westchester county home stager: I'll Tell You What You Want (What You Really Really Want)
- 07/03/14 12:21 AM
We romanticize mavericks, and secretly relish the image of rebels or non-conformist, but home at night in our bunny slippers, deep down- we crave order, yearn for accomplishments, and welcome new beginnings. YUP, it's what we really, really want.
This week we saw the first day of the month, a new quarter, the start of the second half of the calendar, a new fiscal year....lot of markers for fresh starts!
Nearly a dozen newsletters greeted me the morning of July 1st, with more arriving every day since. No spam, none were unsolicited, the common focus was quality of life, including my … (22 comments)
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westchester county home stager: What Amateur Stagers Always Miss
- 07/01/14 10:43 AM
Rooted in the word 'love', Wikipedia defines amateur as someone who loves doing something, but does it casually, is unpaid/under-paid, new and inexperienced, and/or often self-taught. TRH heartily supports homeowners doing things on their own...when they know what they're doing. Three things amateur Home Stagers miss:
The Sellers Brain
We all know 'de-clutter, de-personalize', but without first understanding the real whys, it's a decidedly judgmental mantra.
Sellers often need to re-align their thinking to see their house like a buyer does. Realize putting your house on the market is like a first date. Getting ready, is your mindset firm, '____is all … (3 comments)
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westchester county home stager: De-personalizing "DE-PERSONALIZATION"
- 04/13/14 02:36 AM
"What do you know about Staging?" is how I begin my Home Staging workshops.
After a moment of hesitation, someone will tentatively offer- 'de-personalize, de-clutter'.
My next question-"OK, why?"- elicits a few responses that start off strong, parroting some more buzz words, but trail off, ending as questions.
Popular media explains it's so a buyer can more easily see themselves in the space. Vanilla, un-offensive and palatable. Not un-true, but then why does the topic of Home Staging [still] incite such pushback, even rage? Written almost 2 years ago, I find the comments from a NYT article "Ruthless Came the Stager" … (14 comments)
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westchester county home stager: FAQs: Westchester County Real Estate-A Buyers, or Sellers Market?
- 01/03/14 09:22 PM
Real Estate fascinates me, and the state of Real Estate in Westchester County is certainly an engaging, and challenging topic.
Maybe even better and more telling questions are what is the state of the market at this very instant, in XXXXX ZIP code?
The Refreshed Home does not try to be all things to all people: I seek, and work with nice people who want to work with me, and want to get things done. This philosophy takes me into all different markets and price points in Westchester, lower Putnam and Fairfield counties.
FAQs gives specific answers to important questions, but … (3 comments)
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westchester county home stager: Staging Your Home to Sell: Bronxville Adult School Tuesday January 14th
- 01/03/14 09:40 AM
After many years in this business, working in many, many houses, and with their homeowners- two things have been proven to me: First-people can do more than they think they can. Second-they will usually make the best choices on their own, when pointed in the right direction.
Thus is the premise for my upcoming class at Bronxville Adult School, Staging Your Home to Sell.
The Refreshed Home's definition of Home Staging is anything that can be done to better the market position of your house, while easing the minds of both sellers and agents.
Effective solutions for preparing a house for … (1 comments)
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westchester county home stager: Is Your Listing the Leftover Turkey?
- 11/30/13 03:36 AM
The Refreshed Home wonders if there is anything more cliched this time of year than leftover turkey that no one wants to see?
Oh. Right.
Old listings with little interest, and no offers. And sellers and agents who sit and twist their hands, bemoaning their state of affairs.
Channeling Cher, from Moonstruck, "Snap Out of It!"
Is your listing the leftover turkey? There are buyers and sellers out there, 24/7. Bidding wars are not urban myths, but you have to have the house buyers want.
Two things entice a buyer to act: Price, and condition. I'm not an agent, and … (5 comments)
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westchester county home stager: Buyer Consults: New Option for Getting Empty Houses Noticed, and SOLD!
- 11/17/13 04:51 AM
Old beliefs die hard; that Home Stagers exist to bring rental furniture into empty houses is one of them.
As client advocates, The Refreshed Home works collaboratively to ease the minds of buyers, sellers and agents alike; helping ready, willing and able parties get to YES. TRH's business model is based on strategy and service; our success comes from referrals, not referral fees.
Preparing a property for sale is ALWAYS about doing the best you can: finding that sweet spot of what is doable, affordable and effective, that will connect and resonate with buyers. Sometimes, yes, renting furniture for an empty property is called for. But if that's not … (5 comments)
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westchester county home stager: Ask Around: Chances are Good Someone You Know Has Worked with Me!
- 11/06/13 05:19 AM
"Celebrity Stager" certainly sounds glamorous, but anyone really involved with this field knows it's more a fantasy.
Home Staging can be hard work, but it's also a lot more stealth than you might imagine. Sellers and their agents both have a lot on the line, then ohyes, there's this property that needs to shine, center-stage, too...
Value is a perception, always in the eye of the beholder. The value of a service is often difficult to describe until you've experienced it.
Interior Decorating and Home Staging are highly personal services, delivered in a hyper-local environment: a set of solutions tightly calibrated … (5 comments)
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westchester county home stager: Staging FAQs: Why Can't You Just Give Me a Price?
- 09/12/13 03:06 PM
Welcome back to FAQs-where YES, I can just give you...ANSWERS!
"Why can't you just give me a price?" seems like a simple enough question...reinforced by my recent experimentation with an online referral service. Well sure, if there was an accepted quantifiable standard for a beautifully decorated home, or a successfully staged property. But success, and happiness is in the eye of the beholder>>> fluid at best, and THAT is where, and why most people get stuck.
If Interior Decorating and Home Staging were a tangible product-like a gallon of milk, or a set of tires, it'd be easy to research, compare … (4 comments)
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westchester county home stager: Have You Made Your Labor Day Resolutions Yet?
- 09/02/13 04:05 AM
Originally published in September 2012, updated for 2013
Many Labor Days ago (before everything was online) I remember reading an op-ed piece in the NYT, exploring why Labor Day would make a better New Years Day.
Don't ask me where my keys are, but this article from 20 +/- years ago really hit a chord, and YES, I think of this every year.
There were two premises: First, as a practical matter, there is just WAY too much going on in December to plan, or implement any kind of real change.
Second-the lure of a fresh start- the hope, … (4 comments)
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westchester county home stager: FAQs: Why Does it Pay for a Loan Officer to Know a Good Stager?
- 08/29/13 05:40 PM
Ahhhh...September! Always full of opportunity, of new beginnings, new challenges, new avenues to explore, even new resolutions(!!), it's 2/3 of the way through the calendar year, *PERFECT* for focusing on new FAQs!
So yes, with all the rest of what a Loan Officer in Westchester County does, why does it pay for them to know a good Stager? Why should they even bother?
For this to make any sense, first let's all toss the notion that Staging is mostly about renting furniture. Replace it instead with the understanding that Home Staging is a personal service that eases the mind of buyers, sellers and their … (2 comments)
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westchester county home stager: When There's No Money for Staging
- 08/19/13 07:34 PM
We need to sell...we know the house needs some help, but there's no money for Staging...can you help us?
I make my living as a Home Stager, via my for-profit business, so this question might seem like a no-brainer. But (like any other community) Real Estate has its own culture and dialect; so channeling the observational skills of Margaret Mead and the tenacity of Marlin Perkins, this Westchester County Home Stager learned the difference between having "NO MONEY" for Staging, and having "no money" for Staging a long time ago.
Being brought into conversations when there is "NO MONEY" for Staging … (9 comments)
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westchester county home stager: Staging FAQs: Why Bother Staging in a Seller's Market?
- 06/20/13 03:25 AM
Welcome back to FAQs: answers to today's most pertinent questions about Home Staging and Interior Decorating, The Refreshed Home-style!
Yes, why WOULD a seller go through the bother of Staging their Westchester County house in a seller's market? In a word: TERMS.
The rationale for putting time and (usually) money into getting a property market-ready has always been for sellers to sell well, and quickly. But with media and industry sources from coast to coast all pontificating about inventory shortages and bidding wars, why would a seller bother to Stage their house in this market?
First-let's understand, the term is … (14 comments)
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westchester county home stager: Words Matter: Re-Thinking 'De-Personalize'
- 05/05/13 02:49 PM
Words matter, and the right one is priceless. Have written about 'Staging' (vs 'preparing'- several times, in fact), but today let's re-think 'de-personalize'.
'What do you know about Home Staging?' is how I start out my Home Staging classes.
'De-personalize' usually come up right away. Asking what that means, the answers come less quickly, are usually self-deprecating ('No one else will appreciate my fine taste in ___') or quietly sad ('No one cares about, or wants to see my family').
There is nothing constructive or positive about it. It's sweeping and un-specific, finding fault without offering a solution, and sounds … (21 comments)
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westchester county home stager: Staging FAQs: Why Rent, When I Already Own Furniture?
- 04/19/13 10:03 PM
FAQs are usually a one-shot topic: a quick answer to a single question, but renting furniture for preparing a Westchester County property for sale has several facets, so in this first (of three) we will address WHY consider renting, even if you already have furniture.
Two truisms about Home Staging: Preparing a property for sale is like sending it out on it's first date. You do what you can to put it's best foot forward, so buyers are first attracted, then engaged, so they notice, and see the value of all it's best attributes. Also, how you live in your … (3 comments)
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westchester county home stager: Staging FAQs: How Does Renting Furniture for Home Staging Work?
- 03/30/13 02:15 AM
Welcome back to FAQs, the series where quick and specific answers to your most-asked questions about Interior Decorating and Home Staging are the house specialty.
Selling your Westchester County house, coop or condo? Questions about renting things to make your property look its best have probably come up. Previously we looked at the IF and WHY of rental furniture, today HOW renting furniture works. .
Thanks to HGTV, many homeowners believe Home Staging must include renting furniture. This Westchester County Home Stager always seeks to work what is already owned, but with the caveat that it is the right choice, and … (7 comments)
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westchester county home stager: What's New in My Staging Kit?
- 03/17/13 07:24 AM
What's New in My Staging Kit?
OK, I know it's been a while-I've been very busy!-but here's what's new in my Staging Kit that will absolutely put money in your pocket.
According to the just-released National Association of Realtors 2013 Profile of Buyer's Home Feature Preferences, garages are HUGE draws to Home Buyers, a full 78 % purchasing a home with one last year. And according to The Refreshed Home, buyers want their new house to fulfill their dreams, as well as their needs.
At first glance, you might not think of the lowly garage as the embodiment of a … (5 comments)
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westchester county home stager: "How Much Do You Charge?"
- 03/11/13 10:25 AM
"How much do you charge?"--I can see, and read the thought bubbles over a potential new clients' head, as we exchange initial pleasantries.
"What does Staging cost?"--asks the agent who I've met about 5.8 seconds earlier.
It's a fair and important question...but not necessarily a simple one. Preparing a property for sale is a service, not a fixed commodity, and projects can unfold is so many different ways.
"Is Staging expensive?"--asks the potential seller, nonchalantly, after the ice has broken.
"Well, can you just give me a quick range?"--presses the agent.
"My house could use the help, but I can't … (6 comments)
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westchester county home stager: "What We've Got Here is a Failure to Communicate"
- 02/23/13 06:19 AM
OK, OK< I know I've already entered the contest...but Roger Mucci's Oscar-themed contest really inspired me; I'm on a roll! Melding what I do, the various Spring Markets, and Oscar Fever via some famous quotes.
'What we've got here is a failure to communicate' does not have such a great context in the movie, but by itself can be a helpful and important observation in business.
Potential clients are often surprised to hear me sayI am in the problem-solving business. OK< sure, I work with a lot of pretty things, but pretty only goes so far. Understanding what is on someone elses' mind … (8 comments)
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westchester county home stager: The Katie Couric Effect, and Home Staging
- 02/05/13 02:50 AM
Ever hear of the Katie Couric Effect?
In 2000, eighteen months after losing her husband to colon cancer, Katie Couric underwent a colonoscopy on live, national TV. By facing, and insisting there be a conversation about this screening process, she helped de-mystefy and de-personalize this procedure, while putting viewers' reservations in a new perspective.
The Katie Couric Effect refers to the resulting increase of people who started talking about, and went for colonoscopies they had presumably put off for all the familiar reasons, after she showed them the way. People who went and did something they were fearful or embarrassed about, … (6 comments)
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We romanticize mavericks, and secretly relish the image of rebels or non-conformist, but home at night in our bunny slippers, deep down- we crave order, yearn for accomplishments, and welcome new beginnings. YUP, it's what we really, really want.
;)
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