February 25, 2025 • 41 mins
Lisa Hemmings talk about way to better stage your home when placing it on the market.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dana, if you're listening out there, we wish you very well,
We wish you a very good weekend. We appreciate you
so much, and I hope you're enjoying a wonderful weekend
with your family. So I am, as I said, I'll
be your guest host today, and I work with Capital
Title and we do a lot of business with Dana
out there, and just wanted to mention to everyone out there,
(00:20):
if you, whenever you have a real estate transaction, whether
it's a refinance or a sale, whatever kind of property
it is, if it's land, if it's a home, if
it's a business, whatever kind of property it is, let
Capital Title handle that closing for you. We have five
offices here across Southeast Texas and all over the state,
and we are happy to help facilitate that transaction. You
(00:42):
can reach me at four oh nine six five eight
three six nine five and I'm Andy Hemmings. So today
for Dana's show, we have a well, a very special guest.
Our guest today is none other than my beloved wife,
Miss Lisa Hemmings. Welcome, Lisa, thank you, Yeah, good to
be here. Yes, it's good to have you here. So
(01:03):
Lisa and I have been married now what thirty thirty two,
thirty one, thirty one, thirty one years going on thirty
two years, and she and I have both been involved
in the real estate industry for many, many years, well
ever since we've been here in Beaumont, pretty much for
the ever since we moved back to Beaumont. And Lisa
is a home stager with Dana's team, and those of
(01:27):
you that are listening may have heard her talk before.
She's been a guest here before. But we're going to
do a deep dive on home staging and home decorps
today with Lisa, and I just want to give some
quick facts first, some quick facts about homestaging because I
did a little research. Lisa sounds great, Yeah, you know me,
I'm going to do my research.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Oh I know.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
So.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
According to the National Association of Realtors, homes that are
staged sell between five and fifteen percent more so that's
some of the value of a home staging. They spend
seventy three percent less time on the market. Ninety percent
of home buyers cannot visualize the potential of a home
(02:09):
and I'm definitely smack dabbing that ninety percent. So that's
that's you know, that's the value of having a home
stager to come in and prepare your home for sale.
You can sell it quicker, you can sell it for
more money. You can help buyers visualize themselves in that home.
At least if you would give us just a quick
(02:29):
definition of like, how would you define home staging.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Well, it's it's hard to define because you it's it's
different every single time.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Gotcha, all right, So every home you go into needs
different things and needs needs different attention. But essentially it's
taking the home where it's at and making it, improving
it where people can visualize themselves.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, but I.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Go a little bit deeper because I want to feel
the energy of the house. Okay, it doesn't sound too hippified.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Oh it sounds total hippy and I love it. I
love it. Yeah, you mentioned that that that's where.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
The magic happens, when you find that uniqueness and then
it then you go into another area where it just
involves i'd look around and see what they have and
see how we can.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Reinvent it.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Absolutely well, we're gonna we're definitely going to do some
deep dives into the different aspects of homestaging. But what
you just said there for those of you that don't
know Lisa, she that's very much her her style when
she says she likes to feel the energy and and
I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it myself.
I've been on a couple of stagings with her and
(03:50):
I've walked into a room with her and I'm like, oh,
this is the room looks good and She's like no, no, no, no, no, no,
no no, And then we start moving furniture around. Of
course I'm griping because I got to move furniture. And
then we're done. I'm like, oh, this is so much better.
So she has that that genese quah, that that you know,
that that unhintangible quality of being able to visualize something
(04:16):
just by feeling by being in the room, and it's
it's it's a trait of many artists and she has
it and she applies that to her homestaging role. So
but let's let's just go back in history here, and
let's how did you get involved? How did you first
get involved in homestaging?
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Well, you know, Andy, well I know, but they don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
You were the one that told me you know there's
this thing called staging. Yeah, and it's kind of getting popular.
That was seventeen eighteen years ago, right, And I'm like.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
You're crazy. Nobody's going to pay me for my opinion.
That's you know.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I do that with my girlfriends and I would go
over and get a bottle of wine and redecorate and
it's just sport.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
It was sport for me.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
But then when I was chatting with a lady that
was about to retire and she had been dabbling in that,
she uh, you know, she gave me some pointers and
then I went online and went through a little course
online that kind of shows you the basics of staging, right,
(05:32):
and then I've just taken it. It's evolved over the
seventeen years.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Yeah, I remember that. I remember that conversation with you
and your incredulity at somebody would pay me for this,
And I'm like, yeah, somebody gonna pay you for it.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Because it's so such to me.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
It doesn't so like like really going back in history,
when when Lisa and I met, our first home quote
unquote was really a tent when we were in Glacia
National Park. There wasn't much decorating that tent uh. But
forward to when we did first move in together. We
lived in a basement in Boulder, Colorado, and I remember
it was not a pleasant space, but you went in
(06:10):
and you did some remarkable things. One of the things
I'll never forget that you did. She got a hula hoop.
She hung it from the ceiling and put curtains around
it and made like a like a little princess drape
over the bed. And I was like, what.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
The heck is this called a canopy?
Speaker 1 (06:22):
A canopy? Yes, I call it a princess thing. Canopy
is the correct term. But you definitely have had that quality,
you know. You were I dare say born with it,
but I've seen it raised with it. You were raised
with That's right, because your mom has a very unique
and she's very talented.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Also, Yeah, she did theater forever. I grew up in
sleeping in when she would take us to the theater.
She was always doing the costumes and I would fall
asleep in the pile of fairly stinky costumes backstage.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Ah, the theater, the smell of the theater.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
It was great, though, I mean you could it.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I think I absorbed a lot of that through just
being raised by a super talented woman.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Yeah, yeah, and you're y'all's decorating styles. Actually, there's there's
a lot of differences. Of course, there's a lot of
similarities to I call it bohemian eclectic. You know, there's
a lot of different things going on with you know,
when you walk in your mom's house now and there's
just a lot of different things. She uses a lot
of oriental pieces. I notice she does that, and you've
(07:34):
you've picked up on some of that too. But it's
a very eclectic style. But you know, what inspires you
to decorate your own space is totally different than what
you have to bring to a home staging, because your
job is to make the houses appealing to the widest right.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Cast as broadened at as possible as what I tell every.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, that's right. And so we're gonna we're going to
dive into how that actually works, how that looks, and
some of your strategies for doing that. So we're going
to take a very quick break here and when we
come back, we're going to dive into some of the
specifics of how Lisa Hemmings with Dana Simmons team helps
prepare homes to make them sell quicker and for more money.
(08:15):
We'll be right back. Welcome back, every one to the
Dana Simmons Show. This is Andy Hemmings with Capitol title,
your guest host for today, and today we are talking
with Miss Lisa Hemmings, homestager for the Dana Simmons Team. Listen.
If you're out there listening and you've got any kind
of question about decorating your house, or things you want
to do to prepare your house for sale, or just
(08:37):
any sort of decor tips, you got your gal right here.
Miss Lisa can is always happy to give you some tips.
Give us a call at four O nine eight nine
six five five eight four. Four oh nine eight nine
six five five eight four. She'll talk to you about plants,
She'll talk to you about paint colors. She'll talk to
you about anything you're thinking of doing. You to your house,
So be sure to give us a call if you
(08:58):
have any questions. Four O nine eight nine six five
five eight four. She is up on all the current trends.
So Lisa, Yes, So Dana lists a house and then
you get the text. The bat signal goes up. Yes, Lisa,
come in, we need you. So you walk into a
home tell us what is tell us your process about
(09:20):
when you when you first meet with a homeowner. What
is a common thing that you do for every homeowner
when you when you meet, how do you start talking
with them?
