austin home staging: Mother-in-laws, Trichinosis, and Real Estate Lessons - 02/09/12 02:14 AM
This past weekend, I was reminded of an excellent lesson in Real Estate Business by my mother-in-law.
She and her husband are down from CO for a few months renting a home in Georgetown and we get together a couple of times a week.  On Sunday, she had volunteered to make dinner for us after a light hike.  Upon arriving, I noticed a pork tenderloin laying on a cutting board on the counter. "Excellent!" I thought, as we all like pork. 
Upon returning from the hike, I noticed the pork still sitting in the same spot - she had not refridgerated … (3 comments)

austin home staging: Merry Christmas! - 12/21/11 12:34 AM
Just a Quick Note out to my Active Rain Friends:  Merry Christmas!
And if there's one lesson I learned this year that would be most beneficial to Agents and Stagers, it's this:Never be afraid to go knock on a neighbor's door and discuss a problem.  Be polite, but straight forward.
This year, I went and asked a client's neighbor if they would mind splitting the cost of a fence repair with my client.  The  fence in front, technically owned by the nieghbor, was leaning into my client's lawn and was being held up by string.  First Impressions!  NO ONE Wants to … (7 comments)

austin home staging: Top Home Staging Mistakes in Canyon Creek - Austin - 09/01/11 05:53 AM
While preparing for a Basic Stage Coaching visit in the Canyon Creek subdivision of Austin a few weeks ago, I was looking at some online photos of the listings in the area. It occurred to me that most of the homes on the market all suffered from a lack of Basic Home Staging help. Taking notes, I made some interesting observations. Here’s a list of some of the things I discovered were commonly found in Homes for sale in Canyon Creek:
10. Poor Quality Photos: Dark, blurry photos do not set off please centers in the brain. In fact, they are more … (12 comments)

austin home staging: Sometimes you get what you pay for... And sometimes, you don't! - 06/05/11 01:05 PM
During a recent online discussion with some fellow Home Stagers from around the country, I read the following snippet from part of the conversation by another Central TX Home Stager:
"...when I do a consult I try not to be too specific with my ideas for the staging just to ensure they don't try to do it themselves and I lose a day of staging... I discuss the rooms in real general terms sharing my ideas but not being so specific that they can do it themselves..."
It was an "Ah Ha!" Moment - I have been doing things totally wrong … (10 comments)

austin home staging: Ordering Off the Home Staging Menu... - 02/09/11 01:38 AM
One of my best friends is a Chef in Chicago, and I am always joking with him about people who like to order "Off the Menu", as in dreaming up their own version of a meal not on the menu. It is one of his biggest gripes when we talk shop. My favorite happened just recently when he took a position with a great Italian Restaurant selling Carpaccio which is razor thin slices of raw beef.  I congratulated him on his new gig, and told him to prepare a triple order, Medium Well, for me, and I'd be right over. [***Rimshot***]
… (7 comments)

austin home staging: Annuals? They should be called "Daily-ies"... - 09/08/10 04:01 AM
I was visiting a house in Round Rock last week for a Basic Stage Coaching and as I approached the front door, I scribbled on my notepad, "Too many pots... not enough flowers..." One of The Stage Coach's Greatest Hits: "Pots are OK - but they must have a live plant or flower." It's an easy rule: either put the pot in the garage or plant something new.
While discussing Curb Appeal with the homeowners, I brought up the pots.  One of the owners asked, "Should I plant some annuals?"
I smiled - I get this question a lot as almost … (1 comments)

austin home staging: Compromising on Closets - 06/09/10 04:44 AM
When I first started visiting homes in 2006 to help owners prepare their homes for sale, I was a overly enthusiastic about Staging Closets.  At first, it seemed important to me to really show off the space available in closets because most Central Texas Homes don't have basements for storage.  I would push all of the Home Staging basics:  every thing off the floor, closet rods at 50%, organized by color, clean and tidy shelves...etc...etc...
My tune has changed quite a bit over the last couple of years, and all it took was hearing a REALTOR give the advice to a … (11 comments)

austin home staging: Home Staging Statistics are Marketing Bunk... there I said it... - 03/20/10 02:48 AM
I received a LinkedIn discussion email yesterday regarding Home Staging Statistics that was started by a Fellow A/R Home Stager [don't want to name w/o permission], and found myself chiming in... The more I Stage Homes, the more I feel Home Staging Statistics are Marketing Bunk...
I'll admit it - I'm Cynical - so much in fact, that I want my tombstone to be a quote by David T. Wolfe: "Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows."  So maybe I'm the wrong person to talk about the subject.  But I wanted to hear what other RE professionals felt about … (22 comments)

austin home staging: Is it ethical to reward people for providing Testimonials? - 02/03/10 11:50 PM
At the end of last year, I spent some time doing research on Social Media and Word of Mouth Marketing.  One of the repeated topics was the importance of Testimonials.  It seems Madison Avenue Firms have left the general public cynical in regards to traditional forms of advertising and marketing. So taking the hints from the authors I was reading, I started plugging for Testimonials.  In order to make it easy for clients, I even set up a special sub domain that lets them choose their own method of providing it: there is a web form, links to Facebook page for … (24 comments)

austin home staging: REALTORS: Do you leave the Toilet Seat up? - 01/31/10 05:27 AM
It sounds like a strange question - but really, it isn't!  When you are taking pictures for your listings, do you leave the toilet seat up?
I was looking at some listings near a home that is on my schedule tomorrow, and there was a picture of the commode with the seat up. This prompted my to post to The Stage Coach's FB Page:
"The Stage Coach hates to say this, but he's going to say it any ways: if your REA doesn't put the toilet seats down when they are photographing your home, how do you think they are going … (65 comments)

