To Stage or Not to Stage

Posted on 8th July 2010 by Alan Blumenthal in Selling Homes

Is it worth staging your Marin home before you sell it? Many sellers at every price point object to having their homes staged. Their reasons are that it is not worth the expense, the house looks good, or buyers are still going to negotiate the price, so staging doesn’t matter.

Staging Your Marin Home IS Important

We know first hand that staging your Marin home is more important than ever. Here are some of the reasons

  • WOW Factor. You know the expression, “You only have one chance to make that first impression.” So true in real estate. When a buyer opens that front door, you want to WOW them immediately. It’s a subliminal factor that affects a buyer’s ‘feeling’ about a house. Buyers can tell you all the features that they want in a house, but often times, it comes down to a very primal, emotional response.
  • Most buyers search the Internet for properties. Online viewers have a very limited attention span.  If a property is vacant or unattractive, buyers are inclined to skip over it quickly. Staged and attractive rooms will make a much better WOW impression for these buyers, and more often they place house on a their “lets see it” list.
  • It is a buyer’s market, and buyers are more particular than ever about the appearance of properties. They have more to choose from and can take their time.
  • A staged home will attract more buyers.
  • Staging often define spaces in a house and show buyers how they might use these spaces.
  • Staging will neutralize a home so buyers can see themselves in the home, and not the sellers.
  • Buyers will stay longer in a staged home. They have somewhere to sit down and relax, look around the room, chat with their families, and see themselves living there.
  • Staged homes can focus the buyer’s attention on the positive aspects of the home and take away attention from any possible flaws.
  • Buyers perceive that the seller has carefully attended to the overall care and maintenance of the home, since it is staged and well presented.
  • Staged homes will net the seller a higher sales price, with fewer days on the market. The longer they are on the market, the lower the sale price.

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Marin Summer Activities

Posted on 9th June 2010 by Alan Blumenthal in General

Marin anticipates summer (starting June 21) with festivals and abundant farmers markets from Marin City (Sausalito) to Point Reyes Station.

Festivals This Weekend

Here are special activities this weekend, June 12 and 13:

Fairfax Festival

Fairfax celebrates summer this coming Saturday and Sunday, starting with a parade Saturday morning at 10 am, followed by music, art exhibits, and more. For the details, see the 33rd Annual Fairfax Festival.

San Rafael Italian Street Painting Festival

A wonder of chalk art underfoot this Saturday and Sunday in downtown San Rafael. For information see Bella Terra.

Novato Art, Wine & Music Festival

Food, wine, and art on Grant Avenue (between Redwood and 7th), Saturday from 10 am till 7 pm and Sunday from 10 am till 6 pm.

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Marin’s Distinguished Schools

Posted on 25th May 2010 by Alan Blumenthal in General

Marin’s Distinguished Schools

Each year, the California Department of Education selects the highest achieving public schools in the state as Distinguished Schools. Schools may apply for this award only every four years. Here are the Marin schools on the list for the last four years:

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People and Plants in Marin

Posted on 27th April 2010 by Alan Blumenthal in General

Mt. Tamalpias Waterfall

Springtime in Marin is always a wonderful surprise. By mid-February the first daffodils and magnolias are blooming, and right now—helped by the weekly rains—Marin looks it’s best. Here are a few examples.

Magnolia tree on magnolia Ave, Larkspur
Magnolia tree on Magnolia Ave, Larkspur

Mt. Tamalpais from Ring Mountian, SpringtimeGrowing Tomatoes in MarinMom always said there was nothing to match a garden-grown New Jersey tomato. She was probably correct. However, the industrious home tomato growers in Marin have found ways to produce some fine tomatoes, despite the fog and cool summer nights.My friend Heidi Hornberger has mastered tomato growing in Mill Valley. Here is a summary of her tips, with the help of Rodale’s All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening.How to grow tomatoes in Marin

Another friend and Fairfax tomato gardener, Paul Clark, has this good advice, “I am one of those in a hotter place that has to prune less, if at all, so that I don’t get sunscald. Any long period of direct sun on my fruit just cooks it!”

From visiting many homes for sale over the last 20 years, I can add that there are some varieties of cherry tomatoes that are very easy to grow and produce fruit late into the fall. Any of the Marin nurseies would advise you ion the varieties. Maybe a good way to start.

Makes me think about starting a tomato plant.

About Heidi, Bali, and YKIP

The same tomato grower, Heidi, is also a very good real estate agent and a world-class sculptor. She learned woodcarving from masters in Bali and returns there for several months a year to carve. The completed works are often cast in bronze here in California. It is worth visiting her website to see the work. I find her both her portraits and her abstract/naturalistic works remarkable.

During her visits in Bali, Heidi has found many ways to help local families. Her major effort has been the establishment of the Heidi Circle, which pays the public school fees for a large group of children. Heidi sponsors several children and inspires many of her friends to sponsor others. We have paid the school fees for several years for a boy, I Made Krishna, now entering junior high. I joined Heidi’s effort for two reasons: it is a good thing to do, and Heidi’s love for this program is infectious.

The Heidi Circle is administered by a Balinese organization, YKIP. You can read more about YKIP and the Heidi Circle.

Growing Geraniums in Marin

Photo by Robin Parer

Marin has a rare resource for gardeners, which I found many years ago on an organized garden tour: a geranium nursery in Kentfield. Though you can find great flower-box geraniums (Pelargoniums) there, the focus is on species geraniums with delicate leaves and small brilliantly colored flowers. The creator of this geranium wonderland is Robin Parer. She has passion for these plants, and they respond by growing so well in cheerful billows in the Marin climate.

Photo by Ted Kipping

Robin has a beautiful web site that can engage you for hours: www.geraniaceae.com. Each year I find a reason to add a few plants to my garden. I like to pick them up at the nursery so that I can hang out for a few minutes at her front gate to see the wonderful varieties that have spilled out onto the driveway. Definitely a Marin treasure!

Larkspur Walking Tour, May 1

There is still time to join a walking tour of Baltimore Canyon in Old Larkspur. On May 1, Sue Cummingham will lead a tour of the 1860s yard of the pioneer family of Baltimore Canyon in downtown Larkspur, plus other features of this charming canyon.  The tour, organized by the Larkspur Heritage Preservation Board, will begin at 10 am from the landmark oak tree at the intesection of Magnolia and West Baltimore Avenues. For more information, call (415) 924-6976.

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