the recommended changes will pay off in the number of showings they get, which translates into offers and a multiple bid situation. With the popularity of HGTV, buyers now have certain expectations, and it is my job to utilize all of the tricks of the trade to make their property look updated and show exceptional. Paint color, lighting, and furniture placement all play a big role in how a property stands out on MLS. Of course, not many people want to spend the money to update their home completely, so what a good home stager does is examine where minimal changes can bring a maximum return.
When homeowners decide to sell their homes, it can be very stressful. Our goal with every client is to help alleviate their stress by decluttering, depersonalizing, and preparing their property to show its very best on MLS and in person. Clutter gives the perception that there's not enough storage in the house. We remove any distractions so the buyers can visualize themselves and their families living on the property. Our goal is to create a blank canvas on which house hunters can project their own visions of living there and loving it.
Listing a home can also be very emotional for the homeowner. People are facing all kinds of challenging situations. Listening with empathy and showing compassion are traits that clients thank us for after we are finished. Many times when we enter their property, it's apparent they are unsure about our service, but by the time we leave, they are so grateful for all we did to their home. This is how our design service has grown. Many staging clients turn into design clients. We often hear, "We love the changes you made. I wish we would have had you here when we moved in," and then we help them in their new home.
Typically we are hired by the realtor to stage their listing. We offer many different staging options, such as a home consult where we spend up to 1.5 hours walking through the home, making recommendations on how best to prepare the property. Occupied Home Staging, where we declutter, depersonalize and use the homeowners' items to stage and style the home, is our most requested service. We also offer focal point staging, where we bring in accessories for a rental fee to warm up a house along with vacant home staging.
Thirteen thousand staged homes were polled in 2020, and of those homes, over 85% sold for 5-23% over list price. Staging works! 98% of buyers search online first. If the home doesn't stand out on MLS photographs, they are not going to look at it.
Home staging also benefits the realtor in several ways. First, when realtors include our home staging service, it immediately adds value to their clients. Allowing us to have those hard conversations takes the burden off the realtor and frees the realtor's time to focus on getting more listings, building more relationships, and selling more houses. Secondly, we are an agent's best marketing tool. An exceptional realtor is building a brand and expectation. When they work with a professional stager, they are providing their clients a full service. And when the market shifts and the inventory is no longer low, those realtors that consistently offer an outstanding professional service will have built a brand and service that shines above the rest."
Well, that completes the description of Kelly's designing and staging services and should clearly define why The Linda Hall Team of Century 21 First Choice chooses to work with her on the homes we sell. Of course, anytime we can provide added value to our clients, we do. Contact us today if you'd like to list your home!
If you'd like to contact Kelly Vaughan about her design services, please reach out to her –
Kelly Vaughan Staging & Design –
Cell 704.516.6066
Kjvaughan3@gmail.com
Here are photos of recent work Kelly performed her magic on for one of The Linda Hall Team's listings. This home sold unseen in person by the buyers. They only viewed the pictures and they fell in love before it even went LIVE on the market.