austin home staging: My ROI in this year's Christmas Cards - 01/25/10 02:12 AM
Each year, I send Christmas Cards out to clients: REALTORs, other Home Stagers, business affiliates, etc.  And I was going to thin the list this year.  Initially, only cards were sent to people who worked with The Stage Coach in 2009.  Since there were many cards left over, I went ahead and sent them to 2008's clients as well, even if I had not heard from them since we last worked together.
Any ways, in early January, I received an email from a well established and successful REALTOR Team.  I had performed a small job for them in 2008 when their … (7 comments)

austin home staging: The Stage Coach cracks the case of the mystery Home Staging Co. [*Satire*] - 01/05/10 07:04 AM
[Warning! *Satire & Sarcasm*]
For several years now, a local Home Staging company has been offering Free Vacant Home Staging services and promising they will turn "vacant homes into living models that sell." Their pitch is to move a family of Unicorns into the home and they will magically make the home appeared lived in and remain nice and tidy.  Well, actually, that's an exaggeration - there are no Unicorns.  But their promise is almost that fantastic: they provide Home Managers to pay rent to the home owner, move into the home while it is for sale, and take care of … (18 comments)

austin home staging: NAR: Renovations not paying off in sale of homes? - 12/28/09 05:16 AM
One of the REALTORs that I keep up with on Facebook posted a link to a Yahoo Real Estate News Article this morning that caught my eye.  It was called: "Renovating Doesn't Pay Off Like It Used To" by Les Christie.  If you're interested in reading the original article, it's available at REALTOR.org: "2009 Cost vs. Value Report" by By G.M. Filisko.
A rush of thoughts has come to mind reading both of these articles.  First and foremost, Isn't "All Real Estate LOCAL?" It's kind of cliche, but what's working here in Austin is not necessarily going to apply in San … (9 comments)

austin home staging: New Service - Prime Photography Package - 11/18/09 01:01 AM
The Stage Coach is excited to announce  
the formation of a new partnership!  
We are Teaming up with Professional Photographer, Thomas Meredith, adding yet another top shelf offering to our list of services: The Prime Photography Package.

The idea came about while viewing some actual listing photos on the MLS. For some reason, photos are being used that would compel a buyer NOT to visit the property and other photos are in such poor quality that buyers can not see the features of the home. The solution: by teaming a professional photographer with all of the best equipment … (3 comments)

austin home staging: Suggestion for Stagers who use Cort... - 11/17/09 10:33 AM
Hello, Stagers:I was reading a blog by Stefan Swanepoel regarding Brookfield acquiring Real Living earlier this morning.  Later, it occurred to me, that there was some important information for Home Stagers far down in the article - look at Post# 115.  According to Stefan's post, Berkshire Hathaway is involved in Home Services of America, and he goes on to list many RE companies that fall under this umbrella. 
On the way to a meeting this morning, it occured to me: our friend Warren Buffet also has his fingers in Cort.  So I returned, and reviewed the list.  My thought process was, … (3 comments)

austin home staging: "Sanctuary!... Sanctuary!" - 11/05/09 12:48 AM
It is fairly common from my experience to enter a Master Bed Room and find that the children's belongings have spilled over into the parents' room.  I suppose some people would find it convenient to let the little ones play whilst they dress for the work day.  Others believe in "co-sleeping".  What ever the reason, when it comes time to put the house on the market, one of the most important things you will hear me stress is: The Master Bedroom (suite) must be cleaned of ALL evidence of children.  You are selling Sanctuary!
When buyers see a Master Bedroom that … (7 comments)

austin home staging: Quality Photos... Not Quantity Photos... - 10/24/09 06:21 AM
Now that the local MLS system supports up to 25x Photos, it leave me wondering, "Who needs 25 photos?"  It is always my recommendation that 10 good quality photos is all that is needed to make potential buyers interested in seeing your listing. 
I found this picture today, while looking at some homes for sale near an appointment on Monday.  This is what I call the "Junk Room".  Many homes have one - it's a catch all for what to do with stuff you don't want to throw away, but have no real place to put.  I would have guessed that … (22 comments)

austin home staging: New Service has potential for helping with home owners' junk - 10/01/09 01:19 AM
While making coffee this morning, there was a commercial on for a relatively new service that perked my ears up:  It's called Bagster and is brought to you by Waste Management.  Essentially, it's a Dumpster, but in a Bag - thus, Bagster.  Here's the rub:
Go to your local Home Center and buy a Bagster (Retail is about $30, find locations here) Open the bag up and fill with up to 3 cubic yards of junk - 3,300 lbs max! Call the local Waste Management group and arrange pick up. The first benefit here is convenience:  Have you ever had to … (7 comments)

austin home staging: Double up those pillows! - 09/23/09 01:20 AM

On Monday, we moved some furnishings into a condo in downtown Austin that was recently vacated by the owners.  For the bedding, two different sets were required: one queen and one king.  The king set had been in storage for quite a while, so I did not remember exactly what was in the Space Bag.  After the bed was made, it was seriously lacking some thing [see pic on right] - all four King-size pillows were used.  But it was just not working for me.  The bed looked like it had just been slept in - it "felt" awful.  [As … (11 comments)

austin home staging: Listing next Spring? Start thinking about Curb Appeal NOW! - 09/10/09 04:53 AM
Not everyone has the luxury of taking six months to prepare their home for sale.  But I have to admit, I love working with them when they come along!
One thing I am pushing with this client is to start working on their curb appeal by planting next month.  In the Austin area, hopefully Summer will be turning down the heat a little before too long, and Fall Planting can begin.  This is a great time to put in new trees and shrubs so that they are well established before next year's 100+ degree heat.  And most importantly, you might get … (14 comments)