STEVE:  Hi.  Steve Westmark.  Thanks again for joining us on my weekly video blog.  This week, I thought I’d have an interesting conversation with a professional in the area of staging, in getting your house best prepared for selling in today’s marketplace.  And today, we’re meeting with Kathy Holschuh.  Welcome, Kathy.

KATHY:  Thank you.

STEVE:  So Kathy, in today’s marketplace, what do you find is the biggest bang for the buck for clients out there when they’re getting their home ready for sale?

KATHY:  Well, Steve, I think the most important thing that a client can do to get ready to sell their home is the color that they use on their walls.  It’s one of the most important things that can give your home a warm, homey feeling.  And there’s so many times that the client goes online and looks at homes and it makes a big difference what color the walls are when they look at each of the pictures.  Of course, they’re looking for the size and bedrooms, but this also is a really important feature to look for.

And a color can change the whole woodwork.  The color, the warmth of each room.  It makes a difference with their furniture, how it ties everything together.  So I feel that’s probably one of the most important things they can do.

STEVE:  Well, another thing I’ve run into, Kathy, as I’ve looked in the marketplaces and I meet with sellers is I tell them it’s a price war and a beauty contest.  So as you’re helping someone make their house beautiful, what do you do to help them minimize the things that are in their property so it does become a beautiful home?

 KATHY:  I think one of the main things that they can do is get rid of all the clutter.  There are so many times that there’s baskets and paper and extra toys and just day-to-day living.  And if you can get that into a reasonable area, hide it in cupboards, and try to sort is probably the best thing that you can do.  And another thing is try to get rid of a lot of little things, but keep a lot of your bowls and accessories that are going to really add to the look and feel of your home.

 STEVE:  So as you’re getting your house ready, what is some of the best bang for your buck that you can do as a seller that will give you the highest return on your investment?

 KATHY:  The biggest thing I think for anyone walking into anyone’s home is that you notice when you walk in the door how clean a person’s home is.  And I think that reflects on how well they’ve taken care of their home over the years.  And it makes a huge difference that even the threshold, the front entry is spotless, the windows are clean.  If there’s spots on the wall, if you can clean those off.  Anything that is really apparent in your home that the buyer feels like everything is just really nice and clean and well taken care of.

 STEVE:  Well, lastly, Kathy, I think people kind of wonder what goes on within the services.  And you’ve done the gamut from where I’ve had a real upper bracket home and we spent a lot of money to help sell it and get top dollar.  But what are some of the levels of service like from starting from some simple thing to where we went to with that very upper-bracket property?

 KATHY:  Well, Steve, it could be anything as simple as a simple walk through a home with a minimum charge of $200 to give the homeowner ideas and help them decide which are the best things to stay in the room or leave.  And it can go on to the next level where you’re painting and adding new carpet, which can be $5,000 to $10,000 and then the next level, which we can provide furniture for the rooms and adding granite countertops, changing some bathrooms, and that can go from $10,000 to $20,000 and on up.  So there’s all kinds of different choices that you can make to change your home and getting it ready for it to sell.

STEVE:  Well, it’s been great to have Kathy here today, and we try to give you a short synopsis of how you can get your home staged.  And Kathy, if you were going to want to work with somebody, how could they get a hold of you and call you to have them come over to their property?

KATHY:  My number is 612-990-8855, and I always have my phone with me, so you can call at any time.  Thank you.