She stages your home to impress buyers

By Katie Mills Giorgio, correspondent

Name: Donna Yoder

Title: Owner

Company: The Closing Act, Cedar Rapids

Phone: (319) 400-0381

 Website: www.theclosingact.com

Elevator speech: See your home through a buyer's eyes

Selling a home is hard work. And, while sellers know what they love about their house, they might not be so good at determining what prospective buyers might want to see.

Donna Yoder of Kalona recalled she'd “always enjoyed working with friends on their homes,” explaining she'd often advise them on what color to paint a room.

“I was their unofficial expert.”

After seeing home staging programs on cable TV, Yoder figured she'd look into doing something like that herself. She had spent the past 20 years of her professional life working as a medical transcriptionist from her home.

“I had gotten tired of sitting in my house, and my hands were getting sore,” she says. “I thought now is a good time as any to make the transition and do something I really want to do.”

Yoder started her own home staging business, the Closing Act, this past spring.

“The ultimate goal of the seller is to close on the sale,” Yoders said. “So the idea is that my service of staging their home will swing them to that closing act of the sale.”

Yoder will walk through the house as if she were a potential buyer. She observes things that should be changed - new paint colors, small repairs, rearranging furniture, replacing carpet, etc. - that will improve the home's appeal to buyers.

“I love to come in and help them declutter and make the main feature of each  room be more of a focal point,” Yoder said.

Yoder examines all rooms, but she pays special attention to a few key spots.

“Kitchens, bathrooms and master suites sell a house, so that's what I focus on because I know that's what buyers look for and focus on,” she noted.

While Yoder loves what she does, it's not free of challenges, especially when it comes to helping the seller realize all the items and pieces of furniture aren't needed when it comes time to show the house.

“Helping them scale down, depersonalize and take down family pictures because that distracts the buyer can be tough, especially if they have a lot of memories in that home,” Yoder said. But, she added, “It's great when the staging is complete and they are able to see their house through the buyer's eyes.”

Yoder knows some homeowners don't want to put the money into a service such as hers.

“The cost of home staging is almost always less than taking a sale price reduction,” Yoder added. “If you are going with the premium service, for example, it can be as little as one or two percent of their selling cost.”

Own or manage a Corridor business? To have you or your company considered for “My Biz,” contact business editor Michael Chevy Castranova at michael.castranova@sourcemedia.net.