EP 520: From Make-Ready To Market Ready With A DFW Home Expert

What makes Victoria Martinez with De Colores Home & Design a good neighbor?

We talk with Victoria Martinez of De Colores Home & Design about what really makes a home “show ready” in today’s Dallas Fort Worth real estate market. She explains that staging is not just about decoration, but about intentionally shaping how a buyer experiences a space so they can immediately understand flow, function, and possibility.

Victoria shares how her company evolved from home staging into a full “everything home” make ready service. That includes the practical, often overlooked details that matter before a listing goes live: minor repairs, touch up painting, light bulb replacements, deep cleaning, decluttering, organizing, yard maintenance, and general presentation work that helps a home stand out online and in person.

We also dig into one of the biggest misconceptions about staging, that it is unnecessary or not worth the investment. Victoria explains how staging can directly influence both speed of sale and final offers, sharing examples where staged homes received stronger offers and moved quickly through closing timelines. Her approach focuses on helping sellers and agents reduce friction so buyers can emotionally connect with the home.

Victoria also discusses her work as a Texas Realtor and how she serves clients across a 50 mile radius from Rockwall. She shares how staging and preparation give listings a competitive edge in a market where first impressions are made online long before a showing ever happens.

If you are thinking about selling a home in the Dallas Fort Worth area, this conversation offers a practical checklist and real insight into what actually helps homes sell faster and more effectively.

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Guest Info: De Colores Home & Design | Instagram and Facebook: De Colores Home & Design | (214) 790-9927

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a home expert? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Victoria Martinez, with The Colores Home and Design. Victoria, it's great to have you on today. Now we are so excited to learn more about you and your company.

What An Everything Home Business Does

SPEAKER_02 0:30

So tell us a little bit more about your business.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Hi, Sophia. It's so good to be with you. Thank you for inviting me. So Decalotis Home and Design is exactly that. It is everything home. We are a home staging business. I've been in business for five years. This year, we are celebrating our fifth year. And Decalotus really has evolved from home staging to everything home, meaning anything that a homeowner or a realtor needs to prep their home and get it ready for the market, I'm the one to call.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Wow.

How Home Staging Became Her Career

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Now, how did you originally get into a business like this?

SPEAKER_01 1:09

So it was not planned. I honestly didn't know anything about home staging, did not even realize that it was an industry. In 2021, I was approached by some developers and asked me to stage a townhome that they had newly built. And in the beginning, I honestly did not really know what it was that they were asking me to do. But after doing my due diligence and doing some research, I realized that home staging was a whole industry that I have been missing out on for years. Once I decided to get my certification, I staged my first property and it has been going strong ever since.

SPEAKER_02 1:51

Wow. Now, Victoria, from what I understand, you um dabble in a couple different areas. So fill in our audience more in

Make-Ready Services Beyond Staging

SPEAKER_02 2:00

what being a home expert really looks like in your industry.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

Well, because I said that Decalotus has really been evolving, as I started doing home staging, I was listening to my homeowners and I'm listening to the realtors and what their needs are to prepare a home for the market. Obviously, we always want to showcase our best conditioned homes before they go live on the market. And so, in listening to the needs of the homeowners and realtors, I realized that there was a great need for small minor repairs and maintenance, touch-up painting, switching out light bulbs, deep cleaning, maybe mowing the yard, maybe doing some decluttering and organizing. So once I realized that there was a greater need other than just home staging, I knew that these were areas that me and my crew would be able to help our clients in. And we were right, we've been very successful in helping our clients prepare their homes for the market, listing at top dollar, in many cases, receiving multiple offers and just being very successful at the sales of their property. In addition to that, because I saw that there was that greater need, I also felt compelled to get my real estate license. So this year I am celebrating the fact that I am now a Texas Realtor and have signed on with a really great brokerage, very well known here in the Dallas and Fort Worth area.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

Wow, wonderful.

