$1,000 Staging. Done Right or Done Wrong?

When a home stager is hired one of their primary responsibilities is to stage the property in a manner that best solves problems or perceived issues sellers may have with it. Unfortunately this may not always happen.

CASE IN POINT: Recently I received an Email  from Adam in Chicago asking for advice over a dispute he was having with his stager regarding the worked she had preformed. Adam wrote…

Hello Craig,

My name is Adam and I am having a disagreement with a stager I hired.

I am trying to sell a 2-bedroom condo in Chicago and recently hired a professional to stage the empty condo. The property is unique in that the living room is very long and narrow, which is why my realtor and I thought it was important to stage it to show its potential. This is the only living area of the property so it has to look like a living room.

We've since (the staging) had ten showings without an offer.

I had two friends over… both of them said is "this room looks like a hallway". They also said that the way it's staged does not show the potential of the living room.

I called the stager… and she maintains that the room is properly staged and that I need to respect her professional opinion. She discounts these opinions because she says she's the professional.

Do you have any tips on how I could deal with my stager?

Thank you very much,
Adam

So that you have a complete picture of all that was done and how Adam's $1,000 was used to stage his property, I have created this short video show.



So... now that you have a more complete picture, I have a few final questions for you to consider.

1. Given the budget, Adam’s instruction, and the style of the home, did the stager stage the home correctly?
2. Did the stager provide a good solution for the problematic living room?
3. If Adam feels the solution provided does not solve the living rooms problem, what should he do?
4. What actions do you suggest the stager take to solve the problem?

Whether you are a seller, stager or realtor... I  am curious to know what you think.

Craig

Stagers Should Picture What They Preach

Without a doubt the end result of a home’s staging should be a great visual impression. Because this is so, home staging has come to be viewed as an “image” industry. But as a relatively new industry, home stagers have much to learn from their counterparts in other more established image industries such as advertising, interior design, and landscaping. Professionals in these fields know that to sell and grow their own businesses; they must first present a good visual image of themselves. This impression starts with the logos, business cards, and websites they use to market their products and services.

Be leary of staging hypocrits. If home stagers are going to pitch the need and importance of investing money to ready properties (which is a home seller's "product") for market, then the stager needs to invest money to do the same for what they sell... their staging services. To be fair and judged credible, a home stager needs to invest in their business image. But more than just spending money. A stager's image, communicated through business cards, brochures, and websites, must demonstrate knowledge of and skill to apply basic design principals. Why? Well, basic design principals are universal and govern all visual creativity, including the skill and ability to properly stage a home.

Picture what they preach. Another area, where real estate stagers need to practice what they preach, is in the portfolios they use to sell their ability. First and foremost, the work they show MUST ONLY be theirs... and it better look good. If stagers are going advise sellers and Realtors as to the importance of using good photography to capture and present a home, then again, a stager needs to do the same with photography they show of the their work. A stager's portfolio is a key, yet often overlooked tool that communicates quality, skill and ability.

Seller’s looking to hire a stager can use a stager’s online portfolio to pre-screen and judge a stager's talent and ability. The best portfolios address the following 3 points.

• Versatility & Proficiency - Every market is different and examples of the work a stager shows should represent the types of homes being sold in the markets they serve. However the more depth and diversity a stager can show the better. The most compelling portfolios will show staging work that was done in both big and small homes, vacant and occupied homes, low to high end homes, and the ability in to work with a variety of design styles.
• Same View Point - Proof of a stager's skill and ability is often shown in Before & After photographs. But quite often the Before photo is taken from a totally different position in a room, from the After photo. The best sales testament that shows a stager’s ability and talent come from having Before & After photographs taken from the EXACT same angle.
• Quality Photos - While it may not be possible to take the perfect Before, the After image needs to be well photographed. Stagers that invest the time and money to take quality photos visually communicate their commitment to their profession.

Just as a home that is for sale is being judged by how it looks, sellers can use the business images a stagers shows of themselves to judge skill and ability. The best home stagers will picture what they preach.

Stage It Forward...
Me

The A-B-C’s and 1-2-3’s of Home Staging

I often now receive inquires about home staging, from home sellers all over the country, that typically start by asking a question such as, “Can you give me a little information on how staging works and what staging a home costs?” Since so many start their inquiry with the same question, I thought it would be helpful to answer with what I call the “A-B-C’s of Home Staging.”

