How to pick the proper agent The Stoneleigh gets residential Stagers get your home ready to sell
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[ BUY-SELL ] n a world where consumers are constantly striving to save a buck, the temptation can be strong to do-it-yourself for a short-term satisfaction and a little more money in the bank. This can be a viable strategy in minor home repairs or the occasional pansy planting, but when it comes to real estate, the perceived financial advantage of selling a home without an agent or purchasing a for-sale-by-owner property can be false economies — and treacherous territory to navigate alone. After years in the industry, Brian Bleeker, a Realtor with Dave Perry-Miller InTown, understands the allure of saving cash, but offers up some sound advice for finding the right agent on either side of the transaction.
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The secrets of agents, man
Buyer aware
Whether buying or selling, hiring the right agent can make the transaction go smoothly
Much of the buying process is common sensical, but finding an agent you can trust and build a rapport with is key to a successful transaction. When looking for a home or condo to purchase, it’s important to have a basic idea of which part of town you want to live. “You should look for a buyer’s agent that specializes in the neighborhoods in which you’re interested,” Bleeker advises. “To maximize the resources of a buyer’s agent, it’s a good idea to have a consultation with your prospective agent to establish a clear understanding of your expectations as a buyer. Communicate clearly your wants/needs list, idea of budget and closing timeline. The agent will then advise you whether your expectations are realistic, and together you can develop an action plan.” A buyer’s agent can then become, in essence, your one-stop-shop for everything surrounding the purchase — from securing a mortgage lender and title company to arranging for a home inspector or home warranty service. And like any stable relationship, the one you forge with a buyer agent requires commitment. “At the end of my buyer consultations, if the connection is made, I ask that my buyer sign a Buyer’s Representation Agreement. This agreement clearly states that the buyer and agent are 100 percent committed to working together on the purchase. This agreement establishes value to the working relationship,” he says. (Bleeker takes his obligations under the agreement seriously — he’s gone so far as to negotiate a contract for a buyer while getting a root canal.) When starting the process, Bleeker advises beginning your search at least three months prior to a target move-in date, especially when looking at older neighborhoods where the quality of updates may vary dramatically. And when you find that perfect house? Take your agent’s advise and offer what he suggests. Chances are he knows right where the seller needs to be to sign on the dotted line.
By Steven Lindsey
Sale away Maybe you’re not buying, though: Maybe you want to sell your home. When that time arises, the benefits of hiring an experienced listing agent is key to moving the property as quickly as possible with limited hurdles. Again, an agent knowledgeable about your neighborhood makes a lot of sense — he or she can develop a clear marketing plan based on experience. “A marketing plan should consist of staging advice in preparation
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Brian Bleeker
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AGENTS page 14
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[ HIGH-RISE LIvInG ]
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Sky high The Residences at The Stoneleigh is finally poised to give the gayborhood a new luxury living destination By Steven Lindsey
hen the Residences at The Stoneleigh open mid-summer, the urban dwellers who call the new high-rise home will quickly be the envy of anyone within sight of the classically modern structure. That’s because each of the 75 sprawling units on its 22 floors will feature all the luxury amenities of a worldclass hotel in a place even the most discriminating would proudly call home. Situated next door to the recently renamed Le Méridien Dallas, this modest tower is already poised to be one of the most soughtafter addresses in the city. In part because of the breathtaking views from every home in every direction, but also because of the highly unique prospect of creating a completely custom dream home on what developers have dubbed “lots in the sky.” And it almost never happened. After sitting uncompleted for more than three years after the recession hit, it seemed that the much-anticipated building would never reach its towering potential. Then just a little over a year ago, Mehrdad Moayedi and his Centurion American Development company swooped in and rescued the project from foreclosure and an uncertain future. “When we got this, it was half-way finished. We decided to pick it up and make certain changes to make it even better than originally planned, but still keeping the original vision intact,” says Kay Zafar, vice president of Residences at The Stoneleigh. “The first step was reducing the number of units from 120 or so down to 75. We then increased the amenities for the residents.” Among the standard perks, each unit has its own elevator lobby, so there aren’t any exterior hallways to create unusable space. Pinpointing a starting price isn’t easy, either, because each unit’s size, shape and finish-out are up to the individual owner. “There are basic designs in terms of floor plans, but it’s up to the person to buy as much of a floor as they want,” Kafar says. “There are some designs, but they’re really just guidelines. Beyond that, everybody is taking a piece here and there and mixing and matching to create their space. As long as they don’t leave a sliver of space that’s unusable, I’m all for it.” This means that the final layout could feature even fewer than 75 units, depending on the individual configurations still being determined as new owners sign on. Once their floor plan is determined, they can select between two of the
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Upscale in Uptown: The Residences will not only offer unparalleled amenities, each unit will be customized to the needs of the owner. care, handymen and personal grocery shoppers are also on the short list. But what good is it living next door to a luxury hotel without dipping into some of its amenities, too? Room service is available 24 hours a day from the hotel, through a private underground passage. Access to the full-service spa is also standard for all residents, as is use of the housekeeping staff to maintain a tidy space. And perhaps best of all, when out-of-town guests show up, simply put them up in their own room at the hotel. For the select few with the privilege to call Residences at The Stoneleigh home, every day will be spent in luxury. And on everyone’s lips, one simple phrase that just might sum up the entire project: The sky’s the limit.
