REAL ESTATE
What You Always Wanted to
Know About Real Estate, But
Didn’t Know Who to Ask.
By Terry and Tanner Tillung
BRANDY DEMARZO
JULY/AUGUST 2018 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 129
O ver the past 23-years, Terry
and Tanner Tillung have
built their reputation on
selling immaculate and
move-in ready homes. Their thorough
preparation and home staging
processes keep their days on market
low. Here are some tips of the trade
to help minimize upfront costs and
get top dollar when selling your home.
What trends are you seeing with
buyers?
More and more, the buyers we are
working with are looking for move-in
ready homes. They don’t have time to
make changes and don’t want to be
bothered by them. Being a proactive
seller gives you an advantage in
today’s market.
What do you mean by being a
proactive seller?
Being proactive means, simply, making
your home move-in ready and neutral
before market. We are finding that
most homes require some sort of
refreshing and/or updating. Faux
painting and past trends can actually
reduce home’s value.
What are your thoughts on pre-home inspections?
We recommend and highly encourage a pre-home inspection.
Making necessary repairs prior to market adds value to
your home.
What preparations have more bang for their buck?
Homes that are professionally cleaned maximize the showing
opportunity. Small changes such as cleaned carpets, replacing
burned out light bulbs, and painting can quickly maximize the
seller’s net equity.
How does your preparation process work?
After we’ve met with the homeowners and walked through the
house together, we present a preparation proposal. We collaborate
with our clients to see what works best to suit their needs and
their home while maximizing their net equity.
Do your clients always use your “full package”?
Everyone is different and ultimately, this is their home and their
decision. Not all homes need the same
preparation, but most will benefit
from neat, clean, and tidy. We take
a collaborative approach and the
recommendations we make are a ‘la carte.
Staging.
Staging is crucial in that it can
help potential buyers see past how
current owners live and visualize
themselves in the space. Vacant
homes that are staged sell faster and
for more money. In fact, the National
Association of Realtors (NAR) survey
found that 81% of buyers say home
staging makes it easier to visualize
the property as their future home.
Why hire a stager versus doing
it yourself?
There’s an art to staging, and a
psychology to buying. How we live is
not how we market. The process with
our stager takes a “mini-model home”
approach. There’s an individual design
plan for each property appealing to
your individualized target market
base. Working with an expert brings
the neutrality and objectivity needed
to get the job done.
Tanner and Terry Tillung
In your experience, does staging work?
Absolutely! A survey by Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp.
found that staged homes spend half the time on the market
than non-staged homes. Another study in 2018 found that 85%
of staged homes sold for 6-25% more than unstaged homes.
Staging showcases the potential lifestyle a buyer could have.
It’s a way of visually marketing your home and yes, it works.
Any last tips?
Staging is for every homeowner. Clear the clutter. Pack up
anything smaller than a football. Put away personal photos.
Clean, clean, clean.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Terry and Tanner Tillung are real estate agents
with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate and have more than
23 years of experience selling homes in the Tampa Bay area. For
Terry, call (727) 560-8819, or terry.tillung@floridamoves.com. For
Tanner, call (727) 479-4548, or tanner.tillung@floridamoves.com.