You have all heard by now that staging is an important step in selling a house. Well I want to show you.

With 90% of buyers starting their home search online, a picture could literally be worth millions. I came across some photos of houses for sale that could benefit from some staging because I don't know what room they are trying to highlight can you?

I guessed entry way, until I saw the TV in the corner...

I actually have no clue

Dining Room? Gym? Picnic Area? Greenhouse?

Is this a deck, or sunroom or the party room?

If you were searching for a home online, would you want to visit these homes?

Tara Schinsing is owner of Controlled Chaos, Staging and Organizing the Hudson Valley one home at a time.

This was my second IAHSP (International Association of Home Staging Professionals) convention and I am so grateful that I attended. At first I was concerned because I would be flying all the way from NY to Seattle and thought that with the price of fuel and airfare these days that it would be to expensive..then I remembered what I tell my homeowners when they are concerned about the price of staging..You Can't Afford NOT to! So off I went!

Convention Registration: $495.00

Airfare and Hotel: $913.00

Food and Entertainment: $223.00

The information I received and the friends that I made: $ PRICELESS

Thank you for all who worked so hard to put this convention together, and to the speakers and vendors that were so willing to share, I am so grateful and ready to take my business to the next level!

Can't wait until next year!

 On the Space Needle

Fish at Pike's Place Public Market

Barb Schwarz and the wonderful Meet the Pro's Speakers

As I have blogged before, I am a member of The Hub (Young Professionals of the Hudson Valley). Well they have just announced a new form of networking..5 o'clock Fridays!

Every third Friday of the month The Hub's members have a chance to network with no speeches and no pressure, just drinks and good company.

This month's event is taking place at Bonefish Grill on Rt 9 in Poughkeepsie on Friday March 21st at of course..5pm.

So come celebrate the happy hour and a month of working hard with 5 o'clock Fridays!

Hope to see you there!

For more information please go to www.thehubhv.com.

This week I was working with an organizing client of mine and she started talking about how her and her husband were thinking about moving into a bigger home. She told me she would like me to stage her home when she was ready and even stage her furniture when she moves into her new home.

I then asked her if she had started looking at any houses. She told me that they looked at a house a couple of weeks ago and it was very nice. They only problem was that it was very open and a different layout than she is used to seeing. And then told me..here is the proof...she couldn't figure out how the furniture would fit or be configured in this space! So they just walked away from it!

What if this was your home or listing? You would have just lost a buyer because they couldn't figure out where to place their furniture! When will the next buyer come through? Isn't it worth the investment in staging to make sure your buyers can see your home in its full potential?

Controlled Chaos Home Staging and Organizing, services Dutchess, Putnam, Ulster, and Orange counties in NY. Call today to find out more about our services. 845.430.0726

I started this group for LOST fans because I am a HUGE fan and I am VERY lost! I have my own theory's but I love to hear other ones. I also find that I don't see everything that is in the show.

So come to the group, ask questions and post your theories about the show.

We can all get LOST together!

http://activerain.com/groups/lostfans

So last night was my first meeting with a new organization called The Hub, Young Professionals of the Hudson Valley. This group is a spin-off of the Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce. It was founded to create an informal peer networking organization for young professionals. I had an amazing time! This is just the type of networking group that I have been looking for! We met up in Kingston, NY at the Keegan Brewery. This is someplace that I have always wanted to visit but just really haven't had the time. It was amazing! We had a beer tasting, great food and a tour. This group is already opening my eyes different places in the Hudson Valley!

At the meeting we were encouraged to sign up for committees and were told about upcoming events..even a Yankee trip!  I networked with many people at this event and even made some great contacts. I can't wait to get involved and make new friends and contacts along the way. If you want more information about The Hub go here: www.TheHubHV.com

On a side note, on the way home I was pulled over! I had no idea what I had done wrong...did I run a stop sign, is my tail light out? When the officer approached me he said "Was it an emergency call? I looked strangely at him because I didn't know what he was talking about. Then I realized that I had a made a quick call to my boyfriend telling him I just left and would be home shortly. So I said "No" He took my license and registration and walked back to his car. I thought he would see that I have a completely clean license and give me a warning. I was wrong, he gave me a ticket for cell phone use while driving..the sad part is that I have a bluetooth but I didn't want to distract myself shuffling through my bag looking for it!

All in all it was a great night, I met some great people, tasted some great beer, and learned my lesson about cell phone use while driving.

Today on Oprah, Suze Orman was on helping a women who was left penniless after her husbands suicide. Suze Orman is very dedicated and passionate about how woman handle their money, and because of this you can download her whole entire book, Women and Money,  for free on www.Oprah.com! It is only available until Thursday February 14th until 8pm eastern time.

I am a very interested in money management. I am always watching Suze's show or other financial programs just to learn as much as I can.

I just wanted to share with you this free gift that I think every woman should have..men I think you might get something out of it too!

Enjoy!