A is for ABOUT home staging in general. Actually, if you are going to stage your property you need to know that it is ABOUT a 2 step process. The first step is the “prepping of the property. Prepping the house basically attends to the conditional issues that need to be repaired, cleaned and/or updated. The second step is ABOUT the “pretty visual” that people think of when they think of home staging. This step has to do with the physical setting/arranging of the furnishings and/or accessories within a house. The combined goal of the 2 steps is to create a house that shows it best and ultimately will draw the interest of the widest buying demographic possible.

B is for BASIC types of staging services. While there are 6 Basic types of staging services, it is important to note that all stagers offer all six. The services a stager offers the better it is for you. Since you actually won’t know what you will need until the stager visits for the first time, a stager that provides more service types is better equipped to guide you based on your needs and not cut short the impact of staging because of their own limitations.

The 6 BASIC staging service types are:

1. Consult Staging: This type of staging solely taps into a Stager’s knowledge. First focusing on the condition of a home, a Stager visits a property to meticulously instruct on all that must be done to best prep and then set the property for market.



2. Re-Arrange Staging: This type of services relies on both the Stager’s knowledge and their physical labor. Once a home’s conditional needs are met, a Stager arranges the property by physically setting it using only the seller's existing furniture and decorative accessories.



3. Enhance Staging: Again, once conditional issues are addressed, the Stager will then set the interior space. But not only are the existing furniture and accessories used, but the Stager will bring and blend in decorative accessories and/or furniture from their inventory. These “props” are loaned or rented to the seller while the home is for sale.



4. Reseller Vacant Staging: When a "preowned" house is vacant, there is not much else to look at, conditional issues and concerns are amplified and ultimately fixated on by buyers. So while it is important that conditional needs be addressed, a Stager is hired to then maximize the home’s visual appeal by fully setting it with the appropriate furnishings and accessorizes.



5. Rehab Vacant Staging: When conditional issues throughout a older property are repaired and updated to today's trends, a Stager is hired to then maximize the home’s visual appeal by fully setting it with the appropriate furnishings and accessorizes.



6. Model Vacant Staging: While conditional in new construction is not an issue, “life-styling” is. Models typically rely more on projecting a “life-styled” visual appeal then a preowned vacant. A good Stager understands and designs within a specific life-style marketing concept when furnishing, accessorizing and setting a vacant spec / model property.

C is for COST to hire a home stager. What hiring costs actually are depends on how much Talent (knowledge), Time (physical labor) and Treasure (props) a stager provides. If a seller has a limited amount to spend, then the best value a stager can provide is the Consult. For as little as $100 (in some markets) a Stager can be hired to scrutinize a property and provide professional staging advice and guidance. From there it is realistic to expect to pay anywhere from $35 to $75 per hour for a stager’s services. As for props, the fees for renting these items will vary based on just what is being rented and the length of time the items are being rented for.

Sellers are not only realizing the cost of staging will pay off, but actually ARE benefiting from making the investment. Let’s face it; if “time is money” then reduced market time is a great return on investment. So regardless of staging solution proposed, a good stager will do all they can to maximize the return on a seller’s staging budget so that the house sells… 1-2-3.

So there you have it, today’s blog lesson on the A-B-C’s and 1-2-3’s of home staging.


Staging It Forward...
Me

Not All Staging Bananas Are Ripe & Ready

So my home selling pets, would you like to pick a house stager but are not sure which in the bunch to hire? Plus does the fact that when you think about it, it seems like there are more and more people becoming Home Stagers almost overnight?

Well, you are right; it can be a tough to know which stager you should work with, especially since staging is still relatively new in most parts of the USA. You are also right if you noticed that there are many new bananas rapidly joining the staging bunch.

To make a wise and informed pick, you need to understand that unfortunately a “professional stager” may just be an average green Jane or Joe who just fell out of a training tree. Many are transformed into “professionals” because they sat through a one, two or three day foundation training workshop. That's it, as little as one day, and WA LA a new staging banana with a title tacked on.

So be wise, home staging credentials that hype “trained,” “certified” or “accredited” can be a bit deceiving… especially considering that it can take as little as one day to be trained and graduated from foundation training programs. This is not to say that there are well qualified real estate stagers who have been professional trained. But remember, above everything, the ripeness of EXPERIENCE trumps all else... even “credentials."

Unfortunately, the home staging industry is an unregulated wild bunch. Because this so... sellers are at risk, especially in this tough selling market. Actually, picking a green stager could cost you some green. So while staging looks mighty tasty, to those of you who are looking for some hope and help, don’t blindly accept the fact that a stager, with a horde of initials after their name, is experienced and fully yet knows what to do to maximize your homes staged appeal.

