Author Archive

I know, I know, I haven’t written blogs for awhile (you will see why in 2009! I have books and courses for training companies being written & published right now, so all the writing juice went that way… You will definitely be the first to know when the first book hit the market in mid-spring next year)

I have always wanted to do podcasts for awhile, so here was my first try today! I interviewed TerryLynn Fisher, who not only gave me lots of words of wisdom when I was a newbie stager, who is also a wealth of sources for both real estate industry and staging industry. She has been incredibly active in real estate circles with her green initiatives, she also co-founded Stager’s List, which is a community dedicated for stagers to buy, sell their inventory.

The topics were very broad. I have decided for the podcasts, we are not going to do any formal Q&A, but more of a chatting format. I personally think it is also easier to listen to. Our topics included are:

*Top producers’ secrets even in down economy
*Staging industry
*Stager’s trainings
*Realtors who stage properties themselves vs. Realtors who work with stagers as a team together -> what are the differences and how that has changed Realtor’s business (TerryLynn has done both)
*Green initiatives in our industry
*Economic benefits of staging
*Being realtor/stager is a small business
*Profitable & sustainable business models
*Return on investment of staging & stats
*First LEED-H house in Northern California (Margarido House)

To listen, go to TalkShoe to either join stagingbabe’s community or just to listen.

Here is TerryLynn’s Bio

In January, 2008, Terrylynn was voted 2007 Staging Realtor of the YEAR through RESA (Real Estate Staging Association). She was awarded the Staging Spirit Award at the Staging Convention in 2006. In Real Estate since 1977, Terrylynn has been in the top of Production since joining Diablo Realty and has obtained various real estate awards and designations to improve her client services. She has published articles about real estate and staging in Staging magazines, newspapers and various blog sites. She has appeared on ABC 20/20 program on staging and locally on CBS.

These include the
CRS – Certified Residential Specialist
SRES – Senior Real Estate Specialist
GRI – Graduate Realtors Institute
CSP – Certified Staging Professional
And the recent Institute for Luxury Homes
course on Luxury Real Estate Specialist

Per Terrylynn, “I BELIEVE that staging enhances my client’s bottom line. Of all of the activities I do on behalf of my clients, staging is the one thing that the client can see, feel and experience as enhancing their return on investment. They KNOW their home is transformed into a product to market and sell. They KNOW staging is a marketing tool and they KNOW I will use it as one of the tools in the arsenal to sell their home at it’s maximum sale price in any market. Who am I to decide the client shouldn’t have every opportunity to maximize their investment? It is my job to tell them what I know that can enhance their sale. It is then their decision as to what they do with that information. To me, not telling them about staging and its benefits is NOT an option. Staging, expert negotiating and the truth in all dealings, I owe them no less. ”

www.Terrylynn-n-Team.com 925 876-0966

Real Estate Article and Blog written and published
by Terrylynn Fisher February, 2008

SELL NOW AND SAVE MONEY??!! YES it’s true.
In our local area, prices have been depressed for a while. California and Florida are the top two states for foreclosures and short sales, REO’s etc. This had caused a pretty negative affect on our markets. But actually in the early 2000’s boom years, most of our areas were up about 35% in value appreciation. So, it’s all relative isn’t it? IF we are now down about 15% to 20%, we are still ahead. And, if you subscribe to the real estate concept of buying and holding until the time is right to sell, well you might want to think about this too.

But wait, is there a reason to sell in a down market rather than wait for that 15% to 20% in price appreciation to regain in your area? You might think I am crazy, but just look at this analysis… (I am using round numbers for ease of illustration.)

Say your home was worth $300,000 three years ago. Say you lost 20% in value in the last year and a half. That’s $60,000, so your home is now worth $240,000.

Say the home you wanted to purchase was $500,000 three years ago.
Say they lost 20% in value in the last year and a half. That’s $100,000, so their home is now worth $400,000.

The GAP between your home and the new home is closer than it would have been two to three years ago.
Sell 3 years ago $300,000 Buy 3 years ago $500,000
Difference $200,000
Sell now $240,000 Buy now $400,000
Difference $160,000

What does this mean to you? It means $40,000 less in down payment or mortgage. IF it is $40,000 less in mortgage at 6% interest, that’s $240 per month less in monthly mortgage payment you are paying for 30 years!!! Compound that for a nice savings.