I have been Meme'd!  was actually Meme'd a couple of weeks ago but I have not had the time to actually sit down and write one, or any blog for that matter.

Thank you Carol Culkin for this honor,

Carol Culkin - Real Estate Agent Poughkeepsie, NY Carol Culkin, ABR, Associate Broker, Relocation Specialist for Century 21- Anita Ferri Realty, is your source for real estate in Dutchess County. Carol - an award winning agent who gets results!

Lets see..what can I say about myself..

1. I originally grew up in a small town east of Rochester, NY called Marion. There were only 69 people in my graduating class and I was Senior Class president! This year will be our 10 year reunion and that is one more thing that I have to plan this year since it's the job of the president to do so. I went to college at SUNY New Paltz and I double majored in Theatre and Communication. I have a HUGE love of the theatre but I also know that it doesn't always pay the bills. I have not acted since my days in college even though I keep saying that one of these days I am going to try out for some community theatre here.

When I was 24 I found my calling. Professional Organizing. That is when I started my business Controlled Chaos. I love the fact that it is a job that I always get a hug with my paycheck! It was only a year and a half ago that I started staging. I love that as well and I still get a hug with my check!

2. I have been with the man of my dreams for 6 and a half years. Everyone wants to know when we will be getting married. And I ask him the same question! We know we are he just wants to have everything set financially before we do.

3.I love Reality TV!  I also have a very strong urge to be on Survivor or The Amazing Race. The thought of being trapped on an island looking for my own food and making my own shelter is something I dream of! I know it's crazy! As for The Amazing Race I would love to visit other countries and experience them in a way that many other people don't experience them. Plus the fact that I would get to race against people and find different and faster ways of doing things intrigues me!

4. My dream is to live in Arizona. I have never actually been. But I want the heat. I think the fact that I grew up in upstate NY is why I hate the snow and cold so much. I want it to be HOT! I am still chipping away at my boyfriend to get him to move and I think it's working little by little...

5 I am a huge procrastinator. I have always been that way. My parents would always tell me to start things early but that didn't work for me. If I knew I had a couple of days before something was due. I wouldn't do it. My parents now tell me that they could never punish me for waiting to the last minute to do papers or projects because I would always get A's!

Well that's just a little slice of me, hope I didn't bore you too much!

Now it's time to nominate someother lucky people I would like to know more about:

John Luongo - Real Estate Agent  Poughkeepsie, NY I work where ever my car, Palm, and Cell phone are. I service both Orange and Dutchess County. You can text message me by sending a message from your email or phone to 8455275129@vztext.com

Sharon DiCarlo - Real Estate Sales Person Score: 3774 Poughkeepsie, NY I am a full time professional Realtor specializing in residential re-sale and first time homebuyers. If you are selling or buying in Dutchess County, I can help.

Becky Raike & Nicole Forte -Staging Sells Your Home - Home Stager Score: 11552 Rochester, NY We service Realtors and Homeowners in the Rochester NY area for all their HOME STAGING needs. With 10 years experience in display merchandising we can make any home a buyers dream.

Recently I was asked to do a staging bid on a vacant house. This house has been under contract many times but has yet to close due to finances. It is now owned by a relocation company, they are the ones who asked for the bid.

When I went to view this house, I could immediately tell it needed some work. The tiles were coming up in the kitchen, there is wallpaper that is half up half down, the whole house needs to be painted, and then I walked into the finished basement...there was mold everywhere...

I have left a message with the Realtor stating that I would not stage the home in it's current condition and would not enter the home until the mold has been taken care of.

I know that the Realtor is getting the whole house painted - which I am assuming that includes the mold removal, but since everything he does has to go through the relocation company, there is not alot more he wants to do to the home.

I know that the other stager that has given him a bid has also given him a bid for some of the repairs and the painting.

This is not how I work. I don't act as a subcontractor between my clients and the repairman. I give them suggestions on what to do and who to go to but they do the rest and I come back to stage.

I also don't want to give a bid until the work is done because I don't know how the house is going to look or what I am going to have to "stage around". But the relocation company wants two bids and is waiting for mine.

So I guess my questions are: how many of you act as a subcontractor for your clients, would you give the bid before all of the work is done, if you don't know how much is actually going to get done, and have any of you worked with relocation companies before? This is going to be a little tricky in the sense I am going to have to rents some pieces and the rental company gives the contract to the owner and puts it in there name.

I think I am a little overwhelmed on this one. I have never had a house that needs so much work...

This Sunday I will be siting in the stands at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, NY to watch a miracle happen.

Kevin Everett Buffalo Bill's back-up tight end is said to walk out with the team! This is truly a miracle. For those of you who might not know Everett suffered a near fatal spinal cord injury and was initially paralysed from the neck down while attempting to tackle Damenik Hixon during a kickoff return in the Bill's season opener against the Denver Broncos.

When Everett walks out onto the field I can't imagine there being a dry eye in the whole stadium.

Go Bills!