home staging: Are You Trying to Sell the "Dreaded" Vanilla Box? - 07/22/08 05:12 PM
There is no denying that real estate marketplace is in a major depression. Nothing seems to drive home that grim point more then a quick drive through any neighborhood, for placed in the front yards of so many homes is a vast array of For Sale signs. But while a sign … (13 comments)
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home staging: Not All Bananas in the Bunch are Ripe and Ready - 05/01/08 07:07 AM
So my home selling pets, would you like to pick a home stager to regularly work with, but are not sure which in the bunch to hire? Plus does it seem as if daily there are more and more staging bananas out there to pick from? Well, you are right; it can be a … (36 comments)
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home staging: First Impression-ist Masterpieces Now Hang in the Active Rain Gallery - 04/14/08 11:05 AM
Last week something new began to be seen in the great hallowed halls of Active Rain. Beautiful blog masterpieces started to appear. Active Rain gave to us all another great new improvement to help us all better differentiate and further brand ourselves through our blogs. We now all have the access to a … (58 comments)
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home staging: I FINALLY Gots Me a Purdy Puddle... in the Rain - 04/11/08 03:09 PM
The ONLY problem I have EVER had about Active Rain was it is UGLY. YUP UGLY and I have not been afraid to let the Rain Gods (Matt Heaton and Johnathon Washburn) know how I felt.
But there is a saying, "you only get to complain if you are willing to provide a solution." So … (30 comments)
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home staging: Wall Steet Journal Blogger is Clueless about Home Staging - 04/09/08 07:32 PM
Boy this is timely... considering all I have been flapping about here in the Rain.
I just came across this article on the Wall Street Journal's website.
"The Allure of the Fruit Bowl: Home Staging ‘Twiddles' With a Buyer's Mind"
It reinforces the fact that Realtors don't understand what we do. They don't get … (19 comments)
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home staging: Ruffled Feathers makes for some Good Flapping in the Rain - 04/09/08 09:20 AM
When Active Rain "works" it does something quite wonderful. It grows, and expands, and teaches, and challenges. It creates dialogue in places and spaces where there was none.
I think sometimes we forget that we all here are a community. An ever growing community, but a community non the less. In the … (20 comments)
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home staging: Is Your Ignorance Bliss or a Missed Opportunity? - 04/08/08 09:39 AM
I have been writing here on Active Rain for nearly 2 years now and have seen the presence of home stagers explode here. Even though we share much of ourselves to this great community, in general it AMAZES me how ignored, snubbed and misunderstood our message has been by the overall Realtor … (46 comments)
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home staging: Best Blog EVER Finally Hits Its Target... of ONE - 04/02/08 06:39 AM
Daily hundreds and hundreds of bloggers post here on Active Rain... all with the hopes that what we write connects to an audience. What makes blogging on AR uniquely different from other blog platforms is the fact that because it is a social network, posting here first reachs a tighter member audience made up of … (15 comments)
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home staging: Chipping Away at the "PRICE IS KING" Myth Too Many Realtors Rely On - 03/31/08 04:22 PM
I hate to break some Realtor's chips... but for many of you the belief you have, regarding the role pricing plays in real estate sales, is not cracked up to what it could be. Believe it or not there is a simple yet profound parallel lesson that can be learned from how Lay's … (26 comments)
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home staging: Successful Selling in an Ugly Market Ain’t Always Pretty! - 03/27/08 11:34 AM
Even though we live in a consumer society, it's an odd fact that home sellers typically do not view their property as a product for sale in a marketplace. Because this is so, a home's sale often languishes. But this need not be the case. Basic marketing teaches us that how … (30 comments)
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home staging: "OOPS" goes the Staging! - 03/03/08 11:13 AM
From the time we were small kids we were taught that there is a difference between what is good & bad and what is right & wrong. While those FIRST lessons of life had to do with basic relationship skills and behaviors, as we got older we gained awareness of other good & bad, right & wrong rules that applied to … (43 comments)
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home staging: A Tale of 2 Stages - 02/26/08 11:58 AM
For home sellers it is the best of times, it is the worst of times, it is the age of wise choices, it is the age of foolish decisions, it is the age of sales success and the age of missed opportunities.In short, now is an age where sellers are finally … (43 comments)
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home staging: Where is that Staging Waldo? - 01/16/08 10:03 AM
Many of you have emailed wondering just where the heck I have been for the last month. Well, I really have no better explanation than to say that I have been busy "working" on many things I needed to do to succeed in a market that has thrust upon us all new challenges. While … (77 comments)
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home staging: Staging that STARTS on a BANG... But ENDS with an OINK - 12/05/07 06:08 AM
Without a doubt, home staging can help sell a property. Even in this slower market, with so many home sellers having postive results using the services of an expirienced home stager, it is no surprise to find that time and again the blogging stagers here on Active Rain write posts to share their stories of the many wonderful success they have created.
