home matters: Indianapolis Art Institute Design Students take field trip to learn about Home Staging from Home Matters, Home Staging & Training Company
- 08/11/09 05:54 AM
Several weeks ago, I was contacted by Michelle Boggs, Interior Design Teacher at the Art Institute of Indianapolis. Michelle was inquiring about me putting on a brief presentation to her Interior Design students regarding home staging. I saw this as an opportunity to spend time with some impressionable minds that had already made a strong commitment to working towards a degree in the related field of Interior Design. Once I had finalized the arrangements and set the date and time with Michelle, I took some time to reflect on how far we have come in the arena of home staging. When … (5 comments)
home matters: Continuing Education will Ignite your Staging Passion and helps your Business Grow to New Levels
- 06/21/09 04:32 AM
Last month along with Teresa Meyer of Stage a Star in Cincinnati, I had the privilege of sitting in class with CSP Elite Instructor, Melissa Marro. The day begins with warm welcomes and some sharing of our lives and experiences and soon we got down to the business of the day which was to learn about the CSP elite program. Our understanding was to learn how to educate our real estate community on the importance of utilizing stagers in their marketing plan. This course is not a "how to" stage but rather helps real estate professionals gain an understanding of how … (5 comments)
home matters: Media Exposure Good for Stagings’ Bottom Line
- 04/27/09 06:42 AM
Media Exposure for home staging services are always in style when it comes to enhancing your bottom line. The sharing of information and education should always be your focus to catch the attention of the media. But how do you get your business noticed and you an expert in your field? Be consistent and always write with your audience in mind. You have to be willing to be exposed in order to receive the exposure. Set yourself and your business apart by taking on the role as staging expert. There are several ways in which to get yourself some attention, but … (6 comments)
home matters: Motivation and Commitment for Successful Home Sales!
- 04/22/09 07:06 AM
Attention Realtors and other Real Estate related Professionals... Do you know whether or not you have a committed and motivated home seller? I don't mean they will be ready or they are getting ready, I mean ARE THEY READY-RIGHT-NOW? How can you tell? Let's examine how you might be able to determine their level of commitment. An owner who is committed to selling their home has some awareness of the market and will be receptive to your education regarding marketing and merchandising their homes for the marketplace as well as accepting current documentation of its value. A great way to "test" … (12 comments)
home matters: Home Sellers Ultimately Control the Keys to Their Castles
- 01/27/09 03:16 AM
Savvy home sellers know the main components of a successful sale: keeping (or getting) their home in good-as-new condition; presenting their home so that it appeals (online, in print and in person) to buyers in the targeted demographic; and hiring a professional realtor to make sure that their home gets priced to sell and marketed to be seen. Yet there is another critical point which home sellers often forget: even though "price is king" in this buyer's market, sellers still control the keys to their own castles. Unfortunately, many home sellers fail to realize just how much power they have … (9 comments)
home matters: Real Estate and the technological world…
- 08/05/08 07:49 AM
Real estate and the technological world are like peas and carrots, they just go together. We live in a world of MLS photos, virtual tours, Internet directories, press releases, and article submissions. It's entirely feasible for a buyer to see every room of a home, in high quality vivid color, from the comfort of their own home, a coffee shop, an airport thousands of miles away or just about anywhere they can get an Internet connection. I recently read that as high as 86% of home shoppers will view available homes as well as find their Realtor on the Internet.
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home matters: New Home Staging Book reveals all-inclusive information on how to sell your home faster and for more money.
- 06/05/08 09:37 AM
A new Home Staging book hit the shelf in May, 2008. The book is titled "Home Staging for Dummies" written by Co-authors Christine Rae and Janice Saunders Maresh which was released simultaneously in the United States and Canada. I was quite honored when Wiley Publishing asked me to be the Technical Editor for this book. This is a 5 part book containing 26 chapters covering a wide range of subjects from "Discovering What Buyers Want" to "Ten Reasons to Hire a Staging Professional". The book also contains 8 full color pages of before and after photos of work by some … (24 comments)
home matters: Vacant and Undesirable to Sensationally SOLD!
- 05/09/08 07:26 AM
Below are three examples of homes that have been on the market in the Indianapolis area for approximately 6 months without offers. Even though they were located in different areas around town, they all had one thing in common. They were vacant and undesirable; there was no point of reference as to how furnishings would fit. Home buyers could not envision their lives in the space and therefore could not connect with the house that they were viewing. Price reductions could not even conger up a sale. In these three examples, Home staging was the missing ingredient these home sellers added to their sales mix and … (32 comments)
home matters: Key ingredients stir-up successful home sales
- 05/02/08 11:32 AM
A successful home sale can really be broken down to just a few simple key ingredients. A good sales mix would be the location, price, condition, marketing and the balanced motivation of the buyer and seller. There is no disputing that the location of a property and its setting can specifically influence its value. Sellers will need to convince buyers and appraisers that their home is worth what they are asking for it. When setting your price consider these factors. Your potential buyers will consider your home and compare it with other homes currently on the market within your homes price point. … (8 comments)
home matters: Home Staging… The Benefits Realized
- 04/16/08 12:00 PM
Last December, I was contacted by the F. C. Tucker Realtor's training department and was asked if I would do an educational seminar with some of their agents. They explained that they wanted to offer this session to any agents that were interested in learning about Home Staging and how to discuss Staging with their clients. As a side note, the F. C. Tucker Company is the largest Real Estate Company here in Indianapolis with over 650 agents. Anyhow, because I am a very big advocate of educating agents and home sellers on the value of home staging, I jumped at … (11 comments)
home matters: Having trouble selling your home...not if your home matters
- 02/16/08 03:06 PM
In today's real estate market it's not unusual for smart, savvy home sellers to look at all of their options when it comes to selling their homes. I'd like to share with you a fabulous story of how a smart and wise home seller found their way to look for a home stager despite opposing advice. I received a call from a home owner, asking about our services and if we could help her stage her property. She went on the say that they had a second home already bought and time was of the essence. She explained to me, that … (23 comments)
home matters: Indianapolis Home Staging Company featured on CBS~WISH TV…
- 02/03/08 01:43 PM
Start spreading the News! We, at Home Matters are so very appreciative, grateful and wanted to share with you our joy; and of course, toot our own horn. Toot, Toot! WISH-TV, as part of a weekly collaboration with Angie's List, aired a segment about the local home staging company during its 5:00 p.m. news program on Monday, January 28, 2008. Featured in this segment is Indianapolis-based home staging company, Home Matters, LLC. News anchor and general assignment reporter David Barras interviewed Linda Barnett, the founder of Home Matters; Kevin Elson, the homeowner of a property recently staged by Home Matters; and Angie Hicks, creator of … (27 comments)
home matters: The Sum of Our Parts...
- 01/04/08 02:57 PM
The old saying, "it takes a village" is not too far off when it comes to building a successful staging business. My recent nomination of "stager of the year 2007" has gotten me to stop and think and ask this question. How did this happen? So I did what anyone would do and take time to reflect, to ponder, to examine this. In my quiet reflection of my past four years, I was reminded of the time when I discovered that certain skill sets were missing in my quest to build a better business. What was I to do? I had … (15 comments)
home matters: From Before to After: What Lies Between and its Perceived Value
- 12/09/07 10:28 AM
As consumers, we buy our products and services based on our understanding of the benefits and value in relation to what we are willing to pay. Home staging is a service that is often undervalued by consumers because of their lack of understanding of the process, skills and talent required to take the project from the "before" photos to the "after" photos. Often, when viewing our before-and-after images of completed projects, potential clients recognize that those homes look or simply "feel" better after having being staged. Still, when presented with a quote (or "bid") to stage their home, many owners get … (20 comments)
Home Matters, Central Indiana's Premier Home Staging Resource.
From Vacant Beginnings to Staged and Ready to be SOLD!
You Cannot Take Back a Buyer's First Impression!
Several weeks ago, I was contacted by Michelle Boggs, Interior Design Teacher at the Art Institute of Indianapolis. Michelle was inquiring about me putting on a brief presentation to her Interior Design students regarding home staging. I saw this as an opportunity to spend time with some impressionable minds that had already made a strong commitment to working towards a degree in the related field of Interior Design. Once I had finalized the arrangements and set the date and time with Michelle, I took some time to reflect on how far we have come in the arena of home staging.
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