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Well, it first starts out by me driving up to
the property, okay, because I don't like to get any
pictures ahead of time. I might, you know, map quest
it and see what it looks like like on the outside. Okay,
But I do like to drive around the neighborhood, just
like a potential homeowner or that's interesting. I want to
(09:54):
get the feel of the neighborhood. You know, when you
whenever you're looking at houses and you really interested in one,
you need to do a couple of drive buys different
times of the day. That really means you're serious. But
what I what I try to do is get in
the in the frame of mind that, Okay, what's going
to make me fall in love with this house? What's
(10:16):
gonna make me jump out of the car and be
excited to get in? Yeah, And it's all about kind
of the the hands of the of the house kind
of giving you a big old hug.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Okay, all right, that's something you you can feel that
Yeah I can.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a little hippie fied.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
So but it works. I mean it.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Does because i mean drive up is you know, you
have eight eight ten seconds from the moment that they
drive up.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
To either engage them.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Are that's fast?
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Yeah, I mean it's it's fast, but it's it's all about,
you know, getting out of the car and going to
the to the front door.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
You have to look around.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
What is their experience because the realtor will be there
to open the door to show them the property.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yeah, when a buyer comes to look at the house, right, yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
But that few minutes while they're opening the door, the
buyers are gonna stand there and they're gonna look up down,
they're gonna look at the neighborhood. They're gonna they're gonna
they're testing it out. It's just like buying a new shirt.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
They're getting their own vibes, right, So we.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Got to have those vibes positive and exciting and oh
I can't wait to get inside.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
So that walk that that walk up, that's uh, that
drive up, that walk up. What would you say are
some of the most common things that you see that
need to be corrected or need to be addressed from
the seller's standpoint to help create that positive those positive
vibes for the buyer. What are some of the common
things that you have to address.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Well, this time of year, it's dead plant.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Yeah, nothing says Yeah, I'm tired then a dead plant.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Especially with the freeze we just had.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
I mean that's a struggle during this time of year.
I mean, spring is obviously my favorite because everything's in bloom.
But you know, mostly homeowners know to get fresh mult
I mean it's it's pretty easy to do, just minimal
stuff really, but I always.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Tell them to get a new welcome Matt.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
You welcome.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Look up.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Dirt dabbers are everywhere and nobody and wasp for that matter.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
A lot of people don't even use their front door.
They may not know, right, so a lot of people
they use the side door. But the buyers coming in
the front door, yeah okay.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
And when it's a situation like that and they they
have like even furniture in front of the door, you know,
they're not ready for me to come over just yet.
They're like, oh, yeah, we never use the front door.
It's like, well, we need to move some things. Yes,
I always want to experience the way that the potential
(13:17):
new home own will experience it.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Now, you mentioned mulch, and there's different colors colors of molts,
So tell us the ya's and nays for the multch.
What's the like if you had to pick one molt
color for people, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Black?
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Black? Yeah? I agree. And because there's red molt and
there's all these different colors. Yeah yeah. Now, now you're
saying I don't like it, but I think do you
think that's what most buyers think that? Do you think
that's the black is appealing to the most?
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Yeah, gotcha.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
And my reasoning behind that is going to be very elementary.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Okay, I like it.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
You know when you're coloring in elementary school and you
outline the pic in black.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yeah, it pops. It does.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
It's just like your face if you, well, you make
up your face, if you're a lady, are if you're
a dude that likes make up, but you you darken
your eyebrows, you make your eyes pop.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
It's yes, it has the same effect. Okay, all right, okay,
so everybody dark maultch black, meltch black, and it's not
that expensive. I mean, you know, you can go. For
a couple of hundred bucks. You can pretty much take
care of the front of your house usually you know
that'll that'll take care of it. Oh yeah, any plants
this time of year that still I know there are
plants that survive because we got flowers on our front
(14:37):
yard right now. Yes, yes, yeah, so what are they?
What are those flowers?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
They're just now coming out.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
With the flowers at Humpy Bowe and Lows and the
big box stores, you'll see more and more. I uh,
Dianthus is one that I've put out on ours. And
also petunias will well take this.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Cold, okay, petunias will okay, okay, good to know. So
Dianthus and petunias, okay, very good. All right. So for
not much money, of those of you listening out there,
you can really make a big impact on the drive
up appeal just by taking a little bit of care
of your flower beds. You know, maybe get rid of
some of the dead stuff, put some mulch down, put
(15:24):
some flowers that are currently blooming and will survive the cold.
Right now, you mentioned welcome Matt. Super easy to do,
and then you're right, that does make a difference. You're
looking down and it's nice.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
It shows that you care, you care, and it also
adds value to the house because it impresses the hopefully
new potential homeowners. Yeah, you want to impress them and
make them feel special.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
And then that front door and the doorknob too. I
remember when I was an agent. God, it was just gosh,
it was just that front door knob just kind.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Of rusty experiences everything you touch, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
And it's like it just looks it just looks bad.
And you know, putting in some new hardware on the door,
painting the front door, maybe painting the shutters to match
just right there, that's another few hundred bucks or so
in a little bit of time makes a big difference too.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yeah. Okay, all right, so you you go in the
home now and you're talking to the homeowner, and let
me just ask I'm gonna ask this, like, what's the
most pushback you get from homeowners? Because I would imagine
some are all about you. They're like, oh, Lisa, you
just will do whatever you say. And there's some where
they're just sitting in the corner with their arms crossed
(16:35):
looking at you there because you're in their house and
we ain't gonna listen to what you have to tell us.
So how do you handle that when a homeowner is
resistant to your suggestions? Well, yes, it.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Gets awkward, but I don't really run across anybody that's
did they want me there basically because they want help.
But when I first started out, probably about ten fifteen
years ago, I did run into one particular lady that
(17:12):
that taught me a lot because she was she was
not happy about selling the house.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Okay, so she was, she was, she was.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Right, and she had beautiful pictures of her grandchildren everywhere,
like the entryway, beautiful home on the west end. It
was really beautiful. It was just over packed with lots
of treasures and memories. But I remember talking with them
(17:44):
and and saying, you know, okay, well maybe we need
to put this in storage or you know, go ahead
and sell this that probably it did and I could.
And it's staging a house is also a very psycho
logical journey because you have to you have to understand
(18:05):
that it's it's where all their memories were made for
you know, twenty thirty years, and she was, she was,
they were downsizing, and I'm like, you know, how am
I going to tell this sweet lady, take down all
the pictures of your grandchildren, because I think every picture
(18:27):
that she's ever.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Taken was all the ralls.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
And big portraits. And it's a it's a tight rope.
But if you can have people understand it's not about
because a lot of people say, Okay, take all the
personal stuff off and make it make it neutral. To
do that, I don't like to suck all the personality
(18:54):
out of a house, because that's really what There's two
things that really sell a house. You got to price
it correctly for the market, and then you have to
stage it to where they fall in love. And that's
the key. It's it's it's emotional. It's where you you
spend so many private moments and public moments and and
(19:15):
you're home with.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, well, I know you've definitely honed your style over
the years, because you'll come home and you'll talk about
stagings that you've had and and how you were able
to help people in the conversations that you that you've had,
and I think over the years you've gotten you know,
learned how to explain it to people to where they'll
(19:39):
where they'll follow your lead. One thing I always think
about is like the animal heads because animal Yeah, animal heads.
And so just just to kind of put a little
bow on that that last part. Uh, personal items are
good for those of you listening. Personal items pictures of
your family, your your kids and everything. And I knew
this as a real estate agent as well, because I
(19:59):
would be showing a house and I'm trying to show
the house and people are distracted by all the family pictures.
