illinois: 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 tricycle maneuvers on. Sometimes the market is bumpy, sometimes smooth. Regardless, what the markets surface conditions are, the seller must just roll along for there is little they can do to impact the market path.
However, to get the tricycle ready for its travels, the seller must consider the 3 wheels … (57 comments)
|
illinois: Active Rain drops create ripples of opportunity & possibility in 2007 - 12/31/06 11:37 AM
So it is the closing of the inaugural year of Active Rain... and what a year it has been for all who have taken part of this amazing community.
In a year where the real estate industry was swirling with change and challenge and where large companies were jockeying for position on the web... Active Rain appeared as if out of nowhere.
The creators of Active Rain believing that individuals, not corporations, ARE the heart of the real estate industry, found a way to give dedicated real estate professionals the opportunity to share their own voices. Here voices can educate both colleagues and consumers as to … (32 comments)
|
illinois: HOLIDAY DECORATING: Should home sellers GRINch or BARE it? - 11/29/06 08:45 AM
Back in the fall I blogged on about whether or not it was wise to decorate for Halloween... and while at that time many people gave varied opinions, I stated that I thought it best not to.
SO... what about Christmas? Should a home seller decorate their house during Christmas Season? My answer is a definite and resounding... CONDITIONAL YES.
Decorating a house for sale during the Christmas Season is a little different then decorating for the Halloween Season.
While the Christmas selling market is MUCH slower, and the Holiday decorations are not as "creepy" and offensive looking... Decorations still can be distractions.
So … (20 comments)
|
illinois: 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 sold for.
Determining pricing is the Realtors job.
So, while it is not our job to advise a client on pricing of their homes... this information is good to know and understand. Basacilly, if asked, I ALWAYS advise a seller to listen to and trust in the professional advise of a Realtor.
Here are … (32 comments)
|
illinois: 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 far too many POSTIVE results because of our work to agree with that deduction.
Could it be because of the slow/poor market? Yes, that is a strong possibility. Actually the owner WAS able to rent it in the end.
OR COULD IT BE IT WAS PRICED WAY TO HIGH? YES, DEFINETLY in this case … (15 comments)
|
illinois: For the love of Pete... Give it a rest! - 10/15/06 07:10 PM
To all you sending me emails wondering why I shut my mouth... THANK you for your concern. When you have a type A personality it is hard to allow yourself time to get away. But this weekend I did.
I followed Eileen Landau's fine example and traveled over to Galena Illinios for a long weekend. (Actually I had planned this way back in July.) Galena is a little jewel of a community in the furthest NW corner of Illinois.
I slept WAY more than I expected... waking up on Satruday, having breakfast and then hitting the pillow for 2 more hours of Zzzzzzzzzz's. Then of course … (11 comments)
|
illinois: 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 am better able to connect with my intended audience) I have written this book using my pen-name... Reala Stager. But shhhhhhh.... that is a secret, my publisher does not want that information released to the general public.
So here it is... wadda ya think?
… (29 comments)
|
illinois: 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: NEUTRAL COLORS trump all others. WHY? Because they are non-offensive and are... well neutral. And just because it is a neutral color does NOT equate to it being BORING.
If you have an owner that is reluctant to paint back to a neutral… You might want to make these points.
1.Most … (6 comments)
|
illinois: Someone needs to tell the truth... PHOTOS LIE! - 10/03/06 07:29 PM
In my previous post today I showed Before & After Photos of a property that we just completed staging. What I did NOT show was how I got those After Photos to look so good.
Realtors and stagers need to understand a very important point about digital cameras... THEY DISTORT THE TRUTH.
Below is the raw Before (left) and edited After (right) photo of the Living room we just staged. PhotoShop is the tool I used to make the After look so good.
But what did I do to transform the image? Well, first I applied BASIC principles of photographic perspective.
Let's break it down … (77 comments)
|
illinois: 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 tour with 3 serious buyers at yesterday's open house, they just could not seal the deal.
WHAT LEASONS DID BARBARA LEARN and want to share about selling in the current market?
#1 MOST IMPORTANT THING: "STAGING is not optional it is ESSENTIAL!"
#2 Price is King
#3 There are no "Hollywood Endings" … (15 comments)
|
illinois: Halloween Decorations or DISTRACTIONS? - 09/30/06 01:55 PM
Well it's that time of the year when the ghost, goblins, gouls come out of attics and basements and into homes. While for some the day is great fun... for other's Halloween carries a negative connotation.
You might want to suggest to your seller's that this year they cut back or totally avoid decorating.
As a stager I advise our clients to use VERY little or NO decorations. WHY? For the simple reason... when selling a house the HOME is to be the "star of the show" not the stuff.
PRO OR CON Halloween... NOT decorating makes sense because:
* If a buyer LIKES Halloween you don't want them looking at all … (31 comments)
|
illinois: Another FEISTY BLOG about "Professional" Staging! - 09/27/06 06:22 PM
Well it seems like everyone and there brother/sister is becoming a stager. Which is a good and bad thing.
GOOD... because it means the industry and the concept is growing.
BAD... because is seem like all a person needs to do is get a cute name, business card and an accredited/certified “staging fairy” can turn them into professional stager. Hocus Pocus!
Well tonite I JUST went to a staged home site where a “professional” proudly displayed their work. AND I KID YOU NOT... the BEFORE was BETTER THAN the AFTER! The BEFORE was BETTER!!!!!
NOT every home needs staging... AND JUST BECAUSE YOU MOVE … (5 comments)
|
illinois: 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 cleaning products and resources out there, there is no reason to show a dirty house. Buyers notice and comment on dirt. Not only does a dirty home show bad, it distracts the buyer’s attention off the house and on to the dirt… they start thinking about what they would have … (9 comments)
|
illinois: 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 many have asked for my advice about staging and marketing staging services, to which I ALWAYS answer...
STAGERS are in the business of AMAZING first impressions. EVERYTHING we do has to convey a understanding and knowledge of a good first impression.
But lately I have found stagers (even here in AR links) … (8 comments)
|
illinois: 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 smiled and said that people always tell her she looks like Oprah.
Like Oprah, generosity beamed thru her reply.
It was in mid August and I need a good Oprah fix... it did hold me over.
WHY do I watch Oprah... because she puts herself out there.
Is Oprah right all the time? NO, … (17 comments)
|
illinois: 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 able to walk into a home and know who staged it because they always do the same "look". Nor should you walk into a home and know immediately that it was staged at all!"
In fact I advise Realtors not to tell the buyers that a property has been "staged" as … (12 comments)
|
illinois: 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 clients... the seller and the realtor. A seller might only look at your site a few times when they are thinking of hiring you. A realtor goes back and back and back just to keep "tabs" on you. If they always see new fresh images they know you are a … (11 comments)
|
illinois: 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 of this luxuary condo with VIEWS TO DIE FOR!
The realtor, who has used Real Estaging services before knew the quality of our work... when she recently got a listing she convinced the seller that if he had it us staged it he could ask for more... $55,000 MORE! Our fees are well covered … (22 comments)
|
;)
;)
;)