So as … (17 comments)
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home staging: The Stage It Forward Banner Unfolds and Rises... - 12/01/07 10:51 AM
Jackie Peraza recently wrote a good post entitled Banner's, Bloggers and Staging that I encourage you to read. In is she asks an important question about Stage It Forward and what is happeing under its "banner". I've learned that if one person is thinking thoughts like this... others are too. Question like this need to be asked … (14 comments)
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home staging: Jennie Connected the Dot... Now I am Gonna Paint the Picture! - 11/29/07 11:10 AM
While I have learned much from fellow members here on Active Rain and in Stage It Forward... I have to admit there are some member's posts I follow more regularly. What they have to say about Home Staging and the Home Staging Industry time and again captures my attention. So recently when Jennie Norris, a … (24 comments)
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home staging: Is ROCK & ROLL "Where Its At" for Home Staging? - 11/26/07 07:50 AM
A winter's drive over the holiday weekend gave me a chance to reflect on all that I see going on in our industry. As I stand back and look WHO we are and WHERE we are... the more I am sure this industry is not quite YET ready to handle the BIG vision so many of us want. I … (25 comments)
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home staging: A Thankful Message for all our "Colors" - 11/21/07 07:02 AM
Oddly, of all weeks, I stumbled on a old song... we all have heard before.
But sometimes an "old" song can sound new.
In light of recent Home Staging Industry issues and dialogue... this song holds a hope-filled message that seems to fit our needs, wishes and dreams. … (23 comments)
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home staging: It's CLEAR... 21 SIF RoundTables Across North America Are Going to REFRESH Our Industry! - 11/17/07 04:16 PM
Yesterday both Chicago and Manhattan successfully held their respective Stage It Forward (SIF) ROUNDTABLE discussions.
Earlier today I spoke with Val Allocco who was the facilitator for in Manhattan. Val said that their group had about 15 attendees at the luncheon sponsored by American Furniture Rental. (THANK YOU AFR) Val will share her own sparkling account of the 3 … (26 comments)
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home staging: STATISTICAL VERIFIABILITY... Key in Our Crawl Toward Professional Recognition & Acceptance - 11/07/07 09:53 AM
On Monday I introduced SIF Quarterly Qwik Staging Stats (QSTAT) program to the stagers here on ActiveRain, and yesterday I introduced the concept to the Realtor community in a post called REALTORS... Will Staging Stats Crack Your Nuts?. While that post was fortunate to be FEATURED on the main page in the "big" Active Rain... I have … (19 comments)
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home staging: REALTORS... Will Staging Stats Crack Your Nuts? - 11/06/07 10:17 AM
You have all read the stories and/or watched the HGTV shows triumphantly boasting... "SOLD in one day after home staging!" "Multiple offerings after home staging!" "SOLD at first open house after staging!" But even after all these great staging experiences have been reported in various medias, there still seems to be … (35 comments)
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home staging: What has ActiveRain Done Lately? How About Unifying an Entire Industry? - 11/05/07 06:12 PM
This past Saturday something small yet amazing happened in an industry... and it is all because of ActiveRain. The home stager's group Stage It Forward turned one year old. Now this might not seem like much, for those of you are NOT home stagers, but for us this is remarkable and HUGE. For prior … (52 comments)
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home staging: Stagers: We are Talking in AZ to Carry the Staging Message Forward. - 10/22/07 10:55 AM
Well in less than one hour the first Stage It Forward Roundtable Discussion will be taking place in Scottsdale.