I mean they just start looking at all the pictures
and it and it's and it becomes a distraction and
it doesn't enable them to picture themselves in the house.
I saw that firsthand as an agent. So anyway, as
as you're listening, when you're selling your house, like Lisa said,
it's good, it's okay to leave some things up, but
(20:20):
there's you know, it's definitely good to parse some of
that down.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Yeah, mainly like the big, gigantic portraits.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Yeah, and we got like when we sell our house,
we're gonna have to do that because we've got Heck,
we still have that piece of trim in the kitchen
where the kids grew up, you know, all the lines there.
I'm taking that piece of trem off and we're keeping it,
you know. Yeah, we're not painting over that.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
So but I see that a lot also in houses
where they've you know, growing up, And I tell them
all the time, don't you dare take that, don't you
dare paint over it?
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Yeah? Yeah, you're going to take it, take it, Yeah,
don't pay.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Over it and replace it before it goes on the market.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Yeah, that's right, that's right. So yeah, okay, very good. Okay,
So where were we? All right? So you're talking to
the You're you're talking to the folks, You're walking talking
with the folks, you're walking through the house with them.
What are some of the common things that you see
in the interior that you advise people on.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Well, first of all, when I go up and I
go in, you know, we greet each other. I've already
checked out the front of the house. I've already got
stuff spinning in my head. And then I go in
and I say this every time, just to make sure
(21:38):
that we're on the right page, because they don't know
what they're They don't know Lisa, they don't know what
I'm all about. All they have reference to is HGTV.
And I'm going to tell you right now, I'm not HGTV.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
You're not hg TV.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
That's not reality. They got great ideas.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
What do you mean by that when you say you're
not HGTV.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
There's not a huge crew behind me with oh okay cameras,
and we don't have twenty thousand dollars budget. You know,
I'm usually working on a zero budget. You know, they
might be you know, well, we want it to look great,
but we don't have anything to yeah, give you because
(22:23):
we're upside down the house or something like that.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
So last last week we went to the Texas Ranger Museum.
And remember there was that one one one War one ranger,
one house one stager. All right, sorry about that.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
So I usually, you know, we greet each other and
then i'm and I'll tell them, you know, about how
important it is to drive up so eh ten seconds
from the moment that they drive up that starts the clock.
And so I'll usually take them outside. Let's experience what
what are we experiencing on your porch. Let's get in
(22:59):
the mind of the of the buyer. And then I
tell them don't take offense to anything that I say.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Okay, you prep them right, yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Just throw it on out there and and they usually
ninety nine point nine percent of the time they are
Oh yeah, I wouldn't, but I like to get that
out there because I do want them to know that
I understand this is a very personal place and I'm
(23:33):
not going to take take away anything that is important.
But we're on the same team. And then I explained
to them, let's get in this mind frame that your
house is going on.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
It's a very first date.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I love that analogy, and we are the matchmakers, right
and I'm on your team, you know, get this house sold,
but we also want to make a I love connection if.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
You will, Okay, okay, now you're talking.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
That's it's I've seen it over the years where when
something clicks and I want them to be obsessed by
the house that I'm staging. I want them to get
in the car with their alter and go see ten, fifteen,
twenty other houses.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
But at the end of the day, sitting at that
table and going you know, I don't know what it
was about that house made me feel a certain way.
That's that car, that's where the magic happens.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Yeah, you want to have that impression such that that
house pops back up at when they're talking about all
the houses they saw. You wanted to wanted to come
up one staging. I remember that you went on. This
has been years back, and I thought it was so
clever and so creative. The house had a stump. They
had cut a tree down. Yes, and there was a stump,
(24:51):
which is very insightly. I mean it's like, now there
used to be a tree here, Now it's a stump,
and tell us how you And it was in the
front yard or side yard, but it was in a
noticeable place. Tell us you handle that stuff.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Oh, it was in the little play area where I
mean they had like a little sand, but it was
a big pine.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Tree, pine tree, okay.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
And they were.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Out of the there was a golf course. It was
like in Finet area. I'm not really sure.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Okay, maybe bell Oaks or something like that. Yeah, I
think so.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
And just a sweet couple, first time home buyers, you know.
They they had an eclectic array of furniture, some two
by four furniture and.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Some other stuff.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
So we I brought some things and then you know,
we made it all work. And I remember that especially
because the husband.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
He was all excited.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
He was like, I didn't know staging was this because
I was out there with a skirt one of the
days triming the trees and he goes, I didn't know
I was gonna use power tools.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
But we that's all part of it.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Yeah, it's all part of it, because it's all about
how you make them feel when if if they feel like, oh,
this is really unkept out front, they're not gonna want
to go in and see more work.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
All right, so.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Uh we we finally made it to the backyard and
there was just this unsightly stump and I was like,
and he goes, well, you know, we had it cut
down after the hurricane, but couldn't couldn't afford to, you know,
get it removed. And I'm like, all right, this is
what we're gonna do. We're gonna because it was about
(26:38):
table height stump was so I said, we need to
shave that off to where it's level, and then we
need to paint a checkerboard. And then they had a
bunch of little uh They had lots of acorns, which
were one of the little yeah, some of the uh huh,
(26:59):
and then the little pine cones. And we set it
up and then then put their their toys in certain areas.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
We really did stage it.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Yes, and.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
I think that household like within a week.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
I mean yes, I remember you said it did so quickly. Yeah,
Well that's so that that's a testament to your creativity.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Well, it's the it's the uniqueness, and you want you
want to have a lot of things like that, or
not a lot, but a few things like that, because
it adds to the experience and it makes.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
You sparkle just a little.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Your house sparkle when I like a little whimsie And
when I'm doing a child's room, you know, obviously they're
going to have like stuffed animals. I love to decorate
with stuffed animals, toys, trucks, what have you. And I'll
I'll take a little Kermit the frog and I'll put
them on a on a either on the on the
(27:57):
bed or on a bookshelf. I'll cross legs and put
a little book in it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
It's just does everybody notice it? No, But it's a
it's a feeling of oh that's cute.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
And I think that as you're talking, I guess it's
important to and this ties into what you're saying. You're
not hgtv uh. A lot of the stage stagings you do,
you're just using what they have. They're already You're just
working with what they have because they're on a budget.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
You do offer an additional service where you can bring
in some items, but not it's not a big a
big truck or anything and basically needs to fit in
your fore erunner and you'll bring it out there. So
you offer a limited upstaging uh service, But for the
for the most part, you just work with what they have.
And UH that's that takes a lot of skill. And
so just know when you when you work with Dana Simmons,
(28:44):
this is what you're you're getting some of that Lisa
Sparkle and her little Sparkle wagon heading down the highway.
We're going to take a quick break here and we
will be right back to our to continue our conversation
with miss Lisa Hemmings homestager. Welcome back everyone to the
Dana Simmons Real Estate Show. My name is Andy Hemmings
and I work with Capital Title. We close real estate
(29:08):
transactions all over Southeast Texas. We have offices in Beaumont, Lumberton,
Orange Port, author and down in Crystal Beach. Your next
real estate transaction, whether it be a sale, purchase, or refinance,
be sure to request capital title. We have wonderful teams
ready to go to work for you to get your
transaction closed. You can call me at four O nine
(29:30):
eight nine six. Excuse me, that's not my phone number,
that's the call in number. My number is four oh
nine six five eight three six nine five four oh
nine six five eight three six ninety five. Now, if
you want to call the show and ask a question
for miss Lisa Hemmings regarding home decorps, you can call
four O nine eight nine six five five eight four
(29:52):
four oh nine eight nine six five y five eight four. So, Lisa,
what would you say is your favorite room to stage? Hmmm,
that's a good one. Huh.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
That's depends on the house. Okay, all right, I love
a great room.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
I like to. I don't really know to.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Yeah, depends on the house.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
It just depends on the house.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
So let me ask it a different way, or let
me ask a different question. What are the most important
rooms to be properly staged?
