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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Micah Johnson interviews Alisa Sparks, founder and CEO of Linden Creek, a home staging and interior design franchise. Alisa shares her journey from finance to home staging, emphasizing the importance of staging in real estate to enhance property sales and ROI. The conversation explores the psychological aspects of home buying, the business side of staging, and the significance of effective marketing in selling homes. Alisa provides insights into how staging can reduce days on the market and increase property value, making a compelling case for real estate investors to consider staging as a vital part of their strategy.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Alisa Sparks (00:00)
Yeah, and to your point, I’ll share another story. Sometimes in the staging world, it’s hard. They say, you know, your house will sell for more money. And it’s like, well, but does it? How do you know? Like, is that really true? ⁓ We fortunately got to encounter a situation not too long ago where we staged a townhouse and the same exact floor plan was on the market two months prior. The house sat on the market for like 65 days, sold, empty.Um, so our real estate agent brought us in and he said, Hey, I’ve got this other empty townhouse. The one down the corner just sold. took 65 days. I need this to go faster. We said, great. We came in, we staged the property, same exact floor plan. This townhouse sold for $55,000 more than the one down the road that was empty. And so it was that moment that that happened where I actually got to see hard, fast numbers of the difference.
Micah Johnson (02:21)
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Micah Johnson. And today I’m joined by Alisa Sparks, who’s been making some serious moves in home staging and interior design since 2017. Alisa, welcome in. How are you today?Alisa Sparks (02:36)
I’m good, Micah. Thanks so much for having me today.Micah Johnson (02:39)
Absolutely. I’m pumped for our call. were having a little pre-recording conversation where what you have to do or what you do is valuable to the real estate investment industry. I’ve seen it over and over again. So I’m excited for listeners and viewers to get to hear about it see how it really applies and can move the bottom line for their businesses. So for those who don’t know you yet, let’s dive in. What’s your main focus right now and tell us a little more about yourself.Alisa Sparks (03:07)
Sure, I am the founder and CEO of Linden Creek, which is a home staging and interior design franchise. So I actually started in the home staging and design world about eight, nine years ago now. ⁓ And partway through that journey, just realized that I was in a career in an industry that others wanted to be a part of as well. And so ⁓ I looked at home staging and design from a math perspective and a finance perspective. My background is in finance.and realize that there’s ⁓ true business in what we do that not only helps business owners, but helps our real estate investors and our clients. So decided to take that as a franchising opportunity. And today we’ve got 20 locations across the country.
Micah Johnson (03:49)
Love what you’re building there. So take us back. What really, what led you to where you are today? How’d you get that? You, cause you connect some pretty cool dots, right? You there’s math involved and there’s creative involved and those two don’t always mix.Alisa Sparks (04:03)
They rarely mix, I’ve learned. It’s a little bit of an anomaly, but ⁓ I love numbers. If you give me an Excel spreadsheet, I will entertain myself for hours. ⁓ So that is my happy place. And so naturally I started my career in finance. ⁓ I spent nearly a decade managing multimillion dollar budgets for the Navy of all things, and then decided to start a home staging company right afterwards.Micah Johnson (04:11)
If needed.Alisa Sparks (04:28)
But really and organically, ⁓ when I was doing that, I was actually buying the ugliest houses I could find ⁓ and flipping them and renovating them. And as soon as the project was flipped, I would sell it and then find my next project. so real estate has always been a part of my love and passion. But I thought that it was just a hobby. thought design was just a hobby until one day I realized maybe there was something to this and I could build a business around it. And that’s what started Linden Creek.But what’s interesting is I guess because of my background, I really, when I started diving into staging and interior design as a business, I saw it in a different light than most creatives do. I think most creatives come to the table and go, how do I make this pretty? I came to it and said, how does this serve my clients in a way that ROI matters and that they get to see their return on investment in everything that they’re doing?
but also for our business owners. What is the math behind the scenes and how do we build a P &L and operations in a way that you can do something that you love and make a living out of it too.
Micah Johnson (06:15)
Yeah. mean, in the end, the nuts and bolts of businesses is pretty applicable across the board of what you need. There’s a process, there’s a system. You build a machine that trades in whatever commodity you want it to do. It’s like, hope isn’t a strategy. you’re right, the creatives, even entrepreneurs that I know a lot of, they have to find that person that helps with that a lot in the COO role, the implementer role, because visionary and numbers,typically don’t mix and your ability to connect those dots and then people see it’s a possibility, right? Cause there’s, you’re, you’re one of very few that are out there doing this. And I think it’s just getting started.