Many of you emailed asking that I send you the questions we gathered from stagers all over North America... so here they are.
I thought that posting the questions we will be discussing will give those of … (25 comments)
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home staging: Arizona Home Stagers... You're Invited to the Round Up - 10/18/07 11:57 PM
How can a simple phone call to set up a friendly meeting turn into an industry "summit"? Easy... just have one ActiveRain member talk to another.
Since I have been a member of ActiveRain, I have met amazing people in the real estate industry that I would not normally have met.
So next … (30 comments)
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home staging: Bad Staging... EXPOSED! - 10/17/07 06:45 AM
One of my favorite blogs to visit outside of Active Rain is Athol Kay's ReAgent In Connecticut. I see a section on his blog as it having a parallel relevance to the practice of home staging... which I will explain in a moment.
Anyway, I like to visit Athol's site because his readers … (25 comments)
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home staging: Are You and Your Seller's Thoughts in the Gutter? - 10/15/07 09:15 AM
Until recently, it was always true that what a homebuyer saw when they first drove up a property could either make or break its sale. For if the home was appealing, from the gutter, it was said to have "Curb Appeal". Which was a good thing.But times have quickly changed, and … (40 comments)
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home staging: "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 … (20 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (34 comments)
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home staging: SELL the TOUR to Sell the House! - 09/10/07 07:55 PM
Whether it is in our work life or in our personal life, each day we are all hit with a ton of advertising messages. Because this is so, the trick for those of us in sales is to find new ways to cut through the all the noise and get our message out … (24 comments)
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home staging: Clearing Up Churned Waters - 09/07/07 05:33 AM
Recently I wrote and posted 2 similar blogs entitled: Inconvenient Truths about Home Staging. A shorter edited down version was posted here on Active Rain while a more complete and comprehensive version was then posted here on what I call my "pretty blog."
The post created quite a ruckus with a foundation training company … (31 comments)
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home staging: Inconvenient Truths about Home Staging - 08/27/07 12:40 PM
Last Friday, I happened to be contacted by the Chicago Tribune to discuss something that coincidentally had been on my mind for quite a few days.
For days now I could not stop thinking about the recent report published by the National Association of Exclusive Buyers Agents (NAEBA) entitled: "How to not … (47 comments)
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home staging: Buyers Seeing Red... would Martha say "It's a Good Thing?" - 08/21/07 08:46 AM
Home Stagers understand that the time spent a home buyer spends touring a home is relatively short. Experienced stagers rely on techniques and practices that will HELP maximize what a buyer sees and experiences in a property in that relatively short time taken to tour it. The best home stagers know … (48 comments)
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home staging: All the Advertising without the Nausea! - 08/20/07 06:51 AM
Being that I work in an industry that CREATES first impressions, I am a stickler for how end results look. This coupled with the fact that I worked in graphic arts, print media and advertising for years... I am passionate about how an advertising "message" is crafted AND presented. Whether the "message" is an ad of self promotion or an ad … (30 comments)
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home staging: People Like Touching Our SIF Stuff - 08/14/07 05:51 PM
Just a quick update...
This past August 4th the Stage It Forward (SIF) widget was created & released.
Since then, I am happy to report, it has been doing well and is attracting a nice amount of attention in the way of clicks. 2,176 clicks to be exact!