Speaker 2 (30:30):
The first one you come to.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Okay, it's you have to remember, you know that eight
to ten seconds from the moment that they drive up
that is ticking, and those are crucial moments to where
you can really capture them.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
And even if.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
It's not a brand new house, even if it's an
older home that needs some repair, it's all about capturing
their hmm.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
You know, I wonder, Yeah, I think this might work.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
And it's you. You want to go to each room
and move the furniture to where it sparks the conversation
with the people that are looking at the house, because
the more that they can visualize huh, you know what,
I bet we could have coffee here in the morning,
(31:24):
are we could whatever?
Speaker 2 (31:28):
It's it makes them.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
See themselves in their new house, and it's you're just
that much closer closing ones. Yeah, it's a it's going
in through the emotional route and getting it done.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Yeah, that's what I try to do. I got you,
I got you. See. I would have thought, like k K,
they always say kitchens and bathrooms, kitchens and bathrooms, you know,
so I would have thought that would have been like
the most important thing. But what you're saying is, yeah,
those are important, but the other rooms you have to
make sure that that they're taking care of us.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
The most wow that you need to is those first
couple of rooms that you come to. Yeah, and how
you even experience walking in. Yeah, And it's it's all
about the experience.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Andy, Oh my, no, I got you. I'm feeling it.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
I feel it.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
So do you have any go to decoor pieces that
really stand out that you really like to use for
most any staging? Like what do you load up in
that sparkle wagon before you get there?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Oh? You've seen that Sparkle wagon. It's a eighty h dream.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
No question. I don't know how you fit so much
stuff in there, but you do.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
It's like it's like a nice little challenges.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
It's like Tetris. That's it. It's tetris. So what are
your go to pieces?
Speaker 3 (32:51):
White comforters, they're they're they're great because.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
You can you can.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
They go with everything. Yeah, white goes with everything.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
It's fresh. It's and white.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Shower curtains like the waffle weave use those a lot,
and I like to use those because it's like it's
a great base and it's clean.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Christine.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
They they it shows that Oh well we've put our
nice starch white shirt on. We're we're ready to receive
you to come into our home. Right, It's it's the
house getting all dressed up for yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
You know.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, but you bring in big paintings too. You have
a lot of paintings that you bring in, you bring in,
but the.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Thing that I use the most is the white towels
because it's a good base and then you can add
whatever it's It's definitely something that every homeowner should really
invest in if they're they're wanting to to freshen it
up without breaking the bank. Fresh uh new, Like fake
(34:08):
plants are fake flowers. I know that those big beautiful
bouquets that were done by a florists are I'm sure beautiful,
but sometimes most of the time they're very tired, and
just changing out something like that.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Yeah, can make a big difference. Exactly What about lighting?
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Lighting is so do you.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Have to talk to them about changing out like the
type of light bulb and what's your go to light bulbs?
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Yesterday was prime example. I was at a house and
they they had some of the daylight bulbs and then
some of the yellowy bulbs. I don't know, it's they're
right next to each other. And at the big box
stores and I can't tell you how many I usually
(35:03):
go in and find a random bulb somewhere. Okay, So
I just always tell them you don't even have to
do incandescent. I mean, just do regular light bulbs that
don't cast a yellow.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
I mean they're kinder for.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Pictures, right, Yeah, that's important.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
It's a candlelight glow.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
But not to be able to show your house always,
you know, the blinds need to be curtains need to
be pulled back, let the let the sunshine in.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Yeah, yep, open the curtains, change out, the change out
the light bulbs. And that's another really inexpensive thing to do,
make a difference. I'm I reminded there was a Seinfeld
episode for any Seinfeld fans where Jerry he's going out
with this girl and when he first meets her, she's
very attractive, and then he sees her in a restaurant
in some differ lighting and she looks completely different. It's
(36:02):
a hilarious episode. But that's what I think of that
you can have the very same room, uh in you know,
with just by changing the lighting, it completely changes the
feeling of the room just with that lighting. Yeah, very good.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Okay, all right, so you mentioned a term to me
that I have not heard yet. I haven't heard you
mention it yet. And that is a certain decorating style
called grandma chic or grandpa sheic. What is going on
with that? Is that a new trend going on all over?
TikTok it?
Speaker 3 (36:37):
It's it is a new name for I would say
more like bohemian that leans a little more towards Doyley
really and needle point and you know, just it's it's
more of a like a comfort feeling with lots of
old wicked.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Yes, so there, uh really it's the thing. Lisa's nodding
her head enthusiastically.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Baby it violet. Oh okay, oh she she wanted.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
She texted me a couple of months ago and she
was like, Hey, it's Lisa. I'm doing my new apartment
and I'm like, so text me some ideas of what
you're looking for, because she knows I'm a thrift store
enthusiast and she is too, and so she she's like,
(37:37):
I think it's you know, it's more like this this,
And she was showing me pictures and I'm like, oh,
that's grandma she and she went yes, but I'm more
of the grandpa chic because she likes a more masculine
but that era of our grandparents.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Okay, so that's the miss Violet Winslow, some of our
good friends their daughter good to know. All right, Well, Violet,
I don't know if you're listening or not, but you
just made the.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
Show lots of crochet ye stuff. Yeah, it's it. It
tends to be more bohemian, but it's got its own role.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Okay. Area Now, So that's one current trend right now.
Any other any other trends happen? You watch a lot
of TV shows. You watch a lot of because I
know because I'm there, Like, what are your what are
some of your favorite shows to watch? Uh? In regards
to you know where where? What shows inspire you the most?
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Homestead Rescue? I love it. I want to.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
I want to I want to Stead Rescue.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
Oh yes, yeah, because it involves every.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
Okay, so we're off of homestaging here. We're talking about
Lisa's ready to move to the country with a well
and some ducks and her own little garden. You know that,
k a yerk? Yes, yes, so we a year, there
may be a year.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Entergy can pick up a lot of techniques.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
I mean, because there's there's been times where I've been
on I have gone to a staging and all they
want to talk about is the front yard. What can
I do? What can I make it more appealing? It's like, well,
you need to do this, this, this. I'm trying to
save them money by not, you know, bringing in all
(39:20):
the because it can be very expensive to redo the front.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Of a house.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
Yes, I know, yeah, but I can also give them
some unique ideas where it's not as expensive.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Yes, and you do. And you actually you are very
very good at decorating on a budget, and you know,
redoing things on a budget for sure. Yeah, no question.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
I always had a budget.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
That's right, that's right, and these days there's no exception either.
We're still still on that budget. Very good. Well, Lisa,
it has been a pleasure having you here today. Dana
is blessed to have you on her team. I'm blessed
to have you as my wife. So any anything else
you want to any final thoughts for the people out
(40:06):
there in regards to homestaging or just anything at all.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
No, I don't really know what to say.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
How do you like being on Dana's team?
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Oh, it's the best, blessing.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
It's such a great team and they are they're my
second family.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
Very good. Thank you, Dana, Thank you everyone for listening today.
Everybody have a wonderful weekend and we appreciate you listening.
Here to the Dana Simmons Show. Talk to you soon.
