Clear Advantage Over the Competition
Prior to putting our house on the market, we hired Capitol Staging to professionally stage the house. I had no idea the house could look so good! When the real estate agent listed the house, she was amazed and excited about the listing. Katrina and her team worked tirelessly de-cluttering the house and using what we owned to clearly define each room. The staging techniques definitely play up the best features of the house and give the house a clear advantage over the competition.
Joseph Bush
Vinton, Virginia
Warmth, Comfort and Style
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the wonderful home redesign services you provided us. Having bought our dream home we were paralyzed at the prospect of decorating such a huge home. You have a special talent with an extraordinary design vision! I couldn't help but notice your effortless and natural approach towards all aspects of our project. You fused quite nicely your unique eye for design with the ability to listen and translate our desires into concrete design transformations. You took our attractive yet empty house with echoes and all and transformed each room into gorgeous works of art. Instead of an echo with emptiness our home emanates warmth, comfort and style. I always use to think I would never have a home like the ones featured in magazines but now I do all because of you! We would recommend your services to anyone who wants to be able to wake up in the morning absolutely in love with their surroundings and feel nurtured and happy in their home! You did that for us and then some!
Sincerely,
Lisa Macaluso
Manassas, Virginia
So Very Impressed
“So very impressed”, are but a few words I’d share about the advice, recommendations, and results provided by Katrina Cantrell! Home and furniture staging is undoubtedly her niche. After a walk-through of our residence, she was able to quickly assess, envision and put into action her plan for setting our furnishings so as to achieve a warm, cozy, and altogether harmonious atmosphere. We had several rooms that despite our best efforts, looked awkward and unflattering. Her tasteful redesign proved more aesthetically appealing, and resulted in a more organized, efficient home environment. Thanks so very much for our “new” place, we could not be more pleased!
Chris Macaluso
Manassas, Virginia
Received A Contract the First Weekend on the Market
Katrina Cantrell’s staging work did exactly what I was hoping for, make my Annandale, VA home stand out from dozens of other homes that were already on the market and sell quickly. The combination of making a few quality home improvements prior to sale, coupled with Katrina’s excellent home staging skills, made my house shine above other comparably priced properties. I received a contract—for my asking price—the first weekend it went on the market in February of 2008.
It’s no secret that today’s housing market presents challenges for sellers who must take advantage of every option available to make their homes show well. Staging helps transform an empty house into a desirable home and allows potential buyers to visualize how they could live comfortably and enjoy a better quality of life. Sellers that take the time to offer more than curb appeal and show the internal quality and livability of their homes are giving themselves a decisive advantage in today’s slow housing market.
Katrina has a great eye for decorating and she used elegant and tasteful accent pieces and finishing touches in every room to give my home a fantastic look. Even in a seller’s market I would certainly recommend staging a home prior to sale and I would highly recommend Katrina Cantrell to do the job.
Mike Russell
Annandale, Virginia
Contract in 5 Days
"Our house had a contract on it in five days in this down market, and there is no doubt in my mind that Katrina's vision for our home deserves a lot of the thanks. She helped us decide what to keep and what to store on her initial visit, and brought in all the right touches to make the house look beautiful for pictures and showings afterwards, without making it unlivable for us and our two young children. I would recommend Katrina and Capitol Staging's services to anyone looking to sell their home."
Heather Westphal
Alexandria, Virginia
Testimonials
The "Wow" Factor
We were offered the opportunity to have our house staged as part of the sales strategy. Houses in our neighborhood had been on the market for as long as 9 months and we were looking for an edge. Our house had been built 20 years ago and was in need of updating to make it competitive in today’s market. Katrina selected a new color scheme for the house and decorated/staged the house. After being on the market for only 15 days, we had a ratified contract. We highly recommend Katrina Cantrell to get the "wow" factor when potential buyers enter the house. It really works!
Dale & Janice
Burke, Virginia
Our House Looked Gorgeous
We wanted to sell our house quickly, in a difficult market. We were very impressed with Katrina’s professionalism, and followed her instructions carefully. Our house looked gorgeous when she was done, and it paid off, as we received two offers on our home within one week. We recommend her highly.
Del and Cynthia
Fairfax, Virginia
Home is Like a Breath of Fresh Air
We live in an area particularly affected by the subprime mortgage crisis. Faced with a relocation in conjunction with military orders, we decided to rent our townhome, and hired Katrina to help set it apart from the several others for rent in our neighborhood. We listed it online, and what results! Within days we had serious inquiries from several suitable prospective tenants, and repeatedly received compliments about the decor and organization of our home. (We found the perfect tenant, by the way! Her first comment when she walked in our house: "I've looked at alot of places and they've started to look the same. This home is like a breath of fresh air.") Thanks Katrina!
Nayda Mannle
Alexandria, Virginia
End Result was Fantastic!
Katrina and her co-worker came in and quickly and efficiently went to work organizing and blending her staging materials with my own furnishings. The end result was fantastic. We got an offers on our house as soon as it went on the market. Her skills and cheerful attitude are a great resource for anyone who needs to sell their home.
Kathy Hughes
Annandale, Virginia
Contract After 3 Days
I’m afraid we somewhat skewed your average of 8.5 days from staging or date of entry into the market to sales/contract date, having sold it in 3 days (on the market Friday afternoon – sold Monday afternoon).
