chicago: "What, How-N-Why?" This was How Our Day Flew By... - 10/04/07 06:51 PM
Blogging was QUITE a popular topic yesterday at Emagine 2007 Expo... and educational event Coldwell Banker held for its agents in Chicago. I'm happy to report back that the day FLEW BY as ActiveRain's Caleb Mardini and I answered questions about blogging in the "Blooger's Lounge" set up at the Expo. I gotta admit it was very clever and forward thinking of Coldwell
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chicago: EMAGINE... Education is Part of the Silver Lining in a Slow Market - 09/28/07 04:17 PM
So the market is slow... ok its VERY slow. So what can you do? Well I think with every dark cloud there is a silver lining. One "upside" to a slow market is it provides an opportunity for rapid professional growth and development... and in that opportunity lies the possibility to be
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chicago: "How Does Active Rain Make Money?" Chicago Wanted Answers. - 06/18/07 07:22 AM
I swear EVERYONE, at this past weekend's Midwest West Celebration for Active Rain, wanted to know the answer to the GREAT mystery.... How does Active Rain make money? People even were grilling ME (as if I had an inside scoop). But like I told them... ask Matt. So sorry, you won't find that
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chicago: MANGIA! MANGIA! and Celebrate Active Rain in Chicago-land this June 16th - 06/01/07 04:47 PM
Don't FORGET the PAR-TAY RAIN CLOUD is moving to the MIDWEST on June 16th! We picked a site that would be easy to access from surrounding states of Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa. In my original announcement post I pretty much knew none of the details. BUT!!! No we've finalized the location at a
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chicago: The Windy City to Celebrate 1 Year of the Rain... Actively on June 16th! - 05/08/07 08:03 AM
UPDATE ON PARTY DETAILS CAN BE FOUND HERE! MANGIA! MANGIA! and Celebrate Active Rain in Chicago-land this June 16th Well the Rain Gods have spoken, (actually the Rain Goddess) and its official. Chicago is to be a celebration destination for Active Rain's 1 Year Anniversary Party Tour. The date for Chicago's event
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chicago: I Confess... I've used the UGLY "R" WORD on the streets of metro Chicago - 03/16/07 07:07 AM
I happen to know among clients, home selling professionals, developers and stagers that there is controversy swirling around this very hot topic. It seems like everyone is chiming in on one side or the other, having a very strong and opinion on the subject. However, some of these negative opinions I feel are quite prejudiced. I feel
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chicago: Town-home sits UNSOLD for 7 months... THEN SELLS JUST 2 DAYS AFTER STAGING - 03/09/07 09:22 AM
Here in Chicago, the Bucktown area has risen up to be a beautiful renaissance neighborhood. Just about 10 years ago it wasn't much to look at. However due to its close proximity to to downtown, builders came in tore out or rehabbed much of the old and built new. NOW Bucktown is
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chicago: REALTORS... Selling a home is as easy as riding a Tricycle - 03/04/07 03:24 PM
When a home seller puts their home up for sale, they are much like kids about to go on a tricycle ride. But for this selling ride there are 4 basic elements impacting how smoothly the ride will go: Market, Location, Condition, and Price. The Market is the sidewalk that the seller's
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chicago: Home Stagers... Your Website is the Display Window of Your Talent & Skills - 03/03/07 04:35 PM
Knowing that the home staging industry is in the business of creating great first impressions, I often search the Internet looking at the websites of home stagers to see what kind of first impression they are or are NOT creating for the consuming public. I first started checking out home staging websites 3 1/2 years ago when
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chicago: Staged it Wright in Oak Park / River Forest IL - 03/02/07 09:23 AM
When it comes to Architecture, the Oak Park / River Forest area of Illinois is one of the most historically significant areas in the world! For it is here that Frank Lloyd Wright had his first "studio" and created the now famous and easily recognizable form of architecture known as the Prairie
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chicago: Classic Georgian beautifully staged in Winnetka Illinois - 02/28/07 07:11 PM
Since the start of Active Rain I know I have been a bit of a yapper. But lately I have been very quiet... but for good reason. WE HAVE BEEN BUSY! I thought you all might like to see some of what our crew here at Real Estaging has been working
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chicago: Real-Time Networking Event in the Spirit of Active Rain! - 02/07/07 07:16 PM
I know I have been kinda quiet in the rain... but it has been VERY busy here at Real Estaging. However... for all my Chicago-land Active Rain collogues I am VERY proud to announce a very cool event that I am co-sponsoring along with 2 other Active Rain Members. (Tripti Kasal of
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chicago: Standing Out in the Rain... a Lesson to take to Localism. - 01/04/07 01:10 PM
Yesterday it was announced that of the 27,229 blog entries* posted on Active Rain since its début on June 25, 2006 my "very personal" post entitled "The Gift of Tears" was voted the Most Memorable post for the year. First, I have to say WOW and huge thank you to all
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chicago: For Crying Out Loud... it's CHRISTMAS! - 12/22/06 09:32 AM
Well I thought this picture really captured the essence of the last few post I created. In light of my recent post on Tears, and then all the boo-hooing and belly aching I was doing this past week... this seemed the perfect transition into Christmas. Oh and NO... they are NOT my
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chicago: Joy to the Rain - 12/17/06 01:35 AM
