How Home Staging can help Realtors

Being a home stager has many sides to it. There is the education side - where we are always looking at model homes, learning tricks and tips for making our clients homes look ready for sale. There is the client side - where we get to meet wonderful people and help them move to the next station in life. And there is the realtor side - which is where we can help build business for them.

So how do Stagers help Realtors? And how can we help each other?

Incorporating Professional Staging Into Your Listing Presentation….

Gives You More Control – That’s right. Here’s a common scenario for you, the seller may desire a certain dollar amount for the home but you know that unless some changes are made, the seller won’t get it. By incorporating the first step in the home staging process, a Staging Consultation, you are controlling more of the outcome of the sale.

Gives You Credibility and Differentiation- When you’re focused on your own field of interest and outsource to professionals it gives you added credibility in what you’re good at – selling homes!

Protects Your Relationship and Listing - You have to have a strong client relationship that gets you through the entire escrow process. Home staging is a form of constructive criticism that sometimes addresses hard, personal issues like smell and cleanliness. Your clients EXPECT a professional stager to instruct them on these issues but are not completely comfortable with you as their Realtor doing this.

Is A LOT Less Expensive Than You Think – We have Realtor Partner Packages that start as low as a simple Staging Consultation which will usually result in a day of staging (paid by the now engaged seller), gorgeous photos of prepared rooms for your online marketing campaign, and an Action Plan for the seller to do more to make their home desirable. The cost of staging is MUCH less than the first price reduction!

So all I have to say is...

that my DH lost 8 pounds his first freaking week on Atkins!

and I continue to lose at the snail's pace of 1/2 pound a week.

Men drive me crazy. But, I love them anyway.

Back to School - for Adults!

It's that time of year when thoughts turn to back to school and that whole fall "refreshing" thing that many of us do. I have always looked at fall as the opportunity to restart - part of that comes from our religious traditions (after all it's almost New Year for us) - and part of it is the school thing.

So the DH and I have decided that this Tuesday will be our "Back to School" start. While the DS is already back (his senior year, yikes!) we wanted on last holiday weekend. So starting Tuesday:

1) DH goes on Adkins and I go back on full tracking WW.

2) We will not drink liquor for the first thirty days. Exception - wine on our anniversary (9/24).

3) Meal planning will restart. Freezer, Slow Cooker and leftovers will be well utilized.

4) Take out no more than once per week.

5) College prep/essay writing and scholarship searching will be done in earnest.

This is also our time to get our DS ready to go to college and be more on his own. The more I can get him organized and moving forward the right way, the more assured we will be that he will succeed on his own.

Do you do any "adult" back to school type of stuff?

Random Thoughts - End of Summer Edition

The End of Summer (how did it get away so fast?) edition of Random Thoughts:

How is it that so many "Decorating" blogs really are just blogs of pictures from books and magazines of rooms that they like? Of course with reasons why. Shouldn't a decorator show their own work?

I have learned that a hot water heater actually fails over several years by not really heating the water. How did I learn this? By getting a new hot water heater and barely being able to move the faucet off cold.

Does it get any better than a week of the Beatles on one of the VH1 stations?

My son just drove home from North Carolina in his "new" car. I am really hopeful that this is an evolution in his maturity. Or he won't have the car too long.

I am in the process of redoing the displays at the Judaica Shop in my synagogue. It's fun to redecorate and to purchase new items. Plus have a display wall 8 feet tall is going to be great!

This was not the best summer - it did not get warm until August - June & July were chilly and rainy. I like a moderate summer, low 80's, no humidity type of thing.

Chicago is really my kind of town. (more on that later)