Considering it is just the first 10 days this is NO shabby … (9 comments)
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home staging: One Blog Post on "Emptiness" Sure Did Fill Up the Blogosphere! - 08/13/07 07:07 PM
Who says blogging on Real Estate industry topics does NOT get you noticed?
This is a tale that stresses the importance of and reason for finding your own blog voice and sharing your own voice.
Recently, I was approached by Design Talk, an amazingly popular on-line consumer oriented design site, with an idea they … (36 comments)
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home staging: Another new "TOY" for Stage It Forward Members - 08/04/07 11:19 AM
With Stage It Forward on the Go and on the Grow... I thought it might be good to have yet another new FREE "toy" for members to use to show their affiliation to one of the busiest groups on Active Rain.
This new "toy" is a custom widget... which is a little tool that you … (12 comments)
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home staging: Who was Stage It Forward's MYSTERY MODERATOR? - 08/02/07 04:40 PM
One of the things that makes Stage It Forward such a thriving and active group here in the Rain is the fact that the Moderator position is passed to someone new each month. Each month what is featured in the group as the "best to be read" for the day is … (24 comments)
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home staging: FEED ME SEYMOUR! Prop inventories can be a Shop of Horrors for Home Stagers - 08/01/07 12:41 PM
With more and more stagers entering the industry... I think it is important that they get a real understanding as to just what it takes to run a staging business.
Many stager's have been coached to stage with what the seller already has in the way of furnishings and decorative accessories (props). Which is all … (27 comments)
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home staging: STAGERS, I'm NOW a BASTRD ARSE... and You Can be One Too! - 06/27/07 06:45 AM
Home stagers... I didn't want to make a big stink about this, but I am thrilled to announce another staging training & certification course is now available to you.
While I know you all are well trained staging professionals and have already worked hard at learning the foundational basics in the business and art of home staging, I also … (58 comments)
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home staging: Stagers... if NOT Here, Then Where? - 06/14/07 02:19 PM
I woke up this morning and that headline was in my head. I guess it was there because I went to bed thinking about all the controversy that has swirled around and in Stage It Forward... for the last couple days.
If you feel like an outsider that missed all the … (34 comments)
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home staging: 100,000 DING DONG's, Stage It Forward Calling... with a Member Button for YOU! - 06/04/07 02:35 PM
With this post I have gone over the 100k Point. How befitting to reach this milestone with this post. While I did not time it as such, (I actually thought it would be this Friday with a Good Word Series post.) this post really does make this special for me ... because this post … (55 comments)
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home staging: Barb's Schwarz's New Book Reveals Home Staging Business is NOT "Pretty" Hocus Pocus! - 06/02/07 11:50 AM
A few weeks back I posted an announcement of the soon to be released book by Barb Schwarz (grand dame' of home staging) entitled: "Building a Successful Home Staging Business."
So I now have read Barb's new book and here is my promised "Book Review".
First, while I did not agree with everything she writes of... I have … (23 comments)
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home staging: Staging an Event... With the Help of Many, For the Benefit of Many. - 05/24/07 07:26 AM
Well this house now sits empty once again... but for a couple of days last week it was MAGICALLY TRANSFORMED (as these photos show). Last weekend was the culmination of over a years worth of "staging" event preparation. For one weekend a small army of people came together and donated their time, talent and treasure … (18 comments)
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home staging: Good Photography Tells the Story the Media Wants to Tell of Us - 05/17/07 03:21 PM
This is a story that bears repeating... I know I have blogged before about how important good photography is to tell your own story but now I have proof as to how it can help you tell a BIGGER story.
National print media uses the web as a means to find good photos to use in conjunction with the feature … (35 comments)
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home staging: Dear ASP/ASPM's... I do Believe ONENESS is NOT One Sided - 05/15/07 07:11 AM
I have learned that mentioning Barb Schwarz's name in a blog is like taking a match to gasoline.