Dana, if you're listening out there, we wish you very well,
We wish you a very good weekend. We appreciate you
so much, and I hope you're enjoying a wonderful weekend
with your family. So I am, as I said, I'll
be your guest host today, and I work with Capital
Title and we do a lot of business with Dana
out there, and just wanted to mention to everyone out there,
(00:20):
if you, whenever you have a real estate transaction, whether
it's a refinance or a sale, whatever kind of property
it is, if it's land, if it's a home, if
it's a business, whatever kind of property it is, let
Capital Title handle that closing for you. We have five
offices here across Southeast Texas and all over the state,
and we are happy to help facilitate that transaction. You
(00:42):
can reach me at four oh nine six five eight
three six nine five and I'm Andy Hemmings. So today
for Dana's show, we have a well, a very special guest.
Our guest today is none other than my beloved wife,
Miss Lisa Hemmings. Welcome, Lisa, thank you, Yeah, good to
be here. Yes, it's good to have you here. So
(01:03):
Lisa and I have been married now what thirty thirty two,
thirty one, thirty one, thirty one years going on thirty
two years, and she and I have both been involved
in the real estate industry for many, many years, well
ever since we've been here in Beaumont, pretty much for
the ever since we moved back to Beaumont. And Lisa
is a home stager with Dana's team, and those of
(01:27):
you that are listening may have heard her talk before.
She's been a guest here before. But we're going to
do a deep dive on home staging and home decorps
today with Lisa, and I just want to give some
quick facts first, some quick facts about homestaging because I
did a little research. Lisa sounds great, Yeah, you know me,
I'm going to do my research.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Oh I know.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
So.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
According to the National Association of Realtors, homes that are
staged sell between five and fifteen percent more so that's
some of the value of a home staging. They spend
seventy three percent less time on the market. Ninety percent
of home buyers cannot visualize the potential of a home
(02:09):
and I'm definitely smack dabbing that ninety percent. So that's
that's you know, that's the value of having a home
stager to come in and prepare your home for sale.
You can sell it quicker, you can sell it for
more money. You can help buyers visualize themselves in that home.
At least if you would give us just a quick
(02:29):
definition of like, how would you define home staging.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Well, it's it's hard to define because you it's it's
different every single time.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Gotcha, all right, So every home you go into needs
different things and needs needs different attention. But essentially it's
taking the home where it's at and making it, improving
it where people can visualize themselves.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah, but I.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Go a little bit deeper because I want to feel
the energy of the house. Okay, it doesn't sound too hippified.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Oh it sounds total hippy and I love it. I
love it. Yeah, you mentioned that that that's where.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
The magic happens, when you find that uniqueness and then
it then you go into another area where it just
involves i'd look around and see what they have and
see how we can.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Reinvent it.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Absolutely well, we're gonna we're definitely going to do some
deep dives into the different aspects of homestaging. But what
you just said there for those of you that don't
know Lisa, she that's very much her her style when
she says she likes to feel the energy and and
I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it myself.
I've been on a couple of stagings with her and
(03:50):
I've walked into a room with her and I'm like, oh,
this is the room looks good and She's like no, no, no, no, no, no,
no no, And then we start moving furniture around. Of
course I'm griping because I got to move furniture. And
then we're done. I'm like, oh, this is so much better.
So she has that that genese quah, that that you know,
that that unhintangible quality of being able to visualize something
(04:16):
just by feeling by being in the room, and it's
it's it's a trait of many artists and she has
it and she applies that to her homestaging role. So
but let's let's just go back in history here, and
let's how did you get involved? How did you first
get involved in homestaging?
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Well, you know, Andy, well I know, but they don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
You were the one that told me you know there's
this thing called staging. Yeah, and it's kind of getting popular.
That was seventeen eighteen years ago, right, And I'm like.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
You're crazy. Nobody's going to pay me for my opinion.
That's you know.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I do that with my girlfriends and I would go
over and get a bottle of wine and redecorate and
it's just sport.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
It was sport for me.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
But then when I was chatting with a lady that
was about to retire and she had been dabbling in that,
she uh, you know, she gave me some pointers and
then I went online and went through a little course
online that kind of shows you the basics of staging, right,
(05:32):
and then I've just taken it. It's evolved over the
seventeen years.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Yeah, I remember that. I remember that conversation with you
and your incredulity at somebody would pay me for this,
And I'm like, yeah, somebody gonna pay you for it.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Because it's so such to me.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
It doesn't so like like really going back in history,
when when Lisa and I met, our first home quote
unquote was really a tent when we were in Glacia
National Park. There wasn't much decorating that tent uh. But
forward to when we did first move in together. We
lived in a basement in Boulder, Colorado, and I remember
it was not a pleasant space, but you went in
(06:10):
and you did some remarkable things. One of the things
I'll never forget that you did. She got a hula hoop.
She hung it from the ceiling and put curtains around
it and made like a like a little princess drape
over the bed. And I was like, what.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
The heck is this called a canopy?
Speaker 1 (06:22):
A canopy? Yes, I call it a princess thing. Canopy
is the correct term. But you definitely have had that quality,
you know. You were I dare say born with it,
but I've seen it raised with it. You were raised
with That's right, because your mom has a very unique
and she's very talented.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Also, Yeah, she did theater forever. I grew up in
sleeping in when she would take us to the theater.
She was always doing the costumes and I would fall
asleep in the pile of fairly stinky costumes backstage.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Ah, the theater, the smell of the theater.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
It was great, though, I mean you could it.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I think I absorbed a lot of that through just
being raised by a super talented woman.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Yeah, yeah, and you're y'all's decorating styles. Actually, there's there's
a lot of differences. Of course, there's a lot of
similarities to I call it bohemian eclectic. You know, there's
a lot of different things going on with you know,
when you walk in your mom's house now and there's
just a lot of different things. She uses a lot
of oriental pieces. I notice she does that, and you've
(07:34):
you've picked up on some of that too. But it's
a very eclectic style. But you know, what inspires you
to decorate your own space is totally different than what
you have to bring to a home staging, because your
job is to make the houses appealing to the widest right.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Cast as broadened at as possible as what I tell every.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, that's right. And so we're gonna we're going to
dive into how that actually works, how that looks, and
some of your strategies for doing that. So we're going
to take a very quick break here and when we
come back, we're going to dive into some of the
specifics of how Lisa Hemmings with Dana Simmons team helps
prepare homes to make them sell quicker and for more money.
(08:15):
We'll be right back. Welcome back, every one to the
Dana Simmons Show. This is Andy Hemmings with Capitol title,
your guest host for today, and today we are talking
with Miss Lisa Hemmings, homestager for the Dana Simmons Team. Listen.
If you're out there listening and you've got any kind
of question about decorating your house, or things you want
to do to prepare your house for sale, or just
(08:37):
any sort of decor tips, you got your gal right here.
Miss Lisa can is always happy to give you some tips.
Give us a call at four O nine eight nine
six five five eight four. Four oh nine eight nine
six five five eight four. She'll talk to you about plants,
She'll talk to you about paint colors. She'll talk to
you about anything you're thinking of doing. You to your house,
So be sure to give us a call if you
(08:58):
have any questions. Four O nine eight nine six five
five eight four. She is up on all the current trends.
So Lisa, Yes, So Dana lists a house and then
you get the text. The bat signal goes up. Yes, Lisa,
come in, we need you. So you walk into a
home tell us what is tell us your process about
(09:20):
when you when you first meet with a homeowner. What
is a common thing that you do for every homeowner
when you when you meet, how do you start talking
with them?
