Home Staging

Scene Setting The Art of Home Staging

PREPARING YOUR HOME TO SELL FOR TOP DOLLAR

BY ZANDRA WOLFGRAM

Corcoran Reverie luxury property specialists Greta Schuler and Jennifer Fowler, who own and operate 30A City to Sand, are waiting in the wings, so to speak, to prepare your home for its close up.

For this dynamic duo, the secret to selling real estate for top dollar comes down to offering one essential client service: home staging.

Simply put, this is the art of preparing your home — repairing, redecorating, rearranging furniture and other high-visual impact strategies — to ensure it makes the best possible first impression on potential buyers.

And first impressions count, as home staging proves to help you sell your home 30 times faster and with a 20% increase in profit.

For owners who think they have an eye for interior design, think again. There is an important distinction between home staging and decorating. Decorating is about expressing your style and tastes. Home staging is the total opposite.

“Your home needs to appeal to a wide variety of people,” Fowler explained. “Our aim is to be on trend, new and fresh. That bright red accent wall may not appeal to everyone but updating to white cabinets and countertops is classic and timeless.”

Schuler encourages sellers to remember the end goal, frequently reminding clients, “you are doing this work to sell it, not to invest in your dream interior design. It’s not personal, it’s business.”

Practically speaking, home staging provides a purpose for each room of the home. “Most people don’t have a vision,” said Schuler. “So when they can see how a room is laid out, they can see a space and envision themselves there.”

According to Fowler, when a house is properly staged it takes out the guesswork for the buyer. “If done well, it creates an emotional experience for buyers when they see it. It keeps them in the house longer. The longer you can keep a client in the home, the more they become attached to the house, and that’s when they are more likely to make an offer,” she said.

Home staging also differentiates a house from the competition, especially new construction. Schuler explained it this way, saying, “Imagine a buyer sees 10 houses; nine are vacant and one is fully furnished, down to the carefully thought out accessories. That house is most likely to sell faster.”

Schuler would know. She has invested in and relocated to 16 different homes during her career and Fowler, who owns a home staging business, has 12 years of local and regional real estate experience.

The process is simple, Fowler tours the property and makes a recommended wish list of everything that needs to be added, removed and changed to get a house in top shape to sell for the highest price in the least number of days. The homeowner decides how they’d like to proceed, and the Corcoran Reverie home staging team works directly with contractors until the project is completed.

Home stagers Greta Schuler and Jennifer Folwer say to focus on the general audience when home staging, staying "on trend, new and fresh."

10 HOME STAGING TIPS & TRICKS

Curb Appeal

It’s amazing what a plant on the porch will do to make a home feel welcoming.

Clean

Don’t forget the inside of drawers. Add organizers so everything is tidy.

White is right

White makes everything look clean and fresh. And kitchens are the No. 1 room to update. Replace old countertops and paint the cabinets.

Depersonalize

Remove all personalized photos and objects, so the buyer can picture themselves in the home.

Declutter

Get rid of knick knacks, decor and don’t forget the closets — packed places look small.

Linens

Change everything to white bedding; it’s timeless. Add an accent pillow for a pop of color.

Lighting

To avoid distractions, make sure light bulbs are all the same color.

Define

Add just enough furniture and decor to indicate the purpose of a space.

Aroma

Be mindful of pet and fresh-paint odors. Oil diffusers and plug-ins are safe ways to emit a fresh, clean scent.

Photography

Buyers are shopping on the internet, so invest in strong photography that captures the home’s selling features.

With 12 years of real estate experience and her own home staging business, Fowler is well equipped to help you stage your home.

“No job is too small or too big,” Fowler said. “We try to ‘white glove’ what fits the owner best. Most of our clients don’t live here, so there is a lot of trust put in us. We treat each home as if it were our own.”

Schuler and Fowler provide their services for all Corcoran Reverie clients and partner with outside agents as well. From new construction and “total gut jobs” to simple fixes such as replacing light bulbs, this team handles every detail. Their professional advice and a punch list will run you about $150 per hour. You can hire them hourly or pay a percent of the total project.

“With many homes over 20 years old in this market, there is a real need for our services to refresh them,” Schuler said. “As someone who has invested in numerous properties, I get it. Some clients just want to increase their rental rate from a four-star to five-star, others want to update to sell more per square foot. Whatever their goals, we meet them where they are.” 

2022 COASTAL TRENDS

Casual Dining

Breakfast rooms and nooks with built-in banquets are trending. Everyone is reducing bar-top height down to counter height. Families love a big kitchen island where the family can sit, cook and connect.

Floored

White oak flooring is really refreshing and bright versus dark wood that was on trend a few years ago.

Go Coastal

People buy here from all over the country. They are buying a beach home and they want that fresh coastal-lifestyle vibe.

Stay Neutral

On the coast, subdued hues of blues and soft neutral grays are still popular.

Ship Shape

Shiplap wallcovering is still popular for an entire space, giving a coastal-cottage vibe or on one accent wall for a pop.

IN — WELL, HELLO …

Recessed lighting and sleek, simple fixtures. Simple, monochromatic art groupings. Wall-mounted flat screens.

Floating shelves. Casual breakfast bars, nooks and eat-in kitchens.

OUT — SAY GOODBYE TO:

Fancy chandeliers. Art in ornate gilded frames. Oversized armoires.