So how can you pick out a ripe experienced stager? Well, it is not the difficult, if you keep in mind that home staging is an “image” industry.

Considering it is a stager’s job is to create a good first visual impression of home seller’s property, then a good stager needs to do the same for themselves. A good stager knows the importance of and how to present a good visual first impression of their company and their work.

To start to weed out amateurs from the experienced, first consider looking closely at the stager's portfolio for examples of their work. Also, make sure that you ask the stager if they ACTUALLY staged the properties they show in their portfolio... believe it or not there are some foundation training programs that give green stagers a set of “starter” portfolio photos. Finally if you have any doubts, you can always ask the stager for testimonials from past clients and/or references.

So that’s it, considering its a jungle out there, this is pretty easy. That is all you need to know and do to be a good home selling monkey and pick the ripe stager.

Staging It Forward...
Me


POST SCRIPT of THANKS: Thank you to Rich at the "The Official Active Rain Blog" for seeing the merit in this post and selecting it as a WINNER in the Carnival of Real Estate. CLICK HERE: To read "The Top 10 Rides" in the 89th Carnival of Real Estate.

Bitch-N-Moan, Bitch-N-Moan… FINALLY I Am Not Alone

For over a year now I have been venting the personal frustrations I have with the fact that I see more and more POORLY qualified people entering the field of staging. For the sake time and space, I don’t think it is important that I regurgitate what I have already written of, but if you are interested reading what I had to say, check out these past posts…

• Under Qualified "stagers" Flood the Market
• Another FEISTY BLOG about "Professional" Staging!
• ASP? HSE? What's-a-stager-SUPPOSED-to-be?
• Stone Cold Reality: Dying Dreams & Limited Opportunities
• Inconvenient Truths about Home Staging

Anyway, I find am no longer alone. Lately more and more expirienced stagers all across the US have begun to email me and/or called me to voice similar concerns and frustrations.
In fact, quite recently, I received a set of photos (above) of a Bad Staging sent to be by an experienced stager (CF) that says they “…have had it with crappy staging!”

CF recently lost a job to a new “professional” whose work is pictured. CF found the After Photo and sent it to me with the Before Photos they took. CF also shared with me quite a few details about what was wrong with the overall staging. But since I do have pictures of the entire project I am only going to concentrate my critique on the one set of images show here.

I have to admit that at first I was a little reluctant to post these images. But then I got to thinking… what besides Bitch-N-Moaning could i do that would be postive? How could I turn BAD STAGING into something that would ultimatly help a seller sell and help this industry grow? I then realizewd that if I can turn examples of BAD staging into something positive… then mediocre stagers, home sellers and realtors can begin to undertand and appreciate what makes good real estate staging good.

So getting back to the BAD Staging pictured above... what is wrong with the makeover pictured above?

Well first off, CF told me that the “picture” above the fireplace in this family room is not actually a picture; rather, it is in fact a fake flat screen TV. Because it is a family room the way the furniture has been arranged is not conducive to watching TV… as it SHOULD. CF says that having the sofa face the TV was a viable and correct solution.

I immediately noticed and had problems with the 3 pictures on the wall behind the sofa. Why are they stepping up to the right? Why are they off center? And why are they so small? While scale and proportion (size) is important. I would be more understanding if the sofa would be centered under them and they ran side by side, equally spaced and at the same height. As they are now it makes the room feel out of balance.

Next, by simply sliding the lamp on the end table from the left to the right (closer to the sofa) would establish the lamp & table as and end anchor point. The lamp slid to the right would also frame the sofa and when lit brighten up the dark and heavy element in the room… the sofa.

Finally, CF wondered why the bar stool was set between the sofa and the fireplace. To be honest I don’t know either.

So there you have first example of Bad Staging that was sent to me. If you have examples that you would like to share with me, feel free to send them. I will try to post one example of “Bad Staging” per week… by doing so I hope stagers all learn and the consuming public will know and demand more of all in this industry who present themselves as “professional”.

Stage It Forward…
Me

Inconvenient Truths about Home Staging

Negativity about good things always seems to attract attention. So it is not surprise that in a recent report published by the National Association of Exclusive Buyers Agents (NAEBA) entitled: “How to not get tricked by staging and potentially save $5,645 when you buy your home” has attracted main stream media attention.

