Behind the Scenes: How a Full Service Real Estate & Design Team Maximizes Your Home Sale

Does Staging Help Sell a Home for More Money?

Can staging or remodeling a home help net a higher and quicker sale? Pictured above is 2900 N. Vine Street in Denver, recently sold by Rankin Goulder & Kissinger. Read below to see a behind-the-scenes look at the process.

Utilizing professional staging, design and marketing allows Rankin, Goulder & Kissinger to efficiently transform Denver homes and get the highest (and quickest) sales...

Selling a home is an emotional journey. This is your home and the stakes are high. Who you choose to assist you can make all the difference in the process and the amount of money you walk away with at the closing table.

When it comes to selling a home, our Rankin, Goulder & Kissinger team in Denver takes a whole picture approach to each unique situation to understand the goals of each seller and build from there. Our overall goal is always to support the seller in having the most successful sale of their property.

Not all real estate agents are equal, and our team possesses the experience and vision to see beyond a home's undesirable features, ensuring that sellers obtain a better price, favorable terms, and a transaction that fulfills their expectations. Over the last year. homes that undergo our design listing process sell faster (in as little as 3 days compared to the MLS average of 22 days in the same time frame) and achieve higher prices (10% above or more of the MLS average list price).

How Expert Real Estate Agents Stage Homes to Maximize Sales in Denver

Natalie Esquivel utilizes our team's storage facility and staging and design inventory starting the process of getting 2900 N. Vine Street ready to hit the market for our sellers. This 2023 sale ended up netting our sellers a final close price $111,000 over the ask price after just one weekend on the market.

THE PROCESS

Allow us to take you behind the scenes of our process to show the care, creativity, attention to detail and professional expertise that goes into the listing of your home…

Bringing together a cohesive space requires the same level of creativity found in actual design. The team at RGK excels at being open-minded and resourceful while respecting the sellers' budget and timeline constraints, differentiating them time and time again. Along with our team of principle agents, Natalie Esquivel is a licensed agent focused on all things visual and design. Natalie brings her years of hands-on experience in design and merchandising to intricately work with our team through each listing.

Prior to listing, the overall goal is to present the property in its best light to the widest pool of potential buyers. Depending on the seller's unique goals, timelines and situation; the listing design process at each property can look a little bit different. Natalie leads the process and, if cosmetic updates to your home will improve the chances of achieving your goals, Natalie will make design recommendations and source items for sellers at no additional cost, taking as much stress of preparing a home to sell off your plate as we can.

Compass Denver Agents Allison Rankin and Natalie Esquivel of Rankin, Goulder, Kissinger prepare a home to list with staging and design

From concept to execution, Allison Rankin and Natalie Esquivel work to transform 2900 N. Vine Street prior to listing. Though we enjoy the process, we acknowledge that we are transforming someone's deeply personal space into a marketable product for the public with the goal of maximizing the sale.

Typically to most efficiently maximize time and investment, we don't go against the bones of the house. We figure out how to highlight each home's uniqueness and strengths from a design perspective and give thought to how current buyers might live day to day in the home. This often comes down to timeline and budget. We are always on a schedule that can run from 'pretty tight' to 'downright scary tight’ but we always get it done! After all, this is your home and the quicker the turnaround time is usually better for a multitude of reasons.

We compile a tailored list of recommendations for each property, encompassing decluttering, impactful minor upgrades, necessary maintenance work, and staging. Leveraging our network of contractors, we gather bids, source suggested upgrades, and provide an itemized budget. The listing design process varies for each property based on its individual goals, timelines, and circumstances. However, the ultimate objective remains consistent: To accentuate the uniqueness and strengths of each home from a design standpoint while considering the lifestyle of prospective buyers.

We equip sellers with a comprehensive list of action items and a timeline. Additionally, we facilitate the procurement of any required items for the home, whether purchased or borrowed from our reserve of resources. This includes lighting, hardware, accessories, and even determining paint colors if painting is necessary. To offer sellers a visual understanding of the end result, we create a mood board before the home hits the market. As Compass agents (Denver’s #1 brokerage for three consecutive years) we have access to programs such as Compass Concierge that provide sellers with funds based on their home equity. This allows for upgrades without any additional cost to the seller, enabling our team to surpass sellers' expectations and transform homes.

Staging and decluttering a home can be challenging, as sellers sometimes struggle to detach emotionally from the process. We fully understand this sentiment and approach the journey mindfully. We acknowledge that we are transforming someone's deeply personal space into a marketable product for the public.

How These Denver Expert Real Estate Agents Stage Homes to Maximize Sales

After putting the finishing touches together at 2900 N. Vine Street, Allison and Natalie take a moment to celebrate the process and strategize next steps.

THE RESULTS & RECENT SUCCESS STORIES

The goal is to maximize the sale for every seller and bring them the biggest return on their investment. Along the way, the new buyers are thrilled to be moving into a beautiful home that is turn-key and these make for successful transactions all around.

Once the home is “show ready”, we schedule photography to showcase the strengths of the home with the buyer in mind and professionally market the home through a variety of methods to attract the widest pool of buyers. Sometimes seeing is believing, and the combination of targeted exposure along with any staging, design or remodeling we showcase not only allows our homes to stand out, but can make all the difference in creating demand in buyers who fall in love with the house.

Here’s a snapshot of recently sold homes by our team.

Project timelines for these homes ranged from 3-7 weeks from initial meetings and consultations through to list and each home below was put under contract in its first weekend on the market...