This is my reply to one of the last comments posted in my last blog post entitled: Will Staging Biz Book Hitting Shelves (this week) Hit the Target? I think my own comment bares repeating here to … (14 comments)
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home staging: Will Staging Biz Book Hitting Shelves (this week) Hit the Target? - 05/13/07 07:29 AM
Well, I couldn't have planned it better if I tried. But considering my last post, about the difficulties of owning a home staging business, the fact that Barb Schwarz is releasing a new book this week entitled "Building a Successful Home Staging Business" is timed perfectly.
Just what will this book reveal? … (70 comments)
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home staging: Cold Hard Reality: Dying Dreams and Limited Opportunities - 05/10/07 09:30 PM
With each passing week I receive emails with questions from stagers asking me how to approach and solve a myriad of issues and challenges facing them and in their staging business. Some of these are issues QUITE complex and take MORE than just a quick email response. Unfortunately as I work … (66 comments)
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home staging: Do Shifty Sellers Stage to Bamboozle Buyers? - 05/02/07 09:56 AM
Realtors, if you use home stagers, here is a point to ponder...
Should an occupied property that HAS been staged be ADVERTISED as such?
I bring this point up as I feel an educated Realtor is an empowered Realtor.
So, before answering "YES" consider this... I personally think it is the LISTING REALTORS responsibility to … (50 comments)
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home staging: Was Barb Schwarz the "INVENTOR" of Home Staging? - 04/17/07 09:29 AM
Once you have written a blog, for any amount of time, it's inevitable that you come to a point where you search for that one "right word" that clearly conveys exactly what you are trying to say. Finding the right words is critical to communicating a message... and ultimately establishing one's credibility. Your words are a … (83 comments)
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home staging: My Personal COMMENT on a STAGER'S STORM in the Rain - 04/17/07 09:29 AM
While it was NOT the intent of my initial post entitled "Was Barb Schwarz the 'INVENTOR' of Home Staging"... somehow this post did cause issues to swirl to the surface. And in all this there lies a lesson for ANYONE who writes a blog.
So first let's talk about MY PERSONAL PURPOSE for writing that … (25 comments)
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home staging: Are Model Homes Dying Dinosaurs? - 04/11/07 04:28 PM
Each year large builders and developers all across the nation invest millions of dollars to build, design and install lush & lovely model homes. Why? It is pretty simple. Models sell homes. As you'd expect, a model is a great tool to help a buyer understand just how to configure … (25 comments)
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home staging: ENTER THE RAIN... from a New, Beautiful & Different Perspective - 04/05/07 09:37 PM
Every Realtor knows that first impressions matter. So can I be honest here? (And this has bugged me about Active Rain from the start.) Active Rain's front door is UGLY.
Yup UGLY! Yes, Yes I know it is fully "functional" door... but let's face it... its ugly. It has NO … (65 comments)
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home staging: CALLING ALL STAGERS... go MAKE Broker Bryant SQUEEEEEL with delight! - 04/03/07 08:26 PM
Today Broker Bryant, one of THE most influential REALTORS here on Active Rain, posted a blog that EVERY STAGER on Active Rain could and should chime in on.
YUP Broker B DID US ALL A BIG FAVOR! He opened the door for us to step in.... go get'em and let the rest of the … (9 comments)
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home staging: TAX MAN COMETH for Seller's... but NOT if I Can Help It! - 03/30/07 11:54 AM
Another POSTIVE reason why home sellers can benifit from Home Staging is because the fees for a staging services can be considered an advertising fee (See IRS Publication 523) and influence a seller's capitol gain or loss on a property that has been sold.
What is IRS Publication 523 and what does it say? … (19 comments)
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home staging: FAKE is OK, Just Don't be CONTRIVED - 03/29/07 02:07 AM
While home staging does require being visually creative, it really is a bit of marketing and merchandising "trickery" that gets the job done. Unlike the practices of interior design, decorating or re-design, staging is about creating an illusion of a possible lifestyle within a particular house that appeals to the largest home … (59 comments)
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home staging: NBC picked up my blog... How do I EVEN BEGIN to thank Active Rain?!!!! - 03/19/07 11:35 PM
Today has been a day I will ALWAYS remember... and I have to thank ACTIVE RAIN for so very much of it.
