Homewood's Hallman Hill uses decorator Set To Sell to help sell condosFriday, November 04, 2011
By Michael Tomberlin
The Birmingham News
HOMEWOOD, Alabama -- Homewood's Hallman Hill has turned to an interior decorator and professional stager to deliver more property sales by transforming empty condos into spruced-up spaces.
Bee Little of Set To Sell LLC is finishing up the design of her second condo at the $35 million development, after the first one she decorated sold following its first showing.
In fact, that first unit led to two condo sales after a second would-be buyer for the decorated condo was too late to get the contract on it and opted to buy another one in Hallman Hill, according to Arlington Properties, the developer.
Those two sales are part of a surge of condo buys at Hallman Hill, which has seen six sales in the last three weeks after having only four sales the first nine months of the year.
"I have not seen this much activity since 2007," said Misty Joseph, head of sales at the 72-unit Hallman Hill for Arlington Properties.
The pre-sale period of 2007 before Hallman Hill broke ground was the most active for the project, which opened during the real estate sales slump.
Joseph said the 20 remaining properties are a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom condos ranging in price from $250,000 to $489,000.
Envisioning space
She said at least two of the recent sales were directly attributed to Little's work.
"The funny thing about spaces like this is when they're empty they tend to look smaller than when they're properly furnished," Little said. "A potential buyer needs to envision the space the way they would live in it and I help them do that."
Margi Ingram of Ingram New Homes is overseeing marketing for all of Arlington Properties' residential properties. She said often an obstacle to a condo sale is the difficulty in imagining all of their things fitting in the space.
"It's very helpful for them to realize what can go in it," she said.
But Little said she aims to do more than give the condos a lived-in look -- the staging side of what she does. She also wants to add accessories, touches and color to give it the "wow!" factor -- the decorator side of her work.
"In this economy, there is so much competition for selling a home and sellers are looking for anything that will give them an edge," she said. "Anything you can do to make it move-in-ready or make the showing memorable or something to spark the imagination can be important.
Accidental stager
Little, a New Orleans native, found she had a knack for staging and decorating almost by accident.
In 2005, she started Martin Lands LLC, which was intended to buy properties, renovate them and flip them for a profit.
In order to flip the homes at the highest possible profit, Little decorated and staged them to maximum effect. Real estate agents who showed the properties began to ask Little for help with some of their other properties, which led to her forming Set To Sell in 2007.
Her company works with builders real estate agents, developers and homeowners to boost the appeal of properties to the largest number of potential buyers. Little owns a 16,000-square-foot warehouse where she keeps an inventory of furnishings and accessories.
Property owners like Arlington Properties then leases the furnishings or can purchase some custom pieces while a condo or home is being shown. The property buyer can then decide if they want to buy all or part of the furnishings. What's not bought is taken back to the warehouse for use in the next project.
Special challenge
Little has done work at large homes and small ones ranging from gated communities in Birmingham to vacation homes at Lake Martin. Condos like Hallman Hill represent a special challenge and opportunity, she said.
"It has a very different vibe from a traditional house and you want to reflect that difference while still showing the traditional features people expect from a home," she said.
Ingram said everything in home sales these days is about making a connection with a potential buyer -- one that convinces them they've found their new home.
"You've got to give people the desire to move," she said. "Sometimes that can be something subtle but sometimes they have to be shocked into making that sort of move."
Little said she realizes she's using physical elements to make that sort of emotional connection all the time.
"Whether its staging or design or decorating, it's all about having an effect on those who will see it," she said. "You're going for a feeling."
Still, Little said a practical decision will trump an emotional one every time, as it should.
"The price will always be the most important factor," she said. "I can make something look as grand as the client wants, but if they're asking too much it's not going to sell."