Then in California our property taxes are approximately 1.25% of the sales price.
3 years ago $521 per month in property taxes
Buy now $417 per month in property taxes
Savings $104 per month savings

Add on the fact that our interest rates are almost at the lowest of low that it has ever been and you will save more on your monthly payment than almost any time in history. The bonus for most areas will be that the conforming loan rates are about to rise, when President Bush signs the bill. This is huge for us in California where it could rise from $417,000 to $729,000!!! This would make a huge difference for people wanting to refinance or purchase. IF you don’t own real estate, now may just be the time to look at buying with prices at a low point. And, it may be time to look at selling and moving up?
What do you think?

This week I totally had an out of body experience. It is one thing to see your company name on letterheads, but it is another to see it goes on the side of a building!

Originally I was quoted by a building signs company to pay $1200 for brand new building signs. Really? $1200? Thanks, no thanks. So I went to Loew’s and matched a bucket of the paint to the building color (It came out close but still slightly off since the sample was fairly dirty from years of dust and rain. But the funny thing is the paint doesn’t look matched with our neighbor on our left side, but matches the neighbor on the right side. So I guess it is sort of close!).

I also ordered stencil from an internet company that specializes in outdoor stencils. So yesterday I had two of our movers painted in the morning, then had them climbed onto the trellis to put the stencil up. I had them folded the stencil in half to determine the center line, eyeballed the middle roughly, then place the stencil onto the wall.

To put the stencil up, peel off the backing so the sticky side of stencil is revealed. You want to make sure you have the letters on correctly, not backward. This is why you sometimes see vehicles with their advertising backward, because they didn’t pay attention when they applied the stencil. Once it’s on, you need to make sure all the air bubbles are out by using something like a ruler or spatula to smooth the stencil out.

Then it is ready for paint! Technically you should dab the paint lightly, because the paint can seep through under the stencial and not have a clean look. We thought we would be okay since we applied the stencil pretty carefully, so we layed out the paint pretty thick.

We left it to dry over night, and the next day I climbed up the trellis myself to peel of the stencil. It came out with little dots around the lettering (paint still seeped through under the stencil) but since the building sign was so far away, most people won’t notice anyway.

It was challenging to climb up, I ended up using 2 ladders (I never was very sporty when I was growing up, let along climbing trees…). It was scary but thrilling.

All and all, I just still can’t believe now there is a building with our company name on it!!! WOOHOO! It was definitely an amazing feeling! It feels like that my small business has gone to the next level!

The second best part was that the whole thing cost $200, instead of $1200!

Whew it has been quite a 2 weeks! I must say, not been able to write and blog for the past 2 weeks have accumulated more guilt than a Catholic priest! Now we have a new president elect and my office finally has passed our fire inspection.

Anyway, back to normal staging channel…

I recently received an email from a gentleman who wanted to know if the staging price that his realtor quoted him was reasonable. He said, “I want to know if my realtor is overcharging me, he quoted me $BLAH for Blah square foot.” I also recently spent 20 minutes on the phone with a perspective client, who is a home owner. She is interviewing stagers and she asked if she can see what type of furniture the stager is going to use. The stager replied “Well, it’s going to be a surprise on the day of.” The perspective client told me she was shocked by the response since “as a customer, shouldn’t I know what I am paying for?”

Frankly, as I wrote before in other blogs such as #1 Question You Need to Ask Your New Stager, How A Stager Can Potentially Kill Your Deal, 6 Tips On How To Hire A Stager, Did You Hire Mr. Joe the Plumber to Stager Your House, and many other, there really are no industry regulation as to how someone would charge. My friend who is a realtor has gotten quotes ranging from $2500 to $5500 for a 1,100 square feet condo in San Francisco. So, how do you know if you are paying for the right person and for the right price?

