I'm Tracy Kapela and I'm the photographer and visual media specialist for the Mad City Dream Homes real estate team. Here are a few of my favorite listing photos that I've taken in 2020 so far.

Kitchens

The kitchen is often thought of as the "heart of the home", so I try to show as much of the space as possible so you can see yourself in there and get a feel for how the flow could work for you.

Living/Family Rooms

The entertaining area is also one of the most important spaces that buyers want to see, so I try to focus on showing windows, fireplaces or any other feature that is unique to each house.

Dining Rooms

Formal dining rooms can have special features like beamed ceilings,

If you're like many prospective home sellers, you may feel overwhelmed by all of the work that can go into preparing for a successful sale. From de-cluttering and removing items from your home, to implementing minor repairs and cosmetic improvements, to staging your home, sprucing up the yard, cleaning your house, arranging for movers...the list can go on and on...and you already have a lot on your plate. 

If all of this work makes you feel anxious and overwhelmed, we have a solution for you that will ease your worry and your stress -- and that is to lean on us. Rely on our team and our network of professionals to coordinate much of the work for you. This is what we do for dozens of clients each year. We simplify and shorten the home prep process,

When a buyer first steps into a staged home during a showing, they usually find it easier to picture themselves living there. A vacant or sparsely furnished home can be more challenging for buyers, because it can be tough for them to imagine where their furnishings will go.

A recent client worked with Shelley Lazzareschi to sell the condo they weren’t living in. They had been living in northern Wisconsin and had never fully moved into their Madison condo after it was built, so it was minimally furnished. Renting furniture for staging was cost-prohibitive for the seller, so Shelley and Debbie Lea from Showcase Home Stagers assisted the client by doing the staging themselves. Debbie and Shelley spent a few hours shopping for various items like artwork,

Many parts of the real estate process can be done virtually, including staging. Staging is an important part of the home selling process. A staged home tends to have better listing photos, which attracts more buyers and helps it sell faster. For a while now, a home's first showing has been on the internet. But in this unique time of social distancing, listing photos and a virtual tour may be the only ways a buyer can see your home before writing an offer. It's more important than ever to showcase your home through great staging, photos, and a virtual tour.

Debbie Lea of Showcase Home Stagers has been helping clients virtually for years, so staging a home without ever stepping inside isn’t a new challenge for her. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic,

A staged home sells much faster than a vacant home, because it helps buyers imagine their belongings and lifestyle there. Sometimes, staging a home is not possible when the home has been vacant for some time. That was the case with a recent condo listing. The sellers were not living in the area, and their daughter had been living in the condo. After she moved out, they were ready to put the condo on the market.

Maureen Moran met with the sellers to see the unit. The unit was nicely maintained, but had the risk of presenting as bland or too small because it was empty. Based on the price point, it wasn’t financially feasible to furnish the unit before putting it on the market. Maureen suggested virtually staging the condo. Our team took photos of each of

Now that the holiday season has passed, we're receiving a lot of calls from folks who want to discuss what they need to do to prepare for a successful sale. This is a fun time of year for us, because we're helping a lot of clients come up with a clear set of steps that will help them sell for top dollar in this year's hot spring market. 

Creating value with staging and cosmetic updates

Many of our clients are preparing for their sale right now by working with our stager, Debbie Lea. In many cases Grant Priehs, one of our favorite contractors, is also a part of the collaboration. These are proving to be incredibly productive meetings. Not only are we working as a team to create a great staging plan for each property, we're also implementing the

Martin Menocal is more than a photographer; he's an artist. Martin's attention to detail and dedication to his craft are truly remarkable, which is why Martin is one of our preferred photographers. Here are just a few examples of Martin's work from some of our recent real estate listings. 

Interior photos by Martin Menocal

Exterior and outside photos

Photos are the most important part of every listing

A listing with beautiful photos receives more looks and clicks online, which leads to more requests for showings, more buyer competition, and a higher price on the sale of the home. Remember, we don't have a set budget for our listings. This philosophy allows us to work with the best

We recently listed and sold this condominium in the Town of Westport for $10,000 above the list price, which far exceeded our clients' expectations for their sale. The two biggest reasons for our clients' success were the staging and photography plans that we included in the marketing plan. The "before and after" photos below show the dramatic, positive impact that our stager and photographer had on this listing.

Living room photo before and after staging

The photo on the left shows the living room before the staging process began. The professional photo on the right shows the living room after our client worked with our preferred stager, Debbie Lea. 

Enhancing a listing with aerial photography

Next, we took our marketing to the next level

At Mad City Dream Homes, we create an individualized marketing plan for every home and condo we sell. Each property has its unique selling points, and our marketing plans reflect that. We design our marketing plans to maximize each client's return on investment.

Customized marketing solutions

Every successful listing begins with a good plan and a great team of professionals to carry it out. Below we share a few examples of how our team customizes our marketing according to the unique needs of each client. 

Staging an occupied home

The most effective way to increase a property's value is to stage it under the guidance of a qualified professional. This is why we connect you with Debbie Lea, the best professional home stager in the Madison

Recently a Madison-area home owner contacted us and asked us to assist her with her sale. Her previous listing with another brokerage had expired without selling, and she was looking for some new ideas, more showings, and a quick offer.

When we visited with her at her home, we saw some opportunities to improve her listing and help her accomplish her goals. The "before and after" photos below demonstrate why we were able to help our client move forward with a successful sale. 

Master bedroom: before and after photos

This listing photo shows the master bedroom after we helped our client prepare her home for showings. 

This photo shows the master bedroom before we began the staging process. 

The results

We spent two weeks preparing