Jack Strasser
Fairfax, Virginia
Staging Helped Sell Our Home
Loved the fact that I could take out good oil paintings and mirrors and all of our " good furniture" to the new house and know that there would be no last minute rush to pack things safely for the trip to the new house 1000 mi away.
I also loved the fact that you were able to use a few of my little decorative baskets (two Ethiopian fish traps and an Ethiopian egg basket) and some other little things...and even the old, "not so good" pieces of furniture that were left looked good with your special touch. Staging not only helped sell our home - in three days...Yea, God! - it helped make the move to the new home a smoother and unrushed transition.
Anne Strasser
Fairfax, Virginia
Under Contract Within 10 Days
At the listing presentation, my client’s property looked like most of the other forty-seven (47) active 1-car garage townhouses in Ashburn. We needed to price right and show extremely well in order to have a buyer select our property over the others for their next home. Once I saw the transformation that Capitol Staging made on the 11 year old townhouse, I felt that we could be a bit more aggressive on the price. We listed the home for $20,000 over the average price of similar properties, and we went under contract within 10 days for just under that asking price – definitely a result of the staging done by Katrina and her crew. The home is now sold and my seller had more “capitol” than we had first though to put down on her single family home purchase. Thank You, Capitol Staging!
Ed Duggan, Associate Broker
NVAR Top Producer
Samson Realty
Staging Ideas Made All the Difference
Our house went on the market Thursday afternoon (9/4) and we had 2 contracts by Tuesday morning (9/9)!!!! We were excited about your 13 day average and even more so that this went faster!!! MANY thanks for your excellent report and recommendations. We are convinced your staging ideas made ALL the difference (and heard from many sources how nicely our house showed). All of what you suggested made perfect sense, but none of it we would have thought or known to do on our own. I took pictures of our house "before" so the children will remember it and cannot believe how different the "after" looks! Here's hoping someone is doing the same for us in Chicago. KUDOS, KUDOS, KUDOS!
Jennifer Shoemaker
Fairfax, Virgina
Alluring Internet Pictures
"I was so impressed with Katrina and Capitol Staging. Her color selections and the way she staged my seller's home was so beautiful that the house had a contract within 12 days and we got multiple offers which resulted in getting top dollar. I held two Open Houses and I had 15-18 people come by. Most of them came off of the Internet. They remarked that the pictures on the Internet were very alluring. Everyone of them said that the house showed very well. My seller made $ 20,000 more dollars and had his home sold quickly because of Katrina and Capitol Staging. She is well worth the investment. Thank you Katrina".
Eddie Seymour
Samson Realty
3 Offers In 19 Days
Katrina's help with the sale of our townhouse proved invaluable! Although our townhouse was de-cluttered, Katrina and her crew came in, moved furniture and put up decorations to emphasize the assets of our home. After 19 days, we had many showings and received 3 offers before we agreed to a contract. Way to go Katrina!
John Hwang, Reat Estate Agent and Client
Fairfax, Virginia
Long & Foster Fair Oaks
March 2009
5 Contracts and Full Price Offer
We were amazed at the transformation of our home as a result of Katrina Cantrell's skill and expertise. She was professional, courteous and took great care to be sensitive to our concerns while addressing the most important aspects of showing our home.
As self-proclaimed "do-it-yourselfers", we were not convinced we needed the assistance of a professional. Looking back, we could not have achieved the results that we did without her! We received several offers within the first few weeks of listing the property in a difficult market. The money that we saved by selling it quickly and for the price that we wanted far exceeded the cost of Katrina's service.
Renee Stegmerten
Woodbridge, Virginia
Home Owner
Two Houses Sold Under Two Months
We sold two houses in a down market because of the efforts of Katrina. Words cannot express what a transformation she made with our homes. We are definitely believers that her expert advice and efforts helped us sell two homes in less than two months during an incredibly stressful time.
Bill Stegemerten
Woodbridge, Virginia
A Buyer's Agent Perspective
In the current buyer's market there are a lot of available homes for sale so by time I showed my client a staged home by Capitol Staging, we had already been to over 20 homes.
We walked into the home and before we even went upstairs or down below to the recreation room, my client was ready to buy. The staging was warm and inviting and it was too easy feel "at home" in this home after viewing so many other properties that were simply "houses for sale". I couldn't be more pleased.
When representing a buyer, I always prefer showing a staged home since I know it increases the likelihood of my client saying "Let's write a contract". We found the home after only 3 weeks of looking and I am confident that the staging done by Katrina and Capitol Staging made all the difference in my client's decision to buy the home.
After being on the receiving end of a professionally staged home and watching my buyer's positive reaction, I am even more committed to having all of my sellers stage their home as well.
I strongly recommend the services of Katrina and the Capitol Staging team!
Leigh Anne Monk
Equity Rise Real Estate Team
January 2010, 5 Contracts in 6 Days!
We placed the house on the Market 1/15/10 and had the home under contract 1/21/10 with a total of 5 contracts to present to the sellers which were all at or above asking price. Thanks again for all your help on this one.
Catherine Feeney
Century 21 New Millennium
