staged first impressions: Buyer's Agents: Am I Missing Something?
- 09/10/07 04:13 AM
I just finished reading Ines's featured blog Working Without a Realtor. There were 71 comments that I waded thru, and if you haven't taken the time to do the same, you should. Another excellent blog is Janie Coffey's The Benefits of Working With a Realtor That Specializes in Your Area. Ki Gray has written Why Use a Realtor?.
Now please don't get mad. I'm a consumer with a question! This is not an attack on my agent friends here or any kind of personal charge, it's just a consumer question.
Photo by Mike Geraci of New Hampshire
What I'm learning so far at … (73 comments)
staged first impressions: Home Staging, FSBO & How To Choose A Realtor: Adult Ed Class Soon in NH
- 09/09/07 06:55 AM
Where can you learn about getting your home ready for sale, how to choose a Realtor, the pros & cons of selling a home without an agent (FSBO)? And receive info about home inspections, listing photographs/featured tours, and Open Houses? **Where can you go to ask a Realtor, a home stager, a lawyer, a mortgage broker, and a home inspector YOUR questions?** What: Selling Your Home in the Near Future?* An adult ed class. When: This 2-evening class is offered Sept. 25 & 26th, and Oct. 2 & 3rd from 6:30 - 8:00 PM Where: Winnacunnet High School, Alumni Drive, Hampton NH 03842 Contact: Director of Student … (2 comments)
staged first impressions: NH Home Staging: Are You Really Ready To Sell Your Home?
- 09/08/07 01:31 PM
This article was written by a professional home stager, my dear friend Karen Otto from Plano, Texas. She is an incredible home stager and writer, She is a wonderful person, I felt like an old friend the first time I talked with her. I hope you have someone like that in your life. Karen has given me permission to use a large portion of her article, The Virtual Home Buyer, so that I can help my New Hampshire neighbors who are selling their home now, or in the near future. Here it is: "As a Professional Home Stager I often tell clients … (5 comments)
staged first impressions: New Hampshire Getaway for $199,900, 2 miles from Hampton Beach!!
- 09/05/07 03:13 AM
This beautiful condo was staged & listing photographs taken by Sue Argue of Staged First Impressions. Thank you Realtor Becky Lufkin of Atrio GMAC Properties for this referral. What a comfortable and affordable place to live or vacation! … (0 comments)
staged first impressions: "But This Home Doesn't Look Like It Did In The Pictures!"
- 08/27/07 01:15 PM
As a New Hampshire home stager, I offer Staged Photography services. And I often get asked, "What happens if the home looks beautiful in the listing photographs on the web, but buyers are disappointed when they get to the house and see it doesn't really look like that?" It's true. The home won't look like the photos. But listing photos are NOT a substitute for showings. To the buyers that whine "but it doesn't look like the pictures!" I say "So what?" Do you look like your business card every day? Does make-up change a woman's facial structure? I'm not PhotoShopping out power lines … (26 comments)
staged first impressions: How To Sell Your Staged Home Furnished & Recoup Your Staging Costs
- 08/24/07 12:56 PM
Stage your home, sell it turn-key furnished, and recoup your staging costs. Sounds smart, right? But how do you know what to furnish it with to entice buyers? How do you adjust the listing price if the buyer wants it furnished? Here in New Hampshire, lots of second homes are bought to enjoy the seacoast, the mountains and the lakes. These second homes may be a small condo or a multi-million dollar luxury property. And sometimes, buyers would appreciate a second home fully furnished and ready to enjoy! Here's what can help make it happen: Keep it warm & inviting. You don't … (15 comments)
staged first impressions: A Life Raft for Sellers in This Shallow Pool of Buyers
- 08/22/07 04:51 AM
Last week I was invited to visit a wonderful woman named Deanne at her mother's home in Dover, New Hampshire for a home staging consultation. Her Mom had died fairly quickly from an aggressive brain tumor, and it had only been a week since the funeral. Deanne was raw with sadness and understandably nervous about the job of selling this home. Soon she would fly back to her home in the Midwest, and finish the selling process from miles away. She was open to discussing a detailed plan that will help the house to sell faster. And she was smart to … (128 comments)
staged first impressions: The Secret Option for Builders to Stage a Model Home
- 08/19/07 03:31 PM
There was a time when new condos in seacoast New Hampshire couldn't be built fast enough. Our population here in Hampton swells from roughly 20,000 to over 100,000 in the summer months. The winters are long and cold, but plenty of folks like to keep a vacation condo here for the summer months. But times have changed. Too many condos have been built. Builders that get stuck hanging on to multiple units need to get creative in order to sell. As a home stager in New Hampshire, I've been asked, "What are my options?" This model condo pictured below is 2 miles from … (43 comments)
staged first impressions: Vacant Kitchens Are Just Too Doggone Empty!
- 08/13/07 03:56 PM
The problem with a vacant kitchen is that it's too doggone empty looking. What's more depressing than an empty frig and no food? Everybody likes to hang out in the kitchen, unless it's completely naked!
Who wants to linger when there's nothing but cold, empty appliances staring at you? What do you do in an empty space with a Realtor that you don't know well? Hmmm, stare at the walls for a few seconds, and move on to the next room. But we want buyers to linger in a home and fall in love with it. Now staging a kitchen is not that … (22 comments)
staged first impressions: Will 3-D Virtual Tours Eliminate Home Staging?
- 08/09/07 05:15 PM
I read Amy Bergquist's blog today on 3-D virtual tours. There was an article today in CNN Money that gives an example of Coldwell Banker utilizing a Second Life virtual tour to advertise a 3.1 million dollar listing of theirs in Washington. At first glance, it's cartoony and reminds me of Grand Theft Auto and some other video games that I despise. But, on second thought... there's no clutter. No dirty carpets. No warped wide-angle lens images. Second life virtual tours would eliminate the need for home staging, professional photography, vacant staging, model homes.
What do you think of that?
EDIT: For … (61 comments)
staged first impressions: Duct Tape With Humor Stuck to It
- 08/09/07 01:32 AM
I received this email this morning and it gave me a very wide smile. Hope it brightens your day too! I knew that duct tape was a versatile product, but this is genius!! I have to tell you that I have never seen a better use for duct tape in my life. Makes you want to require everyone carry a roll for emergencies. Maybe you know someone close to you that needs a roll...
Staged First Impressions, a NH home staging company with a sense of humor.
… (33 comments)
staged first impressions: Selling Now? Make Peace With the Current Real Estate Market
- 08/08/07 01:18 PM
There is no shortage of information about the current housing market. Most areas of the country have felt the pinch of this buyer's market. But what can you do if you need to sell a home and you can't wait for the market to pick up? You make sure your homework is done, and then make peace with this market trend. Breathe in...breathe out... Tackle Your Homework: Hire an agent that you trust, that comes with references from prior customers.
Allow your agent to determine the asking price. Don't be stubborn on this, you'll regret it every time. Stage your home so it outshines … (26 comments)
staged first impressions: Real Estate Shows User Guide
- 08/02/07 01:32 PM
Real Estate Shows is a marketing tool that allows you to take digital images, link them together in a slide show that mimics live video, and personalize the "show" with music and your own text. Obviously the uses are unlimited, but specifically its application to marketing real estate is powerful. These featured tours can be loaded into the MLS, Realtor.com; they can be emailed, and embedded in a blog or website. Versatile, EASY. If you haven't already, check it out! This blog was inspired by, of course, Sarah Cooper. She writes a blog nearly every day for Real Estate Shows … (36 comments)
staged first impressions: Use Staged Photography to Sell Your Home in New Hampshire
- 08/01/07 09:07 AM
Staged Photography involves the use of props to enhance a photograph's composition. For real estate listing photography, it is the use of props (colorful accessories that are brought to the home) to compose a beautiful image that will be posted on the MLS to lure buyers in from the Internet. What if buyers get to the home and see that it doesn't look like the photographs they saw on the web? They will know what potential the home has. So... What is Staged Photography? Listing photographs taken after the area is staged and props are added to the space to improve/update its lookImages are … (15 comments)
staged first impressions: Active Rain's Localism "Listings" Category: Getting the Biggest Bang For Free!