Alisa Sparks (06:58)
Yeah, absolutely. It’s an exciting industry that is really finally taking some credibility where people are understanding how much it makes sense ⁓ in the real estate game.Micah Johnson (07:08)
Tell tell us about a project. What’s one that will really light an investor up? So if they’re sitting on the sidelines thinking, you know, I don’t need this. I don’t want to add that. I don’t want to add costs. I can save that money. I say this a lot. You may know how much money you’re saving, but you have no idea how much money you’re losing. And that’s a big problem. So tell us of a time if you have one that where you really stepped that up, where that became a reality. It was like, whoa, okay, this is serious.Alisa Sparks (07:35)
Yeah, I think when it comes to staging, it’s beneficial in two different ways. I want to tell two stories, if that’s all right with you. The first one is less days on market. Studies show that if you stage your property, it’s less days on market. Now, for all these investors out there, you know that that means reduced carrying costs, which saves you money as well. But to put evidence behind that, there was a home that we staged once that was a more luxury home. was a million dollar plus property. It had been on the market for two and a half years.⁓ That is a very long time for a house to be sitting. It was vacant. It was quirky and unique and not necessarily this perfect home. And people would walk in and they would recognize it was beautiful, but it didn’t necessarily make sense or feel like home. And one thing I always love to say to clients is it shouldn’t make sense to pay me to move a bunch of furniture in just to make the house look pretty. Like it’s really silly when you think about that. Like that feels like a true expense. And it does.
But what we have to understand is that buying, especially buying a house, is a psychological decision. And so you have two different experiences. A house is empty, a homeowner walks, a potential homeowner walks into the home and they see the walls, they see maybe there’s a scuff here and there, they are understanding the space, but they’re kind of checking boxes in their brain and then they go back out. What happens when a home is staged is they walk into the home and all of a sudden they start creating memories. And so they see the living room and they’re like,
this is where my kids and I get to snuggle up on a Friday night and watch that movie. And they move to the kitchen and they’re like, this is where I get to cook the favorite recipe for the family while the kids are doing homework on the kitchen island. And every memory that they’re building and creating in that home is creating that emotional connection. And that’s what triggers them to buy. So they say the average ⁓ time somebody spends in a staged home is 40 minutes, but an empty home is six. That’s it.
So there’s this massive, massive difference there. And so we’ve seen case study over case study where once a home gets staged, it goes under contract. That house that sat for two and a half years, we staged it and it was under contract in 10 days. And there was nothing different about the property other than it had furniture in it that now told the story. That was it.
Micah Johnson (10:17)
I have seen the power of it firsthand. So when I got into real estate in 2014 as a retail agent, spent my first three years in the business doing that. And one of the things that I noticed was when somebody starts saying that, when they see themselves inside the house, that’s a clue. This is it. Like pay attention to that as an agent, that when they start identifying, when they say what you just said, this is it, you’re writing a contract, man. If you don’t, you messed up.Like this was your fault, you lost that sale. And you also pay attention when they don’t do it. And I’ve walked through more homes than I can count with more people than I can count. And you’re exactly right on the vacant homes. The amount of people that I remember being able to fill that space mentally was very few. But even just having your family stuff in there would make it sell faster than just an empty one. Because like you’re saying, you can…
You can see it. You can easily see where you would do living at, where you’d be moving around, where you’re right, snuggling on a Friday night, where you’re cooking in the kitchen, you’re doing this. It’s just what does that. And investors, we’re taught very much that it’s an emotional sale for the typical sellers we’re going after, right? The house that you can buy at a discount, that owner’s not having a great time, typically. Life’s kind of hurting them a little bit, and you’re really solving a problem. That is…
That’s what you were doing. And we know that’s an emotional sale and connecting those dots for them that it’s just as emotional on the other side. It’s way happier. will hands down is typically a really happy sale on the retail side than the other one, but it’s just as emotional. It’s, just as intense and all the things as both. And without creating that, I mean, sales says it, everybody buys emotionally. get everybody.
Alisa Sparks (11:52)
ThankOkay.
Yes.
Micah Johnson (12:11)
Like if you trigger logic, you lose, you lose. It’s not about logic. You’re never going to convince someone. They got to feel it, right?Alisa Sparks (12:20)
They have to feel it.Yeah, and to your point, I’ll share another story. Sometimes in the staging world, it’s hard. They say, you know, your house will sell for more money. And it’s like, well, but does it? How do you know? Like, is that really true? ⁓ We fortunately got to encounter a situation not too long ago where we staged a townhouse and the same exact floor plan was on the market two months prior. The house sat on the market for like 65 days, sold, empty.
Um, so our real estate agent brought us in and he said, Hey, I’ve got this other empty townhouse. The one down the corner just sold. took 65 days. I need this to go faster. We said, great. We came in, we staged the property, same exact floor plan. This townhouse sold for $55,000 more than the one down the road that was empty. And so it was that moment that that happened where I actually got to see hard, fast numbers of the difference.