The Biggest Staging Misconception

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Now, when you work with clients today, what is that most common misconception you come across in your industry?

SPEAKER_01 3:49

That's a good question. So when I first started my business, I realized that there was that small percentage of homeowners and real estate agents who didn't believe in the concept of home staging. For one thing, they didn't think that it really worked, and on the other hand, they thought it was a little expensive. So I will tell you that state and national statistics will tell you that home staging does, in fact, work. But what I want to share with you, Sophia, is the fact that my firsthand experience is that home staging absolutely works. The concept of preparing a home for the market and allowing the potential buyers to envision themselves living in the home and also creating a really great flow from one room to the other absolutely has shown us great success in listing properties. For example, I recently had a staged home in Lamar County. This home we staged at day one over the weekend. They had quite a bit of traffic. The very following Monday, they received an offer at $11,000 over listing price with a two-week closing. This is phenomenal. Would the home have sold if it hadn't been staged? Most likely there would have been a potential buyer. But how much longer would that home been on the market and how much over listing price would they have been looking at? Another example would be a home that I actually had listed in Rowlette. We staged the home, we did all the preparations before going live, and within 20 days, we had an offer and we're set to close this month. I absolutely believe in home staging along with strategic marketing plan. I know that home staging does work. When you consider the outcome and weigh the outcome to the expense, you realize that home staging in today's competitive market is a must.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Wonderful. Thank you for sharing that with us today and teaching us more about home staging and the process that goes into

Proof Staging Pays Off

SPEAKER_02 6:08

it. Now we're going to switch gears here for a second. We know that marketing is the heart of every business. So ideally, who are you looking to attract? What area do these homeowners live in? And how are you standing out in your market today?

SPEAKER_01 6:26

I think one of the areas that we stand out is the fact that we are an everything home business, meaning we can take a home from its initial condition and get it 100% ready for the market, not only through home staging, but also repairs and maintenance. And now because I am an agent, I can also list those properties. My ideal clients are the homeowners themselves who are looking for some help. But that doesn't take away from my partnership with other real estate agents. I am absolutely there for other agents 100%. Those agents who just need a second pair of hands to get their properties ready for the market. I am the one to call because I understand their needs. I understand all of their obligations to their clients as well, and I can be there to serve them as support. As far as the areas that we serve, we are in Fort Worth, we are in Dallas, we're in all the way from Collin County down to Ellis County. Um, like I mentioned before, I was recently in Lamar. I am based out of Rockwall, so generally I like

Ideal Clients And DFW Service Area

SPEAKER_01 7:42

to stay within a 50-mile radius.

SPEAKER_02 7:45

Wonderful, wonderful. Now, outside of work, what do you like to do for fun?

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Um, well, work is fun. That's what I do. I feel very blessed to be doing what I absolutely love. It comes natural for me and it's just very, very rewarding. However, I do have a family and I have six grandchildren. I have two daughters and a son, and they are all absolutely the cherry on top. They make life worth living and they make me absolutely happy. So, combined with all of that, I love what I do for a living, but I absolutely love spending time with my family and cherish that.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

Victoria, before we close out today, one final question for you. And all of our listeners want to know is where can they go to learn more about the Colores Home and Design?

SPEAKER_01 8:42

That's a great question. I do have a website, but if you really want to see my um up-to-date profile and um look, take a look at what we're doing in recent

Family Life And How To Reach Her

SPEAKER_01 8:55

work with home staging, make readies, and even some of my listings, the best place to find me is going to be on Instagram, Decalodis Home and Design, and then also Facebook by the same name, Decalodis Home and Design. Of course, they can always call me or text me at 214-790-9927.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Well, Victoria, I really appreciate you being on the show today. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Thank you so much, Sophia. It's been a pleasure.

Nominate A Local Business

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfrisco.com. That's gnpfrisco.com or call four six nine two two two two one nine three four four four four four five.