To all my friends in the rain... I would just like to take a moment to wish you the very best and hope you have a joyous time with family and friends during the Holiday Season. It truly has been a gift to meet, learn and share with you here in the rain. Stage
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chicago: I can’t hold it any longer… this old Blog-Dog is gonna hit his 100th Post. - 12/08/06 09:25 AM
Well I am about to a hit a personal milestone here in the rain. My next post will be #100! And while that may not seem like a lot for some bloggers here in the rain... it is for me. You see prior to joining Active Rain I barely knew what
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chicago: A BUBBLY WAY... to share your thanks & your message - 12/03/06 07:19 PM
I know I talk a lot about staging. But my REAL passion is advertising and marketing. I LOVE to find new ways to break through the typical "advertising noise" and connect with people. (Staging just happens to be an amazing marketing tool that does this too... that is why I am
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chicago: DID OPRAH'S SHOW HELP HOME SELLERS....or was the message mixed and confusing? - 11/25/06 06:27 PM
It's no secret how much I admire and am inspired by Oprah. So when I finally watched last week's show on preparing a home for its sale I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. While I applaud the shows desire to help home sellers who currently find themselves emotionally and financially
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chicago: Canned Cranberry Sauce… the jiggly symbol of an industry? - 11/21/06 07:17 AM
This Thanksgiving every Realtor and home seller should be thankful and contemplate Canned Cranberry Sauce. As it/they sit/s on your plates, know that it/they symbolize/s what staging has to offer. Here is my scholarly list... 7 ways Canned Cranberry Sauce embodies Real Estate Staging! 1. Canned Cranberry Sauce does not cost much, but can have tasty results. 2. Canned Cranberry Sauce
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chicago: Property Pricing advice can be hard for sellers to swallow - 11/09/06 12:13 PM
Being a stager can put us in a "funny spot" with sellers. After working in a seller's homes and transforming them in ways they never consider... sellers REALLY starts to TRUST us. Stagers need to be very careful. While you may be asked... a stager should NEVER suggest what a property should be listed for or
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chicago: "CHEERS" to new marketing opportunities for stagers! - 10/19/06 08:26 PM
So if you have not figured it out yet... I have a BIG mouth. I would rather share what I know and NEW THINGS I have learned about staging then hold it as a trade secret. WHY? Because the staging industry is young and the faster we all share what we
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chicago: Who has recently touched you professionally? - 10/11/06 07:35 AM
Who have you meet professionally that really impresses you and are glad you met? Well here is my “touching” story… For me it is Kim Ashely here in Chicago. I had bumped into Kim a couple times at various real estate luncheons... and I basically steered clear of her. WHY? Well my company, Real
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chicago: ANNOUNCING: My new book on Real Estate Staging - 10/07/06 12:17 PM
While there are a few books out there that talk about real estate staging. I still feel there is room for a more comprehensive discussion. I have been working on my own staging book and am PROUD to début the cover HERE on ACTIVE RAIN. For marketing purposes (so that I
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chicago: If Switzerland was a color, what color would it be? - 10/05/06 06:52 PM
Ok… so this is NOT a blog on behalf of the Swiss Visitor & Convention Bureau. It is a blog with another basic staging tip about color of and in a house Q: What is the RIGHT color to use in a home that is on the market… most notably for paint and carpet? A:
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chicago: Your Royal Highness: The CLEAN of Staging - 09/24/06 08:29 AM
When we speak of staging, we talk of a lot of things. Like thinning, de-cluttering, organizing, rearranging, repairing, trimming, mowing, painting, etc… but Cleaning reigns over all. The house on market should be cleaned as if Royalty was coming to visit… and remember royals wear gloves. In today’s age, with all the
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chicago: Staging Web Sites - 09/22/06 09:31 PM
Since I have been a member of Active Rain I have be in contact with so many people "intrigued" with staging and the possibility of staging. I am honored to "field" the questions of stagers or wanna be stagers ( by "wanna be" I mean people intrigued in the opportunity staging offers). So
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chicago: An event INSPIRED by Active Rain's community of friendly cooperation... - 09/20/06 06:16 PM
I am thrilled to share what I have been working on ALL day. Influenced by the kind and generous spirit of cooperation here on AR a realtor/friend of mine Annie Alexander, of Keller Williams, and I came up with the idea of creating a building wide Realtor Open House Tour. Knowing and believing
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chicago: I CONFESS... I watch OPRAH and enjoy it! - 09/18/06 06:14 PM
So today opens the new season of Oprah. I am sooooo in need of a fresh Oprah "fix". I recently was shopping for props for our prop library at IKEA here in Chicago and there was a woman that looked so much like Oprah... I had to ask. She just
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chicago: Be careful what you ask for - 09/17/06 06:09 PM
Well this past week has been the busiest of my life. Hard, long and both physically and mentally exhausting. This is the one thing about staging I fear all the staging seminars are not teaching in their weekend workshops. I woke a 3 AM 3 times this week to try to get
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