Wall-to-wall built-in cabinets.

Formal dining rooms.

Our family helping your family find your dream home.

Kelly Lathem,

Luxury Property Specialist kelly.lathem@corcorangroup.com 850.447.1841

Mark Hearn,

Luxury Property Specialist mark.hearn@corcorangroup.com 850.867.2016

Sonjia Whitfield,

Luxury Property Specialist sonjia.whitfield@corcorangroup.com 850.447.1840

Better Together Living the Lifestyle

THE SIMPSONS MOVED TO THE EMERALD COAST TO WORK AND PLAY AS A FAMILY, NOW THEY EPITOMIZE WHAT THEY’RE SELLING — COASTAL LIVING

BY KAREN MURPHY

When the Simpsons encourage out-of-state real estate clients to leave everything behind to follow their dreams of living the Emerald Coast life, they speak from experience.

Long jogs on the beach, sunset sails and fresh seafood grilling on the deck sound nice, but the reality of leaving everything and everyone you know behind, to chase a dream is quite daunting. Suzanne and Joe Simpson and their adult son, Jes, who make up Corcoran Reverie’s The Simpson Group, know that firsthand.

During the height of the pandemic, the Simpsons left their former home in Arkansas to start new lives, including new careers, in Rosemary Beach, Florida. In just two years, their passion for living, working and playing on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, has made them one of the top Real Estate sales teams at Corcoran Reverie, with over $40 million in pending and closed sales in the first six months of this year.

“Sales is sales,” said Joe, commenting on the leap of faith that led them to sell their medical equipment company and start selling real estate on the Florida Panhandle.

“We’ve vacationed here for 20-plus years and it's always been a dream of mine and we had an opportunity to sell our business in Arkansas, so we decided to go for it,” said Suzanne.

As a team of three, the Simpsons divide duties.

“We all play to our own strengths,” Joe said. “I'm the outfront person, talking to people on a daily basis, seeing everyone, making sure we’re staying in contact. Suzanne’s more of the back office, working the leads and sending emails out and marketing. And then Jes does kind of what I do but then he's always researching and looking for property.”

“Instead of waiting for someone to come in your door, Joe goes outside to greet them,” said Suzanne. “And I think that’s something he developed in Arkansas, calling on doctors years ago. You have to go ask for the business; you can't wait for it to come to you.”

“We’ve vacationed here for 20-plus years and it’s always been a dream of mine and we had an opportunity to sell our business in Arkansas, so we decided to go for it.”

The Simpson family took a leap of faith when they left Arkansas to become Corcoran Reverie's The Simpson Group in Rosemary Beach.

“I bought my first rental property when I was in college, growing to 85 doors over time,” Joe said, “and I’ve been in sales forever … reading people figuring out what they want, making them comfortable with the purchase.”

Jes, 23, has inherited his parents’ sales skills, but excels in the area of research. He spends his time looking for land deals, commercial development opportunities and helping find the perfect properties for clients.

“Before committing to dental school, Jes wanted to give real estate and investing a chance. So, I told him to take a year and try it and he moved down here with us,” Joe said.

Suzanne keeps the back office running smoothly. She says her nursing degree and an adult life spent buying, remodeling and selling homes has led to her dream career in real estate sales.

Her job — and that of the entire team — is made easier with the support of the Corcoran brand.

“The thing with Corcoran, they just give you so many tools,“ Joe said.

From conventional marketing, to listing properties or even social media, Corcoran’s ready-made formats and standards make what could be a very time-consuming, difficult aspect of the job so much easier.

“I mean it's point and click and you're done, you're not spending hours doing that stuff,” Joe said. “It’s just a great

brand. I felt like — when we were considering the move to Florida to sell real estate — it was something we could get behind and build off of.” But being a family business, means setting the business aside at times and enjoying paradise. Joe said, “We still find time to separate work and family. I mean, you must, you've got to have some fun. It can't just always be work.” “We still find time to separate work In addition to Jes, Joe and Suzanne are the parents of two other adult children and the grandparents of two. They and family. I mean, you must, you’ve enjoy being on the beach, riding bikes along 30A, boating, airplanes and enjoying great wines and food with family got to have some fun. It can’t just and friends. A self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, Jes has an auto racing license and enjoys always be work.” skydiving. Residing in Rosemary Beach, Jes can be found running on the beach or at one of his favorite spots around town. More often than not, business does easily mix with pleasure. “We just try to make it fun,” said Joe, “we have happy hour every Friday afternoon from 4–6 p.m. with our next-door neighbors, Panhandle Getaway. So, they invite their owners over and we celebrate clients who are coming in for the week. We just try to live the life.” “If you’re going to sell the lifestyle you have to live the lifestyle, right?” said Suzanne. 

For the Simpson family-team, living and selling the luxury, coastal lifestyle go hand in hand.

The Emerald Coast: Where the magic happens and memories are made.

Let The Simpson Group find your memory maker and make the beach your backyard.

JES SIMPSON • 870.926.1116 • JES@CORCORANGROUP.COM JOE SIMPSON • 501.413.3451 • JOE.SIMPSON@CORCORANGROUP.COM SUZANNE SIMPSON • 501.454.1232 • SUZANNE.SIMPSON@CORCORANGROUP.COM