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Well, it first starts out by me driving up to
the property, okay, because I don't like to get any
pictures ahead of time. I might, you know, map quest
it and see what it looks like like on the outside. Okay,
But I do like to drive around the neighborhood, just
like a potential homeowner or that's interesting. I want to
(09:54):
get the feel of the neighborhood. You know, when you
whenever you're looking at houses and you really interested in one,
you need to do a couple of drive buys different
times of the day. That really means you're serious. But
what I what I try to do is get in
the in the frame of mind that, Okay, what's going
to make me fall in love with this house? What's
(10:16):
gonna make me jump out of the car and be
excited to get in? Yeah, And it's all about kind
of the the hands of the of the house kind
of giving you a big old hug.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Okay, all right, that's something you you can feel that
Yeah I can.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm a little hippie fied.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
So but it works. I mean it.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Does because i mean drive up is you know, you
have eight eight ten seconds from the moment that they
drive up.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
To either engage them.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Are that's fast?
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Yeah, I mean it's it's fast, but it's it's all about,
you know, getting out of the car and going to
the to the front door.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
You have to look around.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
What is their experience because the realtor will be there
to open the door to show them the property.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yeah, when a buyer comes to look at the house, right, yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
But that few minutes while they're opening the door, the
buyers are gonna stand there and they're gonna look up down,
they're gonna look at the neighborhood. They're gonna they're gonna
they're testing it out. It's just like buying a new shirt.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
They're getting their own vibes, right, So we.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Got to have those vibes positive and exciting and oh
I can't wait to get inside.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
So that walk that that walk up, that's uh, that
drive up, that walk up. What would you say are
some of the most common things that you see that
need to be corrected or need to be addressed from
the seller's standpoint to help create that positive those positive
vibes for the buyer. What are some of the common
things that you have to address.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Well, this time of year, it's dead plant.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Yeah, nothing says Yeah, I'm tired then a dead plant.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Especially with the freeze we just had.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
I mean that's a struggle during this time of year.
I mean, spring is obviously my favorite because everything's in bloom.
But you know, mostly homeowners know to get fresh mult
I mean it's it's pretty easy to do, just minimal
stuff really, but I always.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Tell them to get a new welcome Matt.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
You welcome.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Look up.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Dirt dabbers are everywhere and nobody and wasp for that matter.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
A lot of people don't even use their front door.
They may not know, right, so a lot of people
they use the side door. But the buyers coming in
the front door, yeah okay.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
And when it's a situation like that and they they
have like even furniture in front of the door, you know,
they're not ready for me to come over just yet.
They're like, oh, yeah, we never use the front door.
It's like, well, we need to move some things. Yes,
I always want to experience the way that the potential
(13:17):
new home own will experience it.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Now, you mentioned mulch, and there's different colors colors of molts,
So tell us the ya's and nays for the multch.
What's the like if you had to pick one molt
color for people, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Black?
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Black? Yeah? I agree. And because there's red molt and
there's all these different colors. Yeah yeah. Now, now you're
saying I don't like it, but I think do you
think that's what most buyers think that? Do you think
that's the black is appealing to the most?
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Yeah, gotcha.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
And my reasoning behind that is going to be very elementary.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Okay, I like it.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
You know when you're coloring in elementary school and you
outline the pic in black.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yeah, it pops. It does.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
It's just like your face if you, well, you make
up your face, if you're a lady, are if you're
a dude that likes make up, but you you darken
your eyebrows, you make your eyes pop.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
It's yes, it has the same effect. Okay, all right, okay,
so everybody dark maultch black, meltch black, and it's not
that expensive. I mean, you know, you can go. For
a couple of hundred bucks. You can pretty much take
care of the front of your house usually you know
that'll that'll take care of it. Oh yeah, any plants
this time of year that still I know there are
plants that survive because we got flowers on our front
(14:37):
yard right now. Yes, yes, yeah, so what are they?
What are those flowers?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
They're just now coming out.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
With the flowers at Humpy Bowe and Lows and the
big box stores, you'll see more and more. I uh,
Dianthus is one that I've put out on ours. And
also petunias will well take this.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Cold, okay, petunias will okay, okay, good to know. So
Dianthus and petunias, okay, very good. All right. So for
not much money, of those of you listening out there,
you can really make a big impact on the drive
up appeal just by taking a little bit of care
of your flower beds. You know, maybe get rid of
some of the dead stuff, put some mulch down, put
(15:24):
some flowers that are currently blooming and will survive the cold.
Right now, you mentioned welcome Matt. Super easy to do,
and then you're right, that does make a difference. You're
looking down and it's nice.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
It shows that you care, you care, and it also
adds value to the house because it impresses the hopefully
new potential homeowners. Yeah, you want to impress them and
make them feel special.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
And then that front door and the doorknob too. I
remember when I was an agent. God, it was just gosh,
it was just that front door knob just kind.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Of rusty experiences everything you touch, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
And it's like it just looks it just looks bad.
And you know, putting in some new hardware on the door,
painting the front door, maybe painting the shutters to match
just right there, that's another few hundred bucks or so
in a little bit of time makes a big difference too.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yeah. Okay, all right, so you you go in the
home now and you're talking to the homeowner, and let
me just ask I'm gonna ask this, like, what's the
most pushback you get from homeowners? Because I would imagine
some are all about you. They're like, oh, Lisa, you
just will do whatever you say. And there's some where
they're just sitting in the corner with their arms crossed
(16:35):
looking at you there because you're in their house and
we ain't gonna listen to what you have to tell us.
So how do you handle that when a homeowner is
resistant to your suggestions? Well, yes, it.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Gets awkward, but I don't really run across anybody that's
did they want me there basically because they want help.
But when I first started out, probably about ten fifteen
years ago, I did run into one particular lady that
(17:12):
that taught me a lot because she was she was
not happy about selling the house.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Okay, so she was, she was, she was.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Right, and she had beautiful pictures of her grandchildren everywhere,
like the entryway, beautiful home on the west end. It
was really beautiful. It was just over packed with lots
of treasures and memories. But I remember talking with them
(17:44):
and and saying, you know, okay, well maybe we need
to put this in storage or you know, go ahead
and sell this that probably it did and I could.
And it's staging a house is also a very psycho
logical journey because you have to you have to understand
(18:05):
that it's it's where all their memories were made for
you know, twenty thirty years, and she was, she was,
they were downsizing, and I'm like, you know, how am
I going to tell this sweet lady, take down all
the pictures of your grandchildren, because I think every picture
(18:27):
that she's ever.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Taken was all the ralls.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
And big portraits. And it's a it's a tight rope.
But if you can have people understand it's not about
because a lot of people say, Okay, take all the
personal stuff off and make it make it neutral. To
do that, I don't like to suck all the personality
(18:54):
out of a house, because that's really what There's two
things that really sell a house. You got to price
it correctly for the market, and then you have to
stage it to where they fall in love. And that's
the key. It's it's it's emotional. It's where you you
spend so many private moments and public moments and and
(19:15):
you're home with.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, well, I know you've definitely honed your style over
the years, because you'll come home and you'll talk about
stagings that you've had and and how you were able
to help people in the conversations that you that you've had,
and I think over the years you've gotten you know,
learned how to explain it to people to where they'll
(19:39):
where they'll follow your lead. One thing I always think
about is like the animal heads because animal Yeah, animal heads.
And so just just to kind of put a little
bow on that that last part. Uh, personal items are
good for those of you listening. Personal items pictures of
your family, your your kids and everything. And I knew
this as a real estate agent as well, because I
(19:59):
would be showing a house and I'm trying to show
the house and people are distracted by all the family pictures.
