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Home Staging Tips

By
Home Stager with Tampa Bay Home Stagers

This is my first post and have never used a "Blog" before.  Each week I post free advice on Home Staging on my web site.  I am happy to answer your questions here as time permits!

In a tight Real Estate market, like the one we are experiencing her in the Tampa Bay area, it has never been more critical to Stage your home.  The concept is still new to many in Florida, but popularity is growing.  We have seen evidence of this based on the number of inquiries we receive on a weekly basis.  They are double what they were this time last year!

We still do the occasional resale property:

This beautiful home on San Isidro Street in prestigious South Tampa was a pleasure to work with.

The home is listed with Jim Walters of Smith & Associates.

Living Room Before Staging                            Living Room After Staging
              

Comments (9)

Maureen McCabe
HER Realtors - Columbus, OH
Columbus Ohio Real Estate
Welcome to ActiveRain.  Great first post.  I can see what a difference the staging made in that listing.
Jun 06, 2007 10:06 AM
Brad Andersohn
Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA
ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

Hi Anna, I Just wanted to welcome you to the Active Rain Real Estate Network! 
The fastest growing, on-line Real Estate Network in the Nation.  Loved your first post.
I agree with Maureen,  what a diffence you make in preping these homes for new owners.

Welcome aboard, I hope you'll continue to blog, and invite others. Enjoy!!

Some sites you may want to visit right away are:

READ ME FIRST
http://activerain.com/blogsview/99192/Welcome-Active-Rain-Newbies

READ ME SECOND -  Setting up your Profile
http://activerain.com/blogsview/74458/Active-Rain-New-Members

Active Rain New Members Group - Learn it All!
http://activerain.com/groups/newbies

Do You Want To Be The Featured Agent In Your Area? - Points Breakdown
http://activerain.com/blogsview/113081/Do-You-Want-to

FREE Photos and Graphics for your Blog
http://activerain.com/blogsview/91574/Photos-and-Graphics-and

The Active Rain Invitation - Invite your Associates
http://activerain.com/blogsview/81450/The-Active-Rain-Invitation

Post Your Listings on Active Rain FREE
http://activerain.com/groups/MLS

Your Active Rain Community Resource Guide
http://activerain.com/blogsview/65489/ActiveRain-Community-Resources-Updated


Feel free to contact me if I can assist you in any way, hopefully we can refer each
other some business in the future!

Jun 06, 2007 06:28 PM
Anne Francis
Tampa Bay Home Stagers - Land O Lakes, FL

Thank you for the welcome to this blog.  What a great tool for everyone!  I will start adding my tips later this week.

Anne

Jun 07, 2007 05:36 AM
Anonymous
Dr. Rick
Anne and her team created a fanatastic decor for our previous home. We're ready to move back in!!
Jun 07, 2007 06:02 AM
#4
Anonymous
Ginger Miller
Anne and her team are a high-class act!  The difference between  hands-on training with them as opposed to internet offererings is like day and night.  They are extremely creative and knowledgeable about the art of home staging.
Jun 10, 2007 11:06 AM
#5
Maureen Maureen
Orangeburg, NY
Anne - Your website is fantastic.  I love how you have listed the prices for vacant staging.  I have people call all time that want their vacant home staged for under $500.  They have no idea how much time, furniture and effort go into staging a vacant.  
Jun 11, 2007 04:54 AM
Anne Francis
Tampa Bay Home Stagers - Land O Lakes, FL

Than you Maureen.  I also have a letter on my site that I try to encourage curious people to read.  As Home Staging becomes more popular, people will hopefully begin to understand that it is more than just plopping a few pieces of furniture and some greenery into a house.  For us it is an art form!

This is the letter I like sellers to read:

Dear Friends,

Over the past several years we have been consistently providing the highest quality of Staging services to the Tampa Bay area. We have become known as "Tampa Bay's Premier Home Staging Company." This is an honor and we are proud to be referred to in this manner.

Many people, Realtors, investors and homeowners, have a lot of questions about how Home Staging works and what it costs to carry out a project.

We customize every Staging project to suit the needs of the seller.  We take into consideration a number of factors when determining the best course of action.  Due to the fact that there are so many things to consider, we feel it would be a disservice to list actual package prices on our web site.  We have done our best to set forth general guidelines for visitors to this site to refer to.

However, given that there are large differences in the quality, amount and value of the furniture and accessories we provide, as well as the varying amount of time it takes to carry out a Staging project, we simply cannot tell you over the phone, or via email, how much it will cost to prepare your home so that it is in the best condition possible before it goes on the market.

We have developed a very precise way of determining your Home Staging needs.  This is accomplished during our initial consultation.  We charge $200 to meet with you to discuss your situation.  There are times when we also charge a travel fee.  This varies by location.

If you would like to schedule an initial consultation, please fill out our questions form and submit it to me.  I will personally call you to schedule our meeting.

I wish you all the best in 2007.

Respectfully,

Anne Jousou

Jun 11, 2007 06:46 AM
Marci Toliver
438-4642 - Mauldin, SC
Anderson SC, Spartanburg,Greenville SC, Home Staging

Anne, I love your site as well!  i love the break down of the rooms and pricing detail! WOW! 

 

btw- welcome to AR!  looking forward to seeing and hearing GREAT things from YOU!

Jun 11, 2007 06:50 AM
Anne Francis
Tampa Bay Home Stagers - Land O Lakes, FL

Hi Margaret.  Amazing how many people are on this site and seeing posts I made just minutes earlier.  By the way, I honestly believe that a piece of paper does not make a good home stager.  Solid training, mentoring and experience is what makes a home stager really great at what they do.  I am not certified by any company.  I created my own training program after years of hard work, research, experience and devotion to my craft.  I employ talented people with an eye for decorating that comes naturally to them.  I often contract jobs out to my past students since I know they have the same work ethic that I do and I only do so when I am convinced they will meet or exceed the expectations of my clients.

I have never had anyone question my company's abilities to properly stage a home because of the lack of any certification.  We don't advertise.  Our clients call us and we have a waiting list.  We go above and beyond what the typical home stager does.  At least, I can speak about the ones in our area.  We even surpass much of the quality put into some of the builder model homes in our area. 

If people want certification to make them feel better, that's great.  But at the end of the day, it comes down to how fast the house sold and for how much money, right?  I noticed the Dewey color system on your web site.  I am in the process of checking that out.

We give presentations to Realtor groups and Builder employees.  Do you do that?  We have found it very useful to educate locals about the art of home staging.  It is not as popular in Tampa as other parts of the country yet. 

By the way, I grew up on Cape Cod.  We moved to Tampa seven years ago.  I teach staging for Florida-style living which is quite different from the style of homes I grew up living in.  That is why I encourage people to get their training by companies who are based in their area.

We have been asked to travel outside of Florida to train, but graciously declined.  I am staying true to my mission of only training select individuals and those within my area.

I really appreciate you commenting on my blog!

Regards,

Anne Jousou

Jun 16, 2007 10:37 AM