And I look at that and I go, every person needs to stage.
not because I’m trying to sell my services. I don’t care who you use to stage. Every person needs to stage because otherwise you are leaving money on the table and that is a disservice to whoever it is that owns that property. You can maximize your investment opportunity by staging. And so if you’re missing that simple final lift, that is the thing that is going to just kind of help give you the icing on the cake on those properties.
Micah Johnson (13:37)
Right. And especially in a time like we’re in right now, like it’s some markets are doing fine, but a lot of markets are struggling that days on market is growing. And we all know the higher that number is, there’s only one question. What’s wrong with it? That’s the only thing everybody thinks when that number gets high, what’s wrong? Something’s wrong with it. And it’s like, everybody doesn’t, you you’re, trying to get away from that. Um, I lost my train of thought for a second. got excited there. Uh, butAlisa Sparks (13:51)
Yep.Micah Johnson (14:07)
Tying it back, because I want to go back to the numbers, go back to that business side. So we were talking about the creative, talking about what we’ve done. So we know it brings value for someone that’s listening that is wants to hear more about the, the process system side of it, how to either plug it into their business, add it, add it as a business in their own portfolio. How does that work and how does it plug in?Alisa Sparks (15:12)
Yeah, so there are really two different services, interior design and home staging. And a lot of times people go, hey, that’s decorating a house. They’re the same thing. But they serve two very different purposes. So if we’re going to talk specifically about real estate investors, interior designers and bringing one either in-house or contracting with one part-time, which is something you can absolutely do, we allow that at Linden Creek where you hire us on a by-job kind of basis. They can help you with design selections and decisions.⁓ And that might sound like something really cool, but I can go pick out my own finishes. can think about these things. But what’s really important is understanding and knowing two things. One, how do we create something that’s beautiful and cohesive? Two, how do we make it on trend so we know what our target demographic is looking for? So if you said to me, hey, Alisa, I would love to flip this house that I’ve got around the corner. And I say, great, who’s buying it?
If you say it’s empty nesters that are settling in, I’m going to design it different than if you say it’s a young couple that’s buying their first home. They’re looking for two different things aesthetically. So somebody that really understands the buyer demographic. But the third piece is somebody that understands how to allocate budget. So if you are going to design a beautiful space, you want to invest in lighting.
It might sound silly, it might feel like that’s the last expense at the very end when you’re done with your renovation, like let’s cut costs there. But lighting is where it really shines. And so it’s something where your home buyer isn’t thinking about the HVAC system that you put in and knows that you spent 15,000 versus 10,000. They don’t really care. They go, there’s an HVAC check. But do know what they pay attention to? The chandelier that’s in your dining room and the light fixtures that are above your kitchen island. And so knowing and being mindful about
where to splurge and not every light fixture. It’s the ones that are going to have the primary focal point. And so working with a designer, they can oftentimes optimize your budget. They know where to really invest those key dollars that’s going to have the biggest ROI from a builder selection standpoint. But they also are thoughtful about the designs that are going to need to make sense for the potential buyer that’s going to be coming in. So that’s the design piece. The second piece of it is staging.
You could certainly do that in-house, but I will tell you as a girl that owns a 12,000 square foot warehouse and all the logistics that go with it, staging is a behemoth. So I would recommend partnering with a company local in your area that you trust and that can really relay your vision of what you’re looking for in the properties. But partner with somebody that can bring in those furnishings that can paint and tell a story around what the home is supposed to be. And when they stage…
Micah Johnson (17:47)
And I’m notserious.
Alisa Sparks (17:48)
ask them some key questions.If they’re telling you they’re just gonna make a pretty space, it’s not the right fit. A good stager should be walking to a property and thinking about marketing. They should be thinking about where the MLS photograph is gonna be taken from and making sure the angles make sense. They should be thinking about how a buyer is walking through the property and their furniture should actually encourage the flow of traffic to guide them to the spaces they need to go. If your house, for example, is on this crazy busy road and it’s loud,
They should not be putting furniture out in the back space because everybody’s going to walk out on the back space and go, ⁓ loud. Don’t want to buy that house. So all of those little factors are things that a stager should think about if they’re going to do their job right to really serve that property in the best possible way and think about the buyer’s interaction and experience with the home during that key walkthrough and during the photo process.