area’s finest homebuilders, Sharif & Munir Custom Homes and Crescent Estates Custom Home to deliver the sophisticated finishing touches in the interiors of each home. Noting that a primary source of new residents will be empty nesters looking to downsize to something in the approximately 3,500-squarefoot range, Zafar also acknowledges that this building will appeal to anyone with zero interest in gardening or building maintenance, but in favor of a laundry list of round-the-clock amenities. Within the building itself are a private fitness center, a screening room, lounge space and a rooftop park for walking four-legged friends near the private, negative-edge pool with waterfall and heated spa. A full-service concierge is available for making reservations and providing mail and package shipping. Executive assistants, travel planners, pet
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[ READ TO SELL ]
Picture perfect Dallas stagers get your real estate ready for its close-up
By Jef Tingley
Before and after: A perfectly nice living room, right, gets a dramatic makeover, above, from stager Karen Eubank to make a house ready to sell.
s the saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” And for anyone who has ever sold a home, truer words have never been spoken. The looky-loo judges of your clutter may not come back a second time to see the great bones of your home. That’s where the experts come into play: stagers. Professionals like Karen Eubank and Stuart Lee straddle the line between seller and agent to review a space with an objective eye and make it as appealing as possible to the would-be buyer — especially in a digital age of online house shopping. Eubank, owner of Eubank Staging and Design, began her career working as a photography stylist for clients such as Neiman Marcus, Kohler and Hunter Douglas. Almost a decade ago, a Realtor friend asked her to work her magic on an in-need home … and her career as a stager took off. “No one knew the term ‘staging’ in Dallas at that time,” she recalls. “Realtors knew that people needed to get rid of clutter and clean up, but there was not a job in Dallas called ‘staging’ back then. So I took some of my team into the house and we created a ‘look’ that would appeal to the target demographic purchasing in that particular neighborhood. The house sold to the first person that looked at it. I realized I was onto something!” For Lee, a designer with Dallas Home Stars, becoming a stager came about after hiring someone to help sell his own home. “The designer called me back soon after and said that I seemed really into the process and would I like to join her to help her out with other homes — and that she would train me,“ he says. “I was a quick study, and we worked together for a while on all sorts of properties. One day she called me and said her husband was going to be relocated and would I like to take over her clients.” Both Eubank and Lee attribute the popularity of outlets like HGTV in giving greater visibility to their careers, but contend that many sellers still don’t grasp the complexity and labor involved in making a space
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ready to sell. Eubank begins the process with a “Walk and Talk,” a one- to twohour verbal consultation of changes she would recommend. “I find this is the way I work most often and what most clients want. Once the seller has the report, they have the option to do the work themselves or hire the stager to do the work,” she says. “Most sellers will do the work, then call the stager back in for an hour to put the final touches on the house and get it picture perfect for the professional photographer who will shoot the MLS [Multiple Listing Service] photos.” Great photos of the space are key to catching the eye of buyers. Lee offers a similar evaluation and assessment. “I always reassure [the seller] that whatever I’m telling them is not personal. Often I really like some of their pieces that I have to remove, but there just isn’t always room for all of their wonderful pieces if we are going to enhance views, sightlines and traffic patterns,” he says. “To ensure the process is extremely cost-effective, my clients take notes on the consultation, and I spend as much time as needed talking through the interior and exterior. I tell them I will be entirely honest like a good doctor. This way when I have to ask them to replace a particularly ugly gold fan, for example, I can refer to it as real estate death and they get it immediately.” For those in the market for a stager for an occupied or unoccupied home, Eubank suggests word-of-mouth referrals or organizations such as Real Estate Staging Association (RESA), the national and trade association for stagers. “If you’re comparing stagers, compare apples to apples,” she says. “Look at their portfolios, find out how long they have been staging, get references, talk to them and find a good match. There are a lot of excellent staging professionals in Dallas.” And who knows — with some cleaning and rearranging your gussied up space might just meet the new owners of its dreams. Karen Eubank, Real Estate Staging & Design. 214-912-9263. EubankStaging.com. Stuart Lee, Dallas Home Stars. 214-796-1091.
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11 Top Tips for Staging
Know your competition. Look at other homes for sale online. Attend open houses in your neighborhood. If you are expecting the same price point as the seller that has hardwoods and granite countertops, and you don’t have them, you’ll have to lower your expectations or consider an upgrade. Most importantly, listen to your real estate agent. They do this all day, every day. They know what they are doing. They know pricing. It’s not what you think your house is worth that is going to sell it. It’s what it is actually worth and your real estate agent knows that! It’s been said before but I’ll say it again. Location, price, condition. You cannot change the location. You want to price correctly. You can change the condition. It’s the one factor a seller has complete control over. So call a stager! —J.T.
Karen Eubank offers some general ideas about how to get your home ready to move. Store your stuff! Put about a third of your belongings (in general people have too much stuff) and all items of a personal nature, especially photos and collectibles, in storage. Neutralize. “I don’t mean paint it all beige — I just had a house sell immediately with a lime green kitchen but it was perfect for the target demographic. However if you have gold walls and cheetah trim, that’s just not going to appeal to a broad range of buyers!” Remove anything hiding an architectural detail (no televisions in front of windows!). Clean, clean, clean. Windows, front door and bathrooms — all should be spotless. Hide Fido. Find a place for your pets when your house is being shown. A lot of people have allergies or a deep fear of certain pets. You don’t want your pet barking or growling in a cage in the laundry room and you sure don’t want it escaping! Repair everything! Buyers don’t want to fix anything. Curb appeal. Make sure your house looks great from the curb or no one will bother to look at the interior! Lighting. No one likes a dark house. Keep the blinds and curtains open and put table lamps on timers. Odor. No one wants to smell any odor other than clean. It’s not just pet smells but over scenting with aroma Plug-In’s can drive people right out of the house.
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[ FIRST-TIME BUYERS ] urchasing a first home is an investment generally associated with many long-term benefits — personal, emotional and financial. Homeownership offers an unprecedented sense of security, accomplishment, success and perhaps most importantly, personal freedom. But before you begin to look at homes, it is a good idea to first shop around — not just for the house, but for a real estate professional who is compatible with your needs and understands your buying goals. Most novice buyers do it the other way around: They see a house they like, call the phone number on the yard sign and immediately enter into a professional relationship entrusting the most important financial decision of a lifetime to whoever happens to pick up the phone. Jeff Hammerberg, the founder of GayRealEstate.com, counsels a cautioned approach. “Nearly every first-time buyer admits to understanding little or nothing about the real estate business as they enter the real estate arena,” he says. “As newcomers, they are suddenly confronted with complicated choices that carry powerful legal and financial consequences. They often encounter sellers who have the upper hand thanks to prior experience in the real estate market. And the potential for ‘silent homophobia’ in the real estate industry can present an invisible obstacle for LGBT buyers, and is a legitimate and potentially frustrating concern.” Here are some of Hammerberg’s tips to help you make an informed choice: 1. Employ a specialist. “If you are relocating through your employer, you may want to work with a broker who specializes in relocation work, because they will have the experience required to help you locate the right property, at the right price, within your window of opportunity and according to the parameters outlined by your company’s relocation program. Similarly, if you are looking for rural property or farmland, there are brokers who specialize in that area, as opposed to others who are expert at finding you a city dwelling close to the nightlife. And if it is investment property you want, you may decide to choose an investment property specialist. Once you have found someone who specializes in the kind of property you’re looking for, you can narrow down your search by selecting a broker within that niche of the industry. 2. Determine the legal roles and responsibilities of brokers in your particular area. “Depending upon where you live, the real estate laws will dictate the responsibilities and roles of real estate agents and brokers. Some states allow real estate professionals to serve clients in a dual capacity, and these ‘dual agents’ will represent both the buyer and the seller at the same time, during the same transaction. They negotiate and mediate on behalf of both parties. In other jurisdictions, agents represent either buyers or sellers, but not both. Check with the local Realtors’ association to find out what rules apply in your area, before you begin interviewing brokers.” 3. Check their credentials, and also see if you feel comfortable working with them. “As with any professional you hire, you will want to look for experience, a proven track record, a stellar reputation for customer satisfaction, and the ability to communicate with you and answer all of your questions in a way that inspires your confidence and trust. Once you have a qualified and trustworthy real estate professional on your team to help you find a house, negotiate on your behalf, and inform and guide you each step of the way, you can relax and enjoy the adventure of shopping for your new home.” Jeff Hammerberg is the founding CEO of GayRealEstate.com, the largest online LGBT realty network in the world.
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Jumping in First-time home buying is a major commitment, so don’t make these rookie mistakes By Arnold Wayne Jones
Jeff Hammerberg counsels to choose an agent carefully.
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[ BUY-SELL ]
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AGENTS from page 4
for showings, a professional photographer, high-quality marketing pieces, print advertisements and an open-house schedule,” Bleeker counsels. “A proper listing agent will advise you on the condition of your home and what tasks to complete prior to listing and photography. They will advise you on current market conditions, including price, and the average days on market in your neighborhood.” And even though you share a common goal, the listing agent is able to look at your property objectively, so listen to his or her advice and understand that an easily modifiable architectural feature, paint color or simple piece of furniture could each be the one thing that keeps a house from selling. Don’t be too stubborn and listen to the agent. How a house shows is a huge factor in how quickly a sale happens and how close to asking price a final offer is. “Always have the home in tip-top showing condition for all showings” Bleeker stresses. “House clean, lights on, music playing, candles burning, beds made, bathrooms clean, pets secured. You’ve seen HGTV, you know what to do. You never know when that perfect buyer walks through the door, and nobody wants to buy a house that upon entry is dark, cluttered, dirty and presents itself as anything other than fantastic. Homes that sit on the market are the ones that simply do not show well.” Brian Bleeker, Brian@hewitthabgood.com, 214-542-2575.
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