I was browsing the internet today and found The Home Staging Cheat Sheet by US News & World Report that was an interview with one of my staging teacher, Barb Schwarz.
Barb listed out 6 points for sellers that can help them in a sluggish market:
- Get them inside (curb appeal)
- Pretend you are camping (clutter)
- Balance hard & soft surfaces
- Work in Ones or Threes
- Decide from the doorway
- Make your place Q-tip Clean
I want to especially highlight #1, 2, and 6. You only have ONE chance to make a great impression for your buyers, and Curb Appeal is very important. You want to give people a great impression that you have been taking care of your house. So if you see paint peeling off your exterior walls or unruly trees, it’s time to do something about it.
Do: Show a nicely maintained exterior. It gives people a great impression that you have been taking care of it and it’s nice to live in. (photo credit notnek)
Don’t: Show a haunted house (it’s only cool 1 day out of 365 days a year). A house that is ill-maintained on the outside gives people a bad feeling and impression when they first see the house. (photo credit mar52laine)
With #2, we are in the business of SELLING REAL ESTATE and that is your square (more…)
Interview with Cindy Lin: The Current Staging Landscape
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008I’m wondering what your day is like?
My day to day is very different. It’s like snowflakes, no 2 days are alike. On days when I am doing installations, my call time starts at 7am to pull inventory, or the night before to pack everything up. With bigger jobs I tend to rent a box truck, which means it’s extra hours to pick up and return vehicle. Typically I spend 5-8 hours on job site with 1-2 assistants. That does NOT include prep time and clean up time after we return to warehouse.
On days when I don’t have installations, I have things range from appointments to visit home owners for consultations, meeting with potential vendors, meeting realtors, networking events, to admin work like invoicing, billing, writing, researching, working on expanding my business, marketing, continue education, cleaning inventory, cataloging inventory, moving furniture, shopping for new inventory, working on current trends, reading, LOTS of things to do.
I typically work 6-7 days a week, ranging from 6-12 hours per day.
And how you feel the market is doing?
Market is market, there will be hot times and cold times, busy times and slow times. It’s cyclical, just like any business. Like ice cream truck does better in summer than winter, or coats are more popular in winter. We have ups and downs as well in real estate. The market timing depends on where you are in the country. In San Francisco bay area, the market (more…)
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