The answer is IN YOUR PROPOSAL. A good proposal should tell you at least these 3 things:

1. Is payment term laid out clearly for you as a customer? Items such as payment methods (cash, check, credit cards, etc.), terms (how long does the payment last for), etc. should be clear. If not, they should be able to answer you without blinking.
2. Is the proposal professional? After all, you are selling this house. It’s a business transaction, so should the people you hire to maximize your return.
3. Do you understand what type of furniture or style your stager uses? Even if they can’t pinpoint the exact chair they are placing into your home, you should at least be able to see a similar sample of style of furniture you will get.

As of getting “ripped off,” this is where you should ask for portfolio and references. A good stager should have strong references, portfolio and success stories to back those up. Don’t judge just by pricing. Just because s/he came in at lowest bid, doesn’t mean s/he doesn’t do good work. Same goes for the highest bidder.

Additionally, do your homework. They invent Google for a reason, use it to your advantage. Other sites such as LinkedIn, Yelp.com, are good reference points as well.

At last, once you hire the stager, you should TRUST his/hers professional opinions. For an experienced stager, this is not his/hers first rodeo. There is no need to question he/hers design decision every step of the way and then turn around and say: “I don’t know, you are the designer. Shouldn’t we do it like this?” If you compared all the proposals, you decided he/she is best to stage your home because his/hers pricing is fair and the work looks great, then you shouldn’t have any more doubts, especially if you already did your homework and make sure he/she is reputable.

I always smile when people ask: “Are you going to do a good job? Make it beautiful?” Because, really, I spent all this time building up a business, I am just going to throw all that money and blood and tears and sweat away by staging your house horribly?

Having a stager should be easy and pain free. Don’t you think?

As the company grows, we need more people!

We are hiring

*Admin Assistant (paid hourly, benefits, on site)

*New Media Marketing & PR Intern (college credit, work from home)

*Graphic Design Intern (college credit, work from home)

Please let us know if you know of anyone!

The details are at https://www.jobscore.com/jobs/staged4more/list

Cheers,

Cindy

When mainstream media checked the background of Mr. Joe the Plumber, they found out he didn’t have a plumber’s license to practice.

Joe the Plumber with Obama Courtesy of MSNBC.com

Well, it’s a similar issue in the staging industry: you don’t need a license to practice staging. Additionally, there is no regulation or ethics committee when it comes to business practices for staging. Essentially, anyone and everyone can wake up one day, “bing,” with that lightbulb going off above their heads and say: “Well, I’ve decided! In this recession, home staging sounds like a lucrative career, so I am gonna do it!” Silly as it sounds, it happens more often than we thought.

So as a consumer, what to do when you are hiring a stager? How do you make sure that you are hiring a stager who is responsible, ethical and will stage your home to get you best return on your staging investment?

Here are a few tips:

*Ask probing questions: Instead of just asking “How long have you been in the business?” ask “How many homes have you staged?” Because someone can be “in business” for a long period of time and not actually stage a lot of houses. You want to gauge how many projects the stager has done and what is his/hers past track records.

*Don’t just hire based on pricing: Figure out what you really get for the price tag. When you compare proposals, look at what does the lowest price tag include vs. the highest price tag include. The most expensive doesn’t mean it’s better, and vice versa. Also find out if there are other surcharges.

*ALWAYS, ALWAYS interview more than 1 stager: Hiring a stager is really not a decision to be taken lightly. Because the difference between a good stager vs. a bad stager can be days on market, # of offers, etc. which can have significant consequences of your final sales profit.

Got any other tips? Share them in the comment box below!

Hey ladies & gents

You may have noticed that bits and pieces are missing or moving around on the staged4more site. The main reason is we are making transition into the new theme and site, we have grown out of this current scheme and ready to re-stage our home on the web! (Or maybe it’s just Halloween approaching and the spirits are being playful and start shifting stuff on us!) So pardon our dust, and let us know if you have any feedbacks you would like to see on site.

Cheers,

Cindy

Should someone use this rug to stage??

Do you know the feeling that you do not want to take a look at something, but you still do? The Road Kill carpet is a continues struggle between attraction and repulsion. It’s a warm, soft, cuddly carpet that attracts you to take a nap on it. But at the same time its a repulsive image of a car-flattened, bloody fox. [per Craftzine]