- 07/20/07 06:34 AM
Blog about your active listings by placing your Real Estate Shows and/or your website into a blog via iFrame, and post it on Active Rain's Localism, under the "listings" category. You could put your listing show and a linked community show in one blog to advertise a listing. Cheryl Johnson gave us an iFrame tutorial, how to put iFrames inside a blog, which I have done here to insert this website and Real Estate Show URL into this blog page. I’ts real simple, copy and paste into your blog while in the HTML format. Put your website or Real Estate Show … (5 comments)
staged first impressions: Your Home Staging Niche...Have You Found It?
- 07/12/07 03:09 PM
After writing the blog about my successes and failures, I came to the wonderful realization that I had finally carved out a niche for myself here in New Hampshire. I enjoyed 26 years of cardiology nursing before switching over to home staging, so I knew a little about specializing. I got a broad nursing education, but then narrowed my work experience down until I reached a point where I was pretty darn good at something!
Remember those mazes that you did as a kid when you were on a long car trip? You took your pencil and moved it along the … (19 comments)
staged first impressions: Active Rain's Home Staging Statistics, Realtors, Tell The Public
- 07/09/07 04:52 AM
I created this Wufoo web form because people rightfully want to know, does Home Staging really work? So please Active Rain Realtors, give your feedback. Entries need to be in by July 18, 2007. Results will be posted by July 20, 2007. *your name & contact info are not required. PLEASE ONLY ONE ENTRY PER USER. Obviously, home stagers cannot respond, unless you are a Realtor that stages your own listings. If you check "there are no home stagers in my area, I need more info", and sincerely want feedback, please enter your info.
**the more info you give me, … (37 comments)
staged first impressions: Portsmouth NH's "Tree House Toys"
- 07/08/07 02:48 PM
I love kids. I love toys. I love watching kids happily playing with toys. So as you can imagine, going to Tree House Toys in Portsmouth, NH is a blast for me. Treehouse Toys, Portsmouth 143 Market St, Portsmouth, NH (603)433-8697 This store has something for everyone. If you can't find your little buddy a gift here, you are too picky. They've got everything from trains to dolls to puppets to...toy lobsters. Quality, durable, unusual, FUN toys. What would seacoast NH be without toy lobsters, fish, octopuses (octopi?) and moose? The first picture is Market Square in Portsmouth. If you are … (13 comments)
staged first impressions: My Successes & Failures Are Teaching Me
- 07/06/07 01:27 PM
Recently someone asked me about my business statistics. What they meant was, for every house I staged, what was the outcome? How long did it take for the homes to sell? And what was the offered price compared to the asking price? Did my staged homes sell faster and for more money? Some of the statistics are good, some not so good. The best outcomes I have blogged about, of course. But the houses that (still) sit on the market after staging, I cannot hide. And I cannot blame someone else. But these "failures" have taught me a lot. Mistake #1: I … (54 comments)
Staged First Impressions, A New Hampshire home staging company. Find answers to home staging questions, and see examples of what home staging can do for you.
Pictures say a thousand words, so come on in, and check us out.
I just finished reading Ines's featured blog Working Without a Realtor. There were 71 comments that I waded thru, and if you haven't taken the time to do the same, you should. Another excellent blog is Janie Coffey's The Benefits of Working With a Realtor That Specializes in Your Area. Ki Gray has written Why Use a Realtor?. 
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