real estate staging: Home Staging = Sweat Equity ON STEROIDS! - 01/09/07 11:25 AM
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 home that goes to market has a possible low/high list price point range.  This low/high price is primarily based on location, condition, features, and finishes.
But you might not know is that if staging is done correctly, and at the right time, the asking price can be raised toward the high side … (33 comments)

real estate staging: Active Rain drops create ripples of opportunity & possibility in 2007 - 12/31/06 03:37 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)

real estate staging: For Crying Out Loud... it's CHRISTMAS! - 12/22/06 01:32 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 children! In case you are wondering! (They actually are the children of one of my associate's friends here at Real Estaging.)
Happy Holidays to all!
Cry it forward...
Me
PS: Check out Santa's expression!
 
 
(34 comments)

real estate staging: Joy to the Rain - 12/16/06 05:35 PM
  
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 it forward...
Me
PS: This is my cyber gift to my cyber friends. Take it use it, post it, print it. Do what ever you like, where ever you like. And if you want a different format or a less blurry version of this wreath... just let me know.
(68 comments)

real estate staging: TRIX FIX 12 PIX - 12/01/06 12:22 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 the realtors and stager's advantages to take and display the ABSOLUTE BEST PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES you can... especially NOW that more and more people use the internet as a means to determine evaluate a home or the abilities of a stager.
With that in mind... last night I went on line and looked at … (38 comments)

real estate staging: HOLIDAY DECORATING: Should home sellers GRINch or BARE it? - 11/29/06 12:45 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)

real estate staging: Welcome Stagers! I have a "pumped up" idea... - 11/28/06 09:21 AM

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 in here/there in our group.
AND!!! When new stagers join AR... they can see and read all that we have written and discussed... even before this group formally existed.
Finally, that little arrow logo in our group is temporary... until we come up with something MUCH better. ANY IDEAS?
 
RE-GROUPING INSTRUCTIONS: To RE-Group a previsous … (9 comments)

real estate staging: DID OPRAH'S SHOW HELP HOME SELLERS....or was the message mixed and confusing? - 11/25/06 10:27 AM
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 burdened with a house that just won't sell... after watching it I felt the show sent a confusing and incomplete message to home seller's about what it takes to ready a house for its sale in a TOUGH buyer's market. The show chronicled the efforts of Oprah's design guru Nate Berkus … (37 comments)

real estate staging: Canned Cranberry Sauce… the jiggly symbol of an industry? - 11/20/06 11:17 PM
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 visually appeals to almost everyone.
3. Canned Cranberry Sauce takes the right tools and skill to get it out of a can properly.
4. Canned Cranberry Sauce is memorable without overpowering the rest of the food.
5. Canned Cranberry Sauce isn't cluttered with complex flavors.
6. Canned Cranberry Sauce is best served with the entrée, … (26 comments)

real estate staging: This Clown gets a Carnival and I owe it to being Active in the Rain - 11/11/06 01:34 AM
You gotta admit one of the GREAT things you can say about Matt and Active Rain is if you DIDN'T know what the heck a blog was, you sure will in a very short time. If you got kids... you might even be able to stand proud, puff out your chest and say... "I GOTTA BLOG". (Unfortunately, your kids aren't THAT impressed... you feel somewhat like Charlie Brown on his Halloween special when he says... "I gotta rock.") 
But I digress...
So anyway, after awhile you get your blog groove going and you are all happy and content and you start reading other's blogs and you love … (43 comments)

real estate staging: I'D LIKE TO NEEDLE YOU TO MAKE A MARKETING POINT - 11/08/06 01:28 AM
I am a stickler for words. (Pardon the pun.) But something has been bothering me since I first started my own home staging company. It has to do with referring to ourselves as "Home Stagers" Is that the best way to describe ourselves? Is being a "Home" Stager actually what we are? Does that term help or hurt the realtor who believes in us and wants to bring us to a client?
The problem and marketing disconnect lies with the word "HOME." If you buy a property, condo, real estate or build a house... how and when does it become a home?  I believe it becomes a home when … (29 comments)

real estate staging: Visting the Edge of 2 Worlds - 11/05/06 12:22 AM

So I have been back for a week from my trip to China...and what a trip it was. While I went there because the  professional merchandising/design advice of "me" was needed, the personal "me" was impacted.
Since returning I have been asked questions like: "How was it?" "Did you have a nice time?"  "What did you think of China?' And each time I am asked, I am stumped for an answer.
Why stumped?  Well the above pictures are 2 views of China I had out my hotel room windows.  As I was taking them... I never realized they visually would capture the essence of my travel experience. They … (21 comments)

real estate staging: STAGE IT FORWARD... - 11/03/06 12:33 AM
Active Rain has given me a platform from where I can share my voice. So I get a LOT of stagers asking for my advice, my help, my thoughts and I am honored and humbled... and a bit frustrated.
I am “frustrated” because I see a huge need and want to help. There is so much that can and needs to be done, but right now our "industry" has been less then united or responsive to each other. 
Yes... there are stagers who have acknowledged other stager’s skills and education differing from their own.  But there are many who have seemed to have "drunk … (30 comments)

real estate staging: DRIVE-BY Comment HITS one of my Blogs... AGAIN! - 10/31/06 11:38 PM
Well for the second time this week one of my blogs has been “hit” with a comment from someone outside Active Rain.
This time the anonymous comment hit a blog I posted way back on August 10th entitled Stepping on "accredited/certified” stager’s toes…
And while I could let just the anonymous comment sit there quietly and go unnoticed, I think it points to the need for respecting and understanding within the staging industry and amongst staging peers.
While for the most part the Anonymous Commment was insightful from their perspective it did take a bit of a “pot shot”… regarding "those without formal … (16 comments)

real estate staging: Stagers... are we red headed step children that get no respect? - 10/29/06 09:38 PM
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 home inspectors we are "red headed step children that get no respect".The best advice I can give you is to "persevere".Staging is new and in many parts of the country untested. So it is up to us as a united industry to get the word out about staging and the … (40 comments)

real estate staging: Staging Realtors... how big are your guns? - 10/24/06 11:07 PM
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 what truly makes a stager an effective resource.
I have found if stager does not have access to all 3, they undermine the true benifits of staging and what is available to the seller. (Please note, the key word here is “access” and does not mean EVERY property needs all 3 … (14 comments)

real estate staging: "CHEERS" to new marketing opportunities for stagers! - 10/19/06 01:26 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 learn the better realtors are helped, seller's benifit and the quicker the enitire industry grows.
(For an AWESOME example of sharing to the industry, see fellow stager Cindy Lin's blog from earlier today)
Anyway, today I visited a Retirement Community to set up a time to come in (open my … (29 comments)

real estate staging: Staged Property does NOT sell... BUT WHY? - 10/18/06 03:06 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)

real estate staging: Paint a HOME'S SALE into a corner... by not making repairs! - 10/18/06 12:30 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 are looking for problems. We have trained our eyes to look for those items and areas in a house that need tending and mending. Why? Because quite often a seller no longer sees the issues we see... the owner/seller has become so accustomed to and accepting of the property the way … (6 comments)

real estate staging: Who has recently touched you professionally? - 10/11/06 12:35 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 Estaging, had a relationship with another furniture rental company that I felt a certain loyalty to, and Kim worked for the competing rental company.
So I was polite to Kim of Brook Furniture Rental, but didn't purse her as a resources. But Kim called me… and set up a meeting. And off … (9 comments)

 
These are the creative writings of Craig Schiller, a home staging professional, passionate real estate marketing professional and founder of the Real Estaging, one of the nation's leading home staging companies.


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