I mean they just start looking at all the pictures
and it and it's and it becomes a distraction and
it doesn't enable them to picture themselves in the house.
I saw that firsthand as an agent. So anyway, as
as you're listening, when you're selling your house, like Lisa said,
it's good, it's okay to leave some things up, but
(20:20):
there's you know, it's definitely good to parse some of
that down.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Yeah, mainly like the big, gigantic portraits.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Yeah, and we got like when we sell our house,
we're gonna have to do that because we've got Heck,
we still have that piece of trim in the kitchen
where the kids grew up, you know, all the lines there.
I'm taking that piece of trem off and we're keeping it,
you know. Yeah, we're not painting over that.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
So but I see that a lot also in houses
where they've you know, growing up, And I tell them
all the time, don't you dare take that, don't you
dare paint over it?
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Yeah? Yeah, you're going to take it, take it, Yeah,
don't pay.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Over it and replace it before it goes on the market.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Yeah, that's right, that's right. So yeah, okay, very good. Okay,
So where were we? All right? So you're talking to
the You're you're talking to the folks, You're walking talking
with the folks, you're walking through the house with them.
What are some of the common things that you see
in the interior that you advise people on.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Well, first of all, when I go up and I
go in, you know, we greet each other. I've already
checked out the front of the house. I've already got
stuff spinning in my head. And then I go in
and I say this every time, just to make sure
(21:38):
that we're on the right page, because they don't know
what they're They don't know Lisa, they don't know what
I'm all about. All they have reference to is HGTV.
And I'm going to tell you right now, I'm not HGTV.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
You're not hg TV.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
That's not reality. They got great ideas.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
What do you mean by that when you say you're
not HGTV.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
There's not a huge crew behind me with oh okay cameras,
and we don't have twenty thousand dollars budget. You know,
I'm usually working on a zero budget. You know, they
might be you know, well, we want it to look great,
but we don't have anything to yeah, give you because
(22:23):
we're upside down the house or something like that.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
So last last week we went to the Texas Ranger Museum.
And remember there was that one one one War one ranger,
one house one stager. All right, sorry about that.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
So I usually, you know, we greet each other and
then i'm and I'll tell them, you know, about how
important it is to drive up so eh ten seconds
from the moment that they drive up that starts the clock.
And so I'll usually take them outside. Let's experience what
what are we experiencing on your porch. Let's get in
(22:59):
the mind of the of the buyer. And then I
tell them don't take offense to anything that I say.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Okay, you prep them right, yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Just throw it on out there and and they usually
ninety nine point nine percent of the time they are
Oh yeah, I wouldn't, but I like to get that
out there because I do want them to know that
I understand this is a very personal place and I'm
(23:33):
not going to take take away anything that is important.
But we're on the same team. And then I explained
to them, let's get in this mind frame that your
house is going on.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
It's a very first date.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I love that analogy, and we are the matchmakers, right
and I'm on your team, you know, get this house sold,
but we also want to make a I love connection if.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
You will, Okay, okay, now you're talking.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
That's it's I've seen it over the years where when
something clicks and I want them to be obsessed by
the house that I'm staging. I want them to get
in the car with their alter and go see ten, fifteen,
twenty other houses.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
But at the end of the day, sitting at that
table and going you know, I don't know what it
was about that house made me feel a certain way.
That's that car, that's where the magic happens.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Yeah, you want to have that impression such that that
house pops back up at when they're talking about all
the houses they saw. You wanted to wanted to come
up one staging. I remember that you went on. This
has been years back, and I thought it was so
clever and so creative. The house had a stump. They
had cut a tree down. Yes, and there was a stump,
(24:51):
which is very insightly. I mean it's like, now there
used to be a tree here, Now it's a stump,
and tell us how you And it was in the
front yard or side yard, but it was in a
noticeable place. Tell us you handle that stuff.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
Oh, it was in the little play area where I
mean they had like a little sand, but it was
a big pine.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Tree, pine tree, okay.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
And they were.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Out of the there was a golf course. It was
like in Finet area. I'm not really sure.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Okay, maybe bell Oaks or something like that. Yeah, I
think so.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
And just a sweet couple, first time home buyers, you know.
They they had an eclectic array of furniture, some two
by four furniture and.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Some other stuff.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
So we I brought some things and then you know,
we made it all work. And I remember that especially
because the husband.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
He was all excited.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
He was like, I didn't know staging was this because
I was out there with a skirt one of the
days triming the trees and he goes, I didn't know
I was gonna use power tools.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
But we that's all part of it.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Yeah, it's all part of it, because it's all about
how you make them feel when if if they feel like, oh,
this is really unkept out front, they're not gonna want
to go in and see more work.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
All right, so.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Uh we we finally made it to the backyard and
there was just this unsightly stump and I was like,
and he goes, well, you know, we had it cut
down after the hurricane, but couldn't couldn't afford to, you know,
get it removed. And I'm like, all right, this is
what we're gonna do. We're gonna because it was about
(26:38):
table height stump was so I said, we need to
shave that off to where it's level, and then we
need to paint a checkerboard. And then they had a
bunch of little uh They had lots of acorns, which
were one of the little yeah, some of the uh huh,
(26:59):
and then the little pine cones. And we set it
up and then then put their their toys in certain areas.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
We really did stage it.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Yes, and.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
I think that household like within a week.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
I mean yes, I remember you said it did so quickly. Yeah,
Well that's so that that's a testament to your creativity.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
Well, it's the it's the uniqueness, and you want you
want to have a lot of things like that, or
not a lot, but a few things like that, because
it adds to the experience and it makes.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
You sparkle just a little.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Your house sparkle when I like a little whimsie And
when I'm doing a child's room, you know, obviously they're
going to have like stuffed animals. I love to decorate
with stuffed animals, toys, trucks, what have you. And I'll
I'll take a little Kermit the frog and I'll put
them on a on a either on the on the
(27:57):
bed or on a bookshelf. I'll cross legs and put
a little book in it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
It's just does everybody notice it? No, But it's a
it's a feeling of oh that's cute.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
And I think that as you're talking, I guess it's
important to and this ties into what you're saying. You're
not hgtv uh. A lot of the stage stagings you do,
you're just using what they have. They're already You're just
working with what they have because they're on a budget.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
You do offer an additional service where you can bring
in some items, but not it's not a big a
big truck or anything and basically needs to fit in
your fore erunner and you'll bring it out there. So
you offer a limited upstaging uh service, But for the
for the most part, you just work with what they have.
And UH that's that takes a lot of skill. And
so just know when you when you work with Dana Simmons,
(28:44):
this is what you're you're getting some of that Lisa
Sparkle and her little Sparkle wagon heading down the highway.
We're going to take a quick break here and we
will be right back to our to continue our conversation
with miss Lisa Hemmings homestager. Welcome back everyone to the
Dana Simmons Real Estate Show. My name is Andy Hemmings
and I work with Capital Title. We close real estate
(29:08):
transactions all over Southeast Texas. We have offices in Beaumont, Lumberton,
Orange Port, author and down in Crystal Beach. Your next
real estate transaction, whether it be a sale, purchase, or refinance,
be sure to request capital title. We have wonderful teams
ready to go to work for you to get your
transaction closed. You can call me at four O nine
(29:30):
eight nine six. Excuse me, that's not my phone number,
that's the call in number. My number is four oh
nine six five eight three six nine five four oh
nine six five eight three six ninety five. Now, if
you want to call the show and ask a question
for miss Lisa Hemmings regarding home decorps, you can call
four O nine eight nine six five five eight four
(29:52):
four oh nine eight nine six five y five eight four. So, Lisa,
what would you say is your favorite room to stage? Hmmm,
that's a good one. Huh.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
That's depends on the house. Okay, all right, I love
a great room.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
I like to. I don't really know to.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Yeah, depends on the house.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
It just depends on the house.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
So let me ask it a different way, or let
me ask a different question. What are the most important
rooms to be properly staged?