While some of the NAEBA report on staging was positive and accurate, most of it was a negative spin they were trying to put on staging in a sensationalized attempt to champion their position that buyer’s agents are better agents then traditional Realtors that work with both buyers and sellers. The basic premise of the NAEBA report claimed that buyer agents were more able to sniff out staging “tricks” used to disguise problems and deceitfully lure a potential buyer to emotionally be attracted to a problematic home. It’s as if the NAEBA actually believed that home stagers did not know that all homes are eventually professionally inspected and that hiding problems and issues works against the seller’s best interests.

In the report, the NAEBA warned buyers that “staging effects can make a home seem more appealing to the eye”. How scandalous! How conniving! How shady of the seller to put their home’s best face forward to make it as appealing as possible. I guess the same could be said for anyone applying for a job who decides to wear their best suit, get a haircut and shine their shoes in a shady attempt to emotionally lure a potential employer to hire them.

While the NAEBA report was inaccurate in much of what is said, that does not take the Home Staging industry off the hook for what I see as a rapidly growing problem in this industry. I am going to go out on a limb to say that the Home Staging Industry is a bit responsible for attracting the negative report the NAEBA has published.

Right now home sellers are desperate for a magical solution to help them sell a property languishing in an extremely slow market. Unfortunately, desperate times will bring out both dreamers and dubious characters. It is no surprise that with all the great PR home staging has been getting, more and more people (be they honest or dishonest) are attracted to making money as home stagers.

A multitude of foundation training programs in home staging have sprung up that will “certify,” “accredit” and graduate home staging “professionals” and “experts” in as little as ONE DAY.In fact, just last week I learned of a foundation training program that advertises that for only $249.95, a person interested in becoming a home stager need only buy a training CD that was designed to get budding stagers started in their own business. Two of the benefits they advertise is that their program has low start up costs and low overhead. No previous experience is required. They even include their Certificate of Achievement at no extra costs right with the CD to prove that you were professionally trained. WOW, how generous to send a Certificate of Achievement right with it!

This “overnight certification in a box” points to a Frankenstein that this industry created. The industry’s fixation on quick accredited certifications makes a hypocrisy out of education. This is NOT to say education and training are neither valuable nor helpful. In fact, some of the nation’s finest home stagers started their careers by first taking foundation training programs.

Unfortunately, home sellers looking to hire a stager in today’s market often do not realize that stagers that tout the fact that they are accredited, certified or professional experts may have just yesterday received their certificate in a box or just finished a 3 day workshop in Home Staging. While education is important, the home seller needs to know that in this market where a flood of baby stager’s are just entering it, EXPERIENCE trumps all else and in fact is quintessential. For with experience comes an education and wisdom about home staging that can not be burned on to a CD or taught in a 1, 2 or 3 day work shop.

Much like what the NAEBA report spoke of, some inexperienced stagers will resort to contrived tricks thinking that making a home look and feel staged is the right thing to do. But the experienced stager knows a home should never look or feel staged. If a buyer’s eye is attracted to look at the staging and not the home, then the stager has not done their work. An experienced home stager knows the home should always be the star… not the stuff in it.

The above picture is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Kate Hart of Hart & Associates, an experienced home stager in Philadelphia, just happened to send me this picture of really bad staging. Kate snapped the "staged treasure" in the bathroom of a vacant home she was recently called in to re-stage. The "props" placed in a box speaks volumes as to how much is not known about staging by the stager that initially had been hired to stage it. The rest of the property was as bad... and because it was staged so poorly, the owners actually stopped showing it. Kate was called in to save the day.

All this puts experienced stagers, who believe we can be a strong and respected industry within real estate and want it to succeed, in a precarious position. We have seen time and time again the joy in a seller’s eye when their property has been sold with the help of staging. We also know the passion and exuberance new stagers have for this profession and we know that for the industry to grow it will need more stagers. But most importantly we know we are now being watched and scrutinized. Nothing less than the finest understanding of staging and implementation of it will help us all grow, anything else will not only degrade the industry, but also what staging makes available to the home seller.

Stage It Forward...
Me

NOTE: At the request of the foundation training company that I originally referenced in this blog, I have removed their name and the link to their site.

I have also removed the foundation training company from the hugley popular informational reference list : "33 Home Staging Training Programs to Consider" on the right hand column of this blog.

FEED ME SEYMOUR! It takes a lot for Home Stagers to grow Prop Inventories

Many home stager's have been taught ONLY to stage using what home sellers personally have in the way of furnishings and decorative accessories (props). This approach to staging is all well and good and at times the right solution, but also at other times extremely limiting to what would and could best serve the home seller. Why limