home staging: A Spoonful of Sugar...Getting a Seller to Update the Easy Way
- 05/14/13 08:42 AM
I had a situation a couple years ago...85 year old commanding woman, 1987 expensive traditional dusty rose and teal decor. I opened with, "How lovely your decor is...When did you do it?...Was it 1987? 1990?" She exclaimed, "Yes, it was 1990! How did you know?" I said, "Pink was all the rage then. Unfortunately, rose is still associated with then, and it displeases the younger buyer (your target market) a lot...Reminds them of their mothers or grandmothers homes, not a great thing. That got her. We proceeded to identify inexpensive ways to take the edge off the decor by simply taking down … (30 comments)
home staging: WHOSE PICTURE IS ON YOUR BUSINESS CARD?
- 02/17/11 02:58 AM
Don't you just hate it when vanity gets the better of someone, particularly someone you want to reference by looking at their business card. Have you been to a Broker's Open, collected all the REA's cards, gone home and not been able to match the cards to the people you met? I promised myself that would never be me, but sure enough, looking at my new professional photo taken at the 2011 RESA Conference and comparing it with my active rain profile picture of 2006, I think... all I can say is how time flies when you're having a good time. … (16 comments)
home staging: CAUGHT BETWEEN A SELLER AND AN AGENT...WHAT'S A HOME STAGER TO DO?
- 12/05/10 11:54 AM
The Cast: Me, your successful, resourceful accomodating professional home stager. A Realtor, quite young and new to me and the business, but from a great office I'd love to do more business with. A seller, with a somewhat tough condo to sell. The condo, a well renovated vacant unit in a totally great building in a sort of iffy block (between a body shop and an alley) in the up and coming Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC. The Situation: When the sellers bought the unit the front room was presented as a living room. So, they wanted it staged as a living room. The … (27 comments)
home staging: FIRST CAME THE KODAK V570, NOW????
- 12/05/10 11:26 AM
Based on recommendations by ActiveRainers like Jeff Turner, Mike Stankewich, Frank Llosa back in 2007, just about every real estate picture and virtual tour I have successfully produced over the last 3 years in my Home Staging business (check my ActiveRain profile, too) has been shot with my trusty Kodak V570 point and shoot digital camera with its wonderful wide angle lens, but... lately, I've been asked to step up my game, photographically speaking. Help. I looked into a Nikon D90, but was aghast at the price, over $1000 to start! I was recommended by the salesman to look at the Nikon D3100, about $600, but … (48 comments)
A: Vision. Time. Effort. Inventory. First some questions for YOU-AND for the STAGER...
Q: Is your house Vacant? A: What kind and how much furniture will we need for this property? What will our moving expenses look like?
Q: Is your house Occupied? Are there kids, pets, smokers? Neatniks or slobs? A: What are the issues will to overcome to interest buyers in this property?
Q: How old is the place? Good repair? How many different colors … (1 comments)
home staging: Sunny N Potomac Gets a New Lease on Life
- 02/13/10 10:38 AM
If ony it were as easy to rejuvenate a person as it is to bring a home back up to speed! This luxury 1990 home hadn't seen updates in its whole life. To sell, it needed some and of course at least Key Room Staging.
See BEFORE and AFTER pictures on my Washington DC Area Home Staging blog. … (10 comments)
home staging: Can a Townhome Without a Bathroom on the Main Level Sell?
- 02/13/10 12:00 AM
Yes. But, you have to demonstrate its value over its flaws. Easiest way to do that? Put a pretty face on it. Suddently, it bears consideration, and, oh, it has a fantastic location? And it has...? And...? And it's SOLD. You just have to get it some serious consideration is all. That's one of the great benefits of Home Staging! First, someone camping out in it won't help buyers want it. But, updating lighting and staging will bring out its potential.
Hanky on the light to keep from bumping heads and Do Not Touch signs on piano aren't welcoming. … (16 comments)
Did it ever! A full-price contract in a week's time, no less! See more pictures and the Virtual Tour Show Smart Home Staging produced for this property on my blog at Cute Craftsman in Hyattsville. … (19 comments)
home staging: Exclusive Dumbarton Oaks (Georgetown) DC Condo Staged Ready For Market
- 08/26/09 03:26 AM
There are more Before and After Pictures and the Virtual Tour on the transformation of this third-floor walk up condo on http://showsmarthomestaging.com/1910-gerogetown-condo-in-dunbarton-oaks/ The occupied unit for sale in this gorgeous 1911 building Show Smart Home Staging staged recently seems larger, fresher and will definitely be more appealing to buyers.
[The Building]
For the BEFORE pictures and more, please visit Occupied Georgetown Cond
… (3 comments)
home staging: SOLD! To The FIRST Person To See It Staged
- 08/19/09 12:59 PM
SOLD! ...Not to a buyer at the first Open House ...Not to a buyer the first day on the market Staged. But...SOLD!... to the VERY first person to see it Staged! Now, that's a first...for me and the owner. Located on North Carolina Ave SE DC, immediately across the street from DC's historic Eastern Market on Capitol Hill, this now beautiful home looked well renovated, but cold and uninviting when we met. Rehabbing is great, but not enough to grab buyer's heart strings. The property had been finished and on the market for months unstaged with little or no traffic and … (3 comments)
home staging: 10 Great Ways to Get the Least Money for Your Property...and I'll Prove it!
- 03/03/09 07:28 PM
Okay, the rule of thumb for investors is to buy the worst house in the best neighborhood, right? But, how do they find it? Easy. Look, I'll show you! 1. Look only in great neighborhoods, duh! Okay, that was a give away. 2. Look for an extended length of time on the market and price reductions. 3. Look only at homes meeting 1. and 2. 4. Then, look for minor repairs that haven't been made, such as one broken spindle in the front railing that greets you as you near the front door.
5. Look … (17 comments)
home staging: I hate IKEA except when it gives me an IDEA
- 06/17/07 09:53 PM
First, will somebody turn on the rest of the lights? Second, who's idea was the shopping carts with 4 independently minded wheels? Third, nothing against Swedish, but oh those names...I can't remember or even pronounce most of them. But, oh the ideas I get there, the bargains I find! Situation: Totally white condo, totally. Pricey, pricey neighborhood. Want in for future referrals. Do a practically pro bono ($1000 budget) job to get them. Biggest challenge: The not-quite-big-enough-for-a-table kitchen that the unit needs it to have. What to do? Go to IKEA, of course. And, the answer is...my latest "find" - their MUDDAS … (30 comments)
home staging: Stage Fright? Five Ways to Get Over Yourself!
- 03/20/07 03:10 AM
FIVE WAYS TO GET OVER STAGE FRIGHT AND GIVE A GREAT PRESENTATION. 1. Realize that nobody is asking or expecting you to talk about Rocket Science. This is Home Staging, something you know and love. You are the rocket scientist as far as these people are concerned. Relax and share the wealth of your natural passion. 2. Realize that people will only be looking at you if you are the only thing to look at . So, relax. Give them something else to look at, a Power Point Presentation, pictures, props, anything to take their eyes off you. Much … (27 comments)
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Patricia Ebrahimi
Home Staging the Washington DC Area from Rockville MD
I had a situation a couple years ago...85 year old commanding woman, 1987 expensive traditional dusty rose and teal decor. I opened with, "How lovely your decor is...When did you do it?...Was it 1987? 1990?" She exclaimed, "Yes, it was 1990! How did you know?" I said, "Pink was all the rage then. Unfortunately, rose is still associated with then, and it displeases the younger buyer (your target market) a lot...Reminds them of their mothers or grandmothers homes, not a great thing. 
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