Speaker 2 (30:30):
The first one you come to.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
Okay, it's you have to remember, you know that eight
to ten seconds from the moment that they drive up
that is ticking, and those are crucial moments to where
you can really capture them.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
And even if.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
It's not a brand new house, even if it's an
older home that needs some repair, it's all about capturing
their hmm.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
You know, I wonder, Yeah, I think this might work.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
And it's you. You want to go to each room
and move the furniture to where it sparks the conversation
with the people that are looking at the house, because
the more that they can visualize huh, you know what,
I bet we could have coffee here in the morning,
(31:24):
are we could whatever?
Speaker 2 (31:28):
It's it makes them.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
See themselves in their new house, and it's you're just
that much closer closing ones. Yeah, it's a it's going
in through the emotional route and getting it done.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Yeah, that's what I try to do. I got you,
I got you. See. I would have thought, like k K,
they always say kitchens and bathrooms, kitchens and bathrooms, you know,
so I would have thought that would have been like
the most important thing. But what you're saying is, yeah,
those are important, but the other rooms you have to
make sure that that they're taking care of us.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
The most wow that you need to is those first
couple of rooms that you come to. Yeah, and how
you even experience walking in. Yeah, And it's it's all
about the experience.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Andy, Oh my, no, I got you. I'm feeling it.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
I feel it.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
So do you have any go to decoor pieces that
really stand out that you really like to use for
most any staging? Like what do you load up in
that sparkle wagon before you get there?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
Oh? You've seen that Sparkle wagon. It's a eighty h dream.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
No question. I don't know how you fit so much
stuff in there, but you do.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
It's like it's like a nice little challenges.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
It's like Tetris. That's it. It's tetris. So what are
your go to pieces?
Speaker 3 (32:51):
White comforters, they're they're they're great because.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
You can you can.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
They go with everything. Yeah, white goes with everything.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
It's fresh. It's and white.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Shower curtains like the waffle weave use those a lot,
and I like to use those because it's like it's
a great base and it's clean.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Christine.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
They they it shows that Oh well we've put our
nice starch white shirt on. We're we're ready to receive
you to come into our home. Right, It's it's the
house getting all dressed up for yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
You know.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Yeah, but you bring in big paintings too. You have
a lot of paintings that you bring in, you bring in,
but the.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Thing that I use the most is the white towels
because it's a good base and then you can add
whatever it's It's definitely something that every homeowner should really
invest in if they're they're wanting to to freshen it
up without breaking the bank. Fresh uh new, Like fake
(34:08):
plants are fake flowers. I know that those big beautiful
bouquets that were done by a florists are I'm sure beautiful,
but sometimes most of the time they're very tired, and
just changing out something like that.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
Yeah, can make a big difference. Exactly What about lighting?
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Lighting is so do you.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Have to talk to them about changing out like the
type of light bulb and what's your go to light bulbs?
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Yesterday was prime example. I was at a house and
they they had some of the daylight bulbs and then
some of the yellowy bulbs. I don't know, it's they're
right next to each other. And at the big box
stores and I can't tell you how many I usually
(35:03):
go in and find a random bulb somewhere. Okay, So
I just always tell them you don't even have to
do incandescent. I mean, just do regular light bulbs that
don't cast a yellow.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
I mean they're kinder for.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Pictures, right, Yeah, that's important.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
It's a candlelight glow.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
But not to be able to show your house always,
you know, the blinds need to be curtains need to
be pulled back, let the let the sunshine in.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Yeah, yep, open the curtains, change out, the change out
the light bulbs. And that's another really inexpensive thing to do,
make a difference. I'm I reminded there was a Seinfeld
episode for any Seinfeld fans where Jerry he's going out
with this girl and when he first meets her, she's
very attractive, and then he sees her in a restaurant
in some differ lighting and she looks completely different. It's
(36:02):
a hilarious episode. But that's what I think of that
you can have the very same room, uh in you know,
with just by changing the lighting, it completely changes the
feeling of the room just with that lighting. Yeah, very good.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Okay, all right, so you mentioned a term to me
that I have not heard yet. I haven't heard you
mention it yet. And that is a certain decorating style
called grandma chic or grandpa sheic. What is going on
with that? Is that a new trend going on all over?
TikTok it?
Speaker 3 (36:37):
It's it is a new name for I would say
more like bohemian that leans a little more towards Doyley
really and needle point and you know, just it's it's
more of a like a comfort feeling with lots of
old wicked.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Yes, so there, uh really it's the thing. Lisa's nodding
her head enthusiastically.
Speaker 2 (37:09):
Baby it violet. Oh okay, oh she she wanted.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
She texted me a couple of months ago and she
was like, Hey, it's Lisa. I'm doing my new apartment
and I'm like, so text me some ideas of what
you're looking for, because she knows I'm a thrift store
enthusiast and she is too, and so she she's like,
(37:37):
I think it's you know, it's more like this this,
And she was showing me pictures and I'm like, oh,
that's grandma she and she went yes, but I'm more
of the grandpa chic because she likes a more masculine
but that era of our grandparents.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Okay, so that's the miss Violet Winslow, some of our
good friends their daughter good to know. All right, Well, Violet,
I don't know if you're listening or not, but you
just made the.
Speaker 3 (37:59):
Show lots of crochet ye stuff. Yeah, it's it. It
tends to be more bohemian, but it's got its own role.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Okay. Area Now, So that's one current trend right now.
Any other any other trends happen? You watch a lot
of TV shows. You watch a lot of because I
know because I'm there, Like, what are your what are
some of your favorite shows to watch? Uh? In regards
to you know where where? What shows inspire you the most?
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Homestead Rescue? I love it. I want to.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
I want to I want to Stead Rescue.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
Oh yes, yeah, because it involves every.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
Okay, so we're off of homestaging here. We're talking about
Lisa's ready to move to the country with a well
and some ducks and her own little garden. You know that,
k a yerk? Yes, yes, so we a year, there
may be a year.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Entergy can pick up a lot of techniques.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
I mean, because there's there's been times where I've been
on I have gone to a staging and all they
want to talk about is the front yard. What can
I do? What can I make it more appealing? It's like, well,
you need to do this, this, this. I'm trying to
save them money by not, you know, bringing in all
(39:20):
the because it can be very expensive to redo the front.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Of a house.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
Yes, I know, yeah, but I can also give them
some unique ideas where it's not as expensive.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Yes, and you do. And you actually you are very
very good at decorating on a budget, and you know,
redoing things on a budget for sure. Yeah, no question.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
I always had a budget.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
That's right, that's right, and these days there's no exception either.
We're still still on that budget. Very good. Well, Lisa,
it has been a pleasure having you here today. Dana
is blessed to have you on her team. I'm blessed
to have you as my wife. So any anything else
you want to any final thoughts for the people out
(40:06):
there in regards to homestaging or just anything at all.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
No, I don't really know what to say.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
How do you like being on Dana's team?
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Oh, it's the best, blessing.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
It's such a great team and they are they're my
second family.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
Very good. Thank you, Dana, Thank you everyone for listening today.
Everybody have a wonderful weekend and we appreciate you listening.
Here to the Dana Simmons Show. Talk to you soon.
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