Yesterday morning I discovered that NBC-5 TV in Dallas had picked up one of my recent posts from my "Pretty Blog" (which is my AR blog slightly re-constituted) and posted … (118 comments)
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home staging: Recycling a Full Circle Moment - 03/16/07 10:31 AM
Last November I took a business trip to China. I went there because the professional designer "me" was needed, however to my surprise the personal "me" was profoundly impacted.
While I was in China, I visited both Hong Kong and a city called Shenzhen (45 minutes from Hong Kong via water taxi) on the … (62 comments)
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home staging: STAGE IT FORWARD... by giving IT back - 03/11/07 06:59 AM
The importance and willingness to give back is basic to what the group of stagers in Stage it Forward are all about. Its so basic, that in the group's short description here on Active Rain, the words "share" or "sharing" is used in 3 separate places.
For me however, Stage It Forward is more than just helping other … (10 comments)
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home staging: Active Rain created One Stage for an entirely new industry - 03/08/07 12:41 AM
The guys that created Active Rain might not realize it (and I KNOW they definitely did not intend it) but they have created something wonderful.
They have created a stage so that the voices of an entire industry, only in its infancy and struggling to be heard, could be heard. That industry is … (32 comments)
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home staging: THINK CRUSTY THOUGHTS... When Taking Listing Photos - 03/06/07 09:38 AM
Realtors you'll notice that while I am a home stager, a number of my blog postings have to do with taking better photos of listings. This is because I KNOW that what a home buyers SEES influences their desire to purchase... or NOT. But what a buyer SEES often starts BEFORE they drive up to … (56 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (57 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (19 comments)
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home staging: Home Staging = Sweat Equity ON STEROIDS! - 01/09/07 07:25 PM
Realtors, with the spring selling season just around the corner I think now is the time to FLEX YOUR MINDS to make a very GOOD point! While home staging does not raise the appraised value of a property, IT STILL CAN BE A VERY PROFITABLE VENTURE!
Here's why... As every realtor knows, a … (33 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (34 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (72 comments)
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home staging: TRIX FIX 12 PIX - 12/01/06 08:22 PM
For both the realtor and a stager... GOOD photography of the property for sale is a necessity. For the realtor, the photos you take of your listing show the product you are trying to sell. For the stager the photos of your work capture and chronicle your staging skills.
Therefore it is to BOTH … (38 comments)
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home staging: Welcome Stagers! I have a "pumped up" idea... - 11/28/06 05:21 PM
FIRST!!! WOW.... You gotta love them AR guys. Those "drips" know how to "drop" in nice features.
To prime our new STAGE IT FORWARD GROUP pump... please go back to your blog postings about staging and re-assign its group under the new Stage It Forward catigory. That way, your best and most informative blogs will appear … (9 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (37 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (26 comments)
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home staging: Working with Seniors... requires some flexibility! - 11/20/06 06:49 AM
Well I finally had my opportunity to talk about real estate staging to the group of seniors selling their homes. The auditorium was PACKED with an overflow crowd... to a point that there were those that needed to be turned away. To be honest I did NOT expect so many.
Upset and anxiety filled the room. You could feel that the folks … (47 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (32 comments)
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home staging: WOW does this stager have "IT" or what? - 11/02/06 07:40 AM
With nearly 170 Real Estate Stagers now listed here on Active Rain I tend to only have time to "check out" those who have jumped further in the puddle and participate more fully by blogging and commenting.
Recently I stumbled upon Jessica Hughes of Ambiance Staging. a new stager that I believe has … (11 comments)
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home staging: Blog Comments: Thorns amongst the flowers. - 10/30/06 10:47 PM
When I posted my “Little Orphan Rodney” blog this morning I never thought it would create such a firestorm of comments.
