Client Interview with Alice T. Chan

Client interview with Alice T. Chan

Please take a moment to read this before hiring Alice and her staging team

How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get to be a Home Selling Strategist?
I started my Staging design business in March 2003. I have since consulted on millions of dollars worth of real estate sales and was the one who provided the creativity to convert them into gold! I have worked with hundreds of clients and strive to deliver high-impact, low-cost, customized home selling strategies to maximize their home selling profits. My clients have enjoyed as much as $105,000 in above asking price profits at reduced market times.

I have also sold four of my own personal residences, two prior to becoming a professional home stager, so I fully understand what it’s like to be on all sides of the real estate transaction. I know what it feels like to be the seller and the frustration that comes with not getting offers right away and having to maintain the property while the house is on the market, but I also have experienced the satisfaction and the confidence that comes with knowing that you’ve got that “rockstar” property that everyone wants. I know what it’s like to be the buyer and having the options to choose from…what goes through my mind when I see properties that don’t show well. I am one of those buyers who have walked into a property and walked right back out and I have also witnessed other buyers do the same. And I know what it’s like to be the professional who sees the struggles that realtors, home sellers and buyers have and being so frustrated that I have the tools to make it be a win-win-win situation, but one or more parties are not willing to take the chance or make the extra effort needed to turn a home into an irresistible, market ready house that SELLS!

I consider myself a Home Selling Strategist because there’s a reason for everything I do in preparing a house to sell. I love looking at the big picture and deciding what needs to be done to give the seller and the buyer the “biggest bang for their buck”. Occasionally, that may include advising against paying for my staging services if they are on an extremely limited budget and to instead put the money towards more important things, such as cleaning or replacing the carpet.

What really sets you apart from other professional home stagers out there?
I understand real estate, marketing, and buyer psychology. I L-O-V-E to learn and from the moment I started my business, I sought out well known real estate coaches like the Mike Ferry Organization to learn about the real estate industry and how that would apply to my home staging business. I continue to stay abreast of what’s happening in the marketplace and how we as buyers, sellers, and real estate related professionals need to adapt to current market trends.

As a staging designer, I take a very holistic approach to the home selling process. For a truly effective home sale, you can’t just make a property pretty…pretty alone DOES NOT sell. There is a psychology behind every real estate transaction which needs to be taken into consideration. A staging designer who understands this will design a property to incorporate how it should look, feel, sound, and even smell like, based on the profile of who the prospective buyer is. An effective staging designer takes all aspects of the senses and makes sure that your property is striking an emotion and will leave a lasting impression with your prospective buyers. All our customized staging design programs start with a customized staging consultation. To schedule a staging consultation for your property, click here for more information.

Who are your clients exactly?

As a Professional Home Stager, I have worked and consulted with Homeowners, Realtors, Developers, Builders, Investors, and other Staging Professionals to stage residential resale properties, model home projects, manage remodel for resale projects and condominium conversions, as well as complete design renovations.

This all sounds so wonderful. But, it also seems expensive. Are we going to be able to afford all this?

Absolutely! The honest truth is, you can’t afford to not afford this and here’s why. The first two weeks a house is on the market is the most important because that is when you will get the most interest. Any real estate agent can tell you that the likelihood that the same prospective buyers will visit again are slim to none. So what that means is, you have to capture that audience’s attention at that time. Not in a few weeks or a few months, it has to be NOW, while they’re walking through your house. If not, you risk them never coming back because they’ve discounted your property from their list of possibilities or they’ve purchased another property. So, the initial traffic is the most important.

If your home does not show well, guess what? That’s what they’ll focus on are all the negatives in your home – the clutter, the old furniture, the many repairs that need to be done, how dirty it is, all the things that need updating and all they will keep telling themselves is, “it’s not worth it!”. I’ve heard more than my share of sellers telling me that they’re going to put their house on the market in “as is” condition to “see what happens”. Well, you can just imagine what the results were and by then, they’ve lost time and the initial valuable traffic.

If that’s not convincing enough, a study by the Real Estate Staging Association revealed that 126 vacant and occupied homes that were NOT staged, sat on the market an average of 263 days UNSOLD. When these same homes were staged, they sold in 60 days on average after staging. That’s 78% less time on the market. Imagine if they had staged it right from the get go!

Well, that same study showed that 167 occupied homes that were staged before they went on the market sold in 39 days on average; and 117 vacant homes that were staged before they went on the market sold in 42 days on average.

