When lighting strikes....

    Things were going too well apparently and time for a come down. I got a call the other day from an investor ‘Are you sitting down?'...A lightening strike had hit one of my staged properties and burned the top floor and much of the lower floor.  The smoke and water damage (storm water and from firemen) made it a complete mess.

 Our insurance company, Travelers, has been great so far but needs receipts for everything. HELLO??  I don't even have time to grab a quick mug of Joe sometimes, ..."YOU NEED WHAT?"  Makes sense but as a stager, do you have every single furniture and accessory catalogued at each particular site? Sure we know the big pieces, and some accessories but not every single item. And receipts? Ugh.

 Question for bloggers-

What is your method for organizing receipts?

 We use a chronological order but are now looking to sort by type of furniture...I can think of some ways if receipt was stored electrnoically you could keep a ‘date purchased', ‘type of furniture' with a picture and be able to sort. I'm thinking though insurance won't settle for that and would want original copies..

 Help- what do folks do?   Has anyone else had this problem and how do folks go about recording every piece of accessories at every stagings?

 Lesson learned:

I am so glad I have great insurance and have really researched and done my homework in terms of what I needed and the types of coverage.  Make sure you let them know about your specific industry related concerns and issues so they can tailor your insurance. 

Keep your receipts and take photos not just for mls but photos to document every piece of item. I took nice shots for MLS (or had my professional photographer take them) but it is a staged photo and serves a different purpose.  Now I go to each room, taking photos to document everything on every shelf, wall, dresser, etc.

I am looking into different inventory systems.  I am waiting for one to be finished-they announced at the IAHSP Convention this year that they would be coming out w/an inventory tracking system later this fall.  Can't wait to see what it can do.   Hopefully this inventory system will have a ‘in use at address x,y,z)If we don't find a good one soon, we'll create our own. That said, even with one, I don't see how you can barcode the myriad smaller accessories which represent a sizable investment when taken together.