Micah Johnson (18:22)
Right?It’s science. It really is. It really is. And what you’re talking about, that’s that, that’s that professional and that’s who investors should look to work for. Right. Cause it is in the end, we’re all trying to earn profit. That’s what we’re all trying to do. Do we want to create amazing things? Yes. But our businesses feed our families. They feed our employees, families, they have a job to do. And that’s, that’s, that’s to earn money. Right. Like, so if you’re not capitalizing on these things out there,
Alisa Sparks (18:53)
Yes.Micah Johnson (19:09)
or not working with somebody that’s at least thinking about that. Like what you just said, the angle of the photos from the MLS, not everybody’s gonna have that thought right there. Most are walking around just in the room, but you’re absolutely right. I you get on the MLS and see people put photos in there, like what is happening? Like it doesn’t even make sense. I’m going from the front door to the backyard, to a bathroom, a, where are we in this location where, ⁓ now this makes sense. Cause that’s what you gotta tell people.The first showing happens online and those pictures are important. And what you’re taking a picture of is even more important because that’s it. You gotta think about the thousands of, this is something I used to tell customers. When you’re gonna put that house on, thousands of people have this saved. Your best chance of getting in front of them is right then. You’re fixing the light, thousands of phones up with this. Be ready to do it.
Alisa Sparks (19:40)
That’s right.Micah Johnson (20:06)
and be positioned to take advantage of when all those eyes are on you. Cause if you miss them, now we’re just waiting for people to come back and look or new people to create the safe search. And we, literally are fishing in the smallest pond. So that’s it. How you protect that bottom line, especially in the markets. And that’s where I lost my train of thought earlier was you ha houses are sitting longer. It’s not taking as long. You can’t just put up that little cock, little paint, make it what it ain’t house out there and expect aAlisa Sparks (20:33)
Yep.Micah Johnson (20:35)
expect to get that profit. Quality products are what’s coming to market. And really what I’m getting excited about too, especially in the investor space, we all run around, end up knowing each other at some point is more and more people are caring about that. Right? Like the more seemingly technological we get, how powerful AI and all these things become, the more human the human things become.Right? The more home really matters, what that makes you feel, how you’re doing it, the way it looks, it can’t be like you’re in a box, like you used to, right? Like now you’re going to feel like you’re living in a robot instead of just talking to one all the time. And, and what you’re bringing to it, I think it’s a, I think it’s an absolute game changer for the industry.
Alisa Sparks (21:10)
me.Well, thank you. You know, it’s interesting when you hear staging and interior design, go, it’s decorating. ⁓ And it is, but like the honest truth to it is we are marketing specialists. Our job is to be marketers and to market the product that our clients have designed and thoughtfully created and curated in a smart way, and then helping them really optimize that. ⁓ And when you realize that that’s really what this is all about, it changes and reframes your thinking.
Micah Johnson (21:44)
Absolutely. Absolutely. It made me think of, so if you’re listening out there and you’ve tried this before and they didn’t make you money, you were simply using the wrong one. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Go find the professional. Cause I like that you keep hammering that it’s not just decoration, especially to a bunch of guys. It’s not just decorations. Okay. Like I know I get it. I get it. It’s not my thing either. I get it. No, that looks nice. And it’s, I get told it’s not nice, but,Alisa Sparks (22:02)
youYou
Micah Johnson (22:14)
But it’s the value of it to add it to your business. Again, I just think if you’re not going to do it, you’re getting left behind because I see it over and over. We’re saying it pre-recording. have friends who own companies who are adding this into their company intentionally because it absolutely electrifies their product. Like you’re saying, it takes that marketing and brings it to life. It really gives it legs and can have that impact. So getting out on the front end of that, I think is going to be super important.⁓ Alisa, I could have these kinds of conversations all day. They get me pretty fired up. ⁓ for folks that are listening in out there that are interested in connecting about your service, learning more about how they use it, even participate in it. What’s the best way for them to find you?
Alisa Sparks (22:46)
Likewise.Yeah, you can find us online at linden-creek.com. We outline our services and we have locations scattered throughout the country. So we’re happy to help you and support you if we land in the same markets. But again, staging is such a valuable resource for optimizing that ROI. Strongly, strongly recommend it.
Micah Johnson (23:21)
Awesome, awesome well. I say this all the time on the show, everybody. We don’t bring random people on. We want to bring professionals on because that’s who you got to work with in this industry. Real estate gets a bad rap a lot of times and it’s why I think it’s very important to showcase the real professionals out there creating real businesses having actual impact, not just on homes and people living in them, but on people’s companies, on their growth. So reach out.to Alisa if you feel like this is something that you wanna add to your business, learn more about, even possibly become a franchisee. If she ain’t near you, you might be able to bring her near you. So Alisa, thanks for being with us today again. Really appreciate your time. I think we need more folks out there like you in the space, like really bringing change, creating something great.
Alisa Sparks (23:56)
ThankThanks so much, Micah, I appreciate it.
Micah Johnson (24:07)
Absolutely. Thanks everybody for joining us today. As always, if you got value out of this episode, please like this episode, share it with someone else you think give value out of it as well. And don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast. We appreciate every single one of you that follows along out there with us. We got more conversations coming up with operators just like Alisa out there building a real business in the industry. Thank you all for being with us. We’ll see you on the next episode.