So, really think about what selling your home or listing means to you…seriously. If it means that you could move on with your life, wherever that may take you…isn’t it worth it to maximize your efforts? Call me to schedule your complimentary “Home Selling Success” strategy session so that we can support you in achieving your goals. It doesn’t sound that expensive now, does it?

Who do you work best with?

You will benefit best from working with me if you are serious about selling your home, listing or property and you are willing to do whatever it takes to get it SOLD! If you are willing to trust in the proven results shown in statistics and the happy sellers who have embraced these strategies before you, then you are a perfect candidate.

Who is not going to benefit from my help getting their houses ready to sell?

Please know that I’m very selective in who I work with. Sometimes I must (gently) turn away people who aren’t suited for my programs and won’t get the results for which they signed up for. (It’s not fair to these people either).

Another type of person I won’t work with (without exception) is the whiner or the chronic skeptic, as well as the victim who consistently makes excuses, blames others for his/her troubles, or challenges every single aspect of the program, product or workshop. If you are one of these people, I respectfully ask that you do not call or email to join our programs, and I hope that you understand why. We’ll probably not work well together and I wouldn’t want you to waste your time or money. Is that fair to ask?

Does this really work?

Yes, it really works! By properly preparing your house to sell and tailoring your marketing efforts to attract your property’s target buyer, along with competitive market pricing, you will increase the visibility and the desirability of your property which will allow you to sell it that much faster. The statistics I provided earlier reiterates this point.

The only guarantee I can absolutely make to you is if you take the advice I give you and DON’T take action, you will NOT get results. Pretty obvious, right?

Will I recover the investment I put into your staging services?

Yes, you definitely will! Here’s an excerpt from the Real Estate Staging Statistics Report By RESA® Released February 2010 to help illustrate this better.

How much money could you save by staging your home before listing?
Our study shows 126 homeowners had their property on the market an average of 263 days before they decided to stage. 263 days = 9 months!!!

Those same homes were staged and sold in 60 days on average AFTER staging. This is 78% less time on the market. This is 7 months less time on the market.

As an example, using this formula you can determine approximately how much money you will continue to spend while your home is on the market un-staged.

If your mortgage is : $1800.00
If your direct expenses are: $300.00

Total carrying cost per month: $2,100.00

Our study shows home owners had their property on the market for an average of 9 months. $2,100.00 X 9 months = $18,900.00 in expenses.

Had those homeowners staged first, their time on market would have been cut by 223 days on average (7 months). $2,100.00 x 7 months= $14,700.00

Staging their homes first would have saved them $14,700.00.

These numbers are all relative to individual mortgage and expenses. Use this simple formula to determine how much you will save by staging your home or listing before putting it on the market:

Mortgage + expenses (utilities etc.) = Monthly expenses
Monthly expenses X 9 months (avg. time un-staged) = Cost to list house un-staged
Savings: Expenses x 7 months (average time on market reduced) –staging fee =Savings if you stage your house first!

** If you have a price reduction you can also add that into the loss you are taking by listing a property un-staged.

This sounds like everything we’ve been looking for. What happens next to start the staging design process?

Fabulous! The next step is for you is to call me at 510.745.0559 or you can email us at info@alicetchan.com to set up a complimentary “Home Selling Strategy” session where we can assess where you are and what your goals are during the home selling process and see how we can support you in achieving the results you are seeking.

I’ll be happy to take you through our packages to see which one makes the most sense for you, to show you more from our portfolio, and to describe our process in more detail.

Do you take credit cards?

Yes. We happily accept all major credit cards. That’s how we do most of our business actually. And, we also offer payment plans for many of our products, workshops and programs for your convenience.

OK, I know which program I want. How do we get started?

Great! Here’s what you do: Give my team a call at 510-745-0559 or email us at info@alicetchan.com and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have. I can’t wait to meet you in person or on the phone to get you started on your path to a home selling breakthrough!

If I’m not sure I’m ready to get started, how can I sample your work at low cost to see if it’s the right solutions for me?

A way to sample the Home Selling Success Formula™ is by subscribing to our email newsletter. The “Set the Stage for Home Selling Success” email newsletter provides you with ongoing tips and strategies for preparing and selling properties today. You can also subscribe to Alice’s FREE 8-part series, “8 Steps to Creating an Irresistible, Market Ready Home that SELLS” at www.AliceTChan.com. I also invite you to check when our next Home Selling Success Formula Bootcamp is running so you can join us for that as well.

I look forward to helping you create an irresistible, market ready home that SELLS!!!

To Your Home Selling Success,