I been so inspired by the spirit of kindness and generosity on Active Rain that I try hard to make my voice here be a voice of inclusion, a voice a … (10 comments)
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home staging: Stagers... are we red headed step children that get no respect? - 10/30/06 05:38 AM
Lately I have been getting a lot of email from stagers that are frustrated with the response they have been getting from the real estate community. Basically they are surprised that realtors are not flocking to them with open welcoming arms and lavishing them with clients. Compared to mortgage brokers or … (40 comments)
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home staging: Staging Realtors... how big are your guns? - 10/25/06 06:07 AM
When should a realtor, who considers themselves to be a stager, bring in a professional real estate stager? In my opinion it really comes down to 3 key elements: TIME, TALENT, & TREASURE. A keen and rich knowledge of these basic 3 elements and a system for implementing and administering them is … (14 comments)
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home staging: "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 … (29 comments)
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home staging: Staged Property does NOT sell... BUT WHY? - 10/18/06 10:06 PM
Here is a set of Before & After pictures of a TOTALLY VACANT property we staged back in mid June and un-staged today.
IT DID NOT SELL. WHY? Was it because staging really does not help?
SOME nay-sayers might (and will) jump to that conclusion. I happen to have experienced … (15 comments)
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home staging: Paint a HOME'S SALE into a corner... by not making repairs! - 10/18/06 07:30 AM
While many stagers talk a lot about cleaning, depersonalizing, decluttering and rearranging a home, which ARE important aspects of what we do, there is another area a GOOD stager will focus attention on and find solutions for... home repairs.
Much like a buyer, the moment a real estate stager steps into a house they … (6 comments)
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home staging: Who wrote the book on Home Staging? - 10/09/06 07:55 PM
Well from the looks of if... 5 different people so far. So there is NOT a lot written about the subject as of yet. I happen to own all but have only read 4 of the 5 books listed here so far. And I gotta admit... not all staging books … (15 comments)
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home staging: ASP? HSE? What's-a-stager-SUPPOSED-to-be? - 10/08/06 08:24 AM
My answer is... EITHER. NEITHER. BOTH.
Cindy Lin, a new stager here on AR commented on one of my previous blogs. Cindy summed up her desire for training and her training experience well when she said, "granted the talent of staging is not teachable, but business models and skills are. i … (32 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (29 comments)
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home staging: 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: … (6 comments)
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home staging: Over Done vs. Done Right - 10/03/06 04:05 PM
Here is a picture of the livingroom of property we just completed yesterday. Which version of the same room do you think more people will relate to as "their new home"? This happens to be a property on the markete in an ultra HOT gentrifying area on Chicago's north side.
The room on the left has … (14 comments)
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home staging: NO SALE! for Good Morning America - 10/02/06 05:12 PM
If you didn't catch the conclusion of GMA's "Sell Your House In a Week Challenge"... well it was NOT a happy ending. Real estate expert Barbara Corcoran gave it her all to prepare and market the NJ house and get it sold in 1 week. And while they had 80 people … (15 comments)
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home staging: BUDDING STAGERS... here are 7 tips to OPEN DOORS to business. - 09/28/06 07:09 PM
One of the delights of being on Active Rain is receiving emails like this...
"Hi craig, Im in the process of getting my staging business off the ground but so far no one seems interested! I live in a area that staging is very new. My business is the first of its … (7 comments)
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home staging: USE YOUR EYES! - 09/27/06 07:13 PM
I know there are those realtors out there that have never heard of staging... even here on AR. So I blog on.. for YOU are the gateway for recommendation of our staging services.
If you are interested in considering using a stager... USE YOUR EYES and look at stagers here on AR as … (7 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (9 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (8 comments)
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home staging: Back-story... what we wish people REALLY knew about us. - 09/19/06 07:56 PM
Marketing typically crafts and packages "our messages" in perfected snippets we HOPE connect with our clients.
How often do we just wish that our clients REALLY knew us for who we were?
We wished they "got" our love for what we do… our commitment to being HONEST… our wanting to be … (3 comments)
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home staging: 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 … (17 comments)
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home staging: Staging should BLEND with the house and the target buyer - 09/10/06 08:51 AM
Debra Gould blogged on this topic yesterday and as I was posting my comments on her blog there was more I thought I could add.
Debra said it perfectly whe she said staging should NOT "...look contrived and artificial, it needs to fit the mood of the house. You shouldn't be … (12 comments)
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home staging: God really knows how to be a kill joy! - 09/09/06 07:11 AM
(Alternate blog title: "Church Blocks view and ends sale.")
So all week long I have been "ranting and raving" about the high rise luxury condo we just had completed staging and how the priced was raised and how a person who had first scene it at the lower price was now considering it … (4 comments)
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home staging: Tips for Stagers: regarding Before & After Pictures - 09/07/06 07:27 AM
Photograph EVERY project. Pictures are SOOOO important... they tell our story in an instant. THAT is why I have so many posted on my website. You can write and write and write... but people will ALWAYS look at the pictures.
AND I keep updating them too, because you have 2 … (11 comments)
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home staging: This Staging Story keeps GETTING BETTER... offer is coming in. - 09/05/06 09:12 PM
I told all my fellow Rain Drops that I would keep you posted...
So today the listing agent called to tell me she had a 3rd showing to the same client of the property we JUST finished staging on Friday.
You may all recall that this is the property where the priced was RAISED … (4 comments)
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home staging: You might need a kleenix for this Labor Day blog - 09/03/06 05:57 PM
So this past week has been a week from staging HELL. That is right... I used the whole word. I didn't pussy foot around and use symbols like %$##. I called it like it was.
So to RELAX I rented an AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING movie: "Akeelah and the Bee" At one … (17 comments)
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home staging: Asking Price RAISED $55,000 after Real Estaging! - 09/02/06 11:47 AM
I know I keep ranting and raving about how staging can impact the asking price of real estate. So I am just THRILLED to share this story of a property we JUST finished staging yesterday morning (September 1). We fully staged the Foyer, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, Hallway, Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom … (22 comments)
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home staging: Curb Appeal Dilemma - 09/02/06 09:56 AM
Seller's know that curb appeal matters. Unfortunately, many seller's have limited budgets to spend when they are preparing their property for its sale.
So we at Real Estaging have come up with a novel solution for the seller who not only needs to repaint the exterior of their home, but also need some … (21 comments)
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home staging: Staging is hard PHYSICAL WORK! - 08/15/06 05:11 AM
I don't think people realize just what it takes to stage a property. Let me PERSONALLY tell you it is NOT for the meek and mild.
My associates and I have been on the RUN trying to get various properties unstaged and then new properties staged!
To do this right, you need … (14 comments)
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home staging: AUTHENTIC & UNIVERSAL Credentialing for Stagers - 08/13/06 11:40 AM
THIS is why I love ActiveRain.... actually JoAnn Guida came up with the perfect parallel to help explain my concerns and wishes for AUTHENTIC and UNIVERSAL credentialing of stagers. (Now why didn't I think of this? LOL)
Anyway, JoAnn made the GOOD POINT that ... "Once upon a time Interior Designers … (6 comments)
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home staging: SCANDLE: a MAN joins Woman's Council of Realtors! - 08/10/06 07:15 PM
Not really a scandal... but today I joined the Woman's Council of Realtors (North Shore). WOW does this chapter have it's stuff together.
Today's speaker was Lynn Madison. http://www.lynnmadison.com/ A LEGEND in this "neck of the woods"... when it comes to training and development of PROFESSIONALS in real estate.
Today, Lynn's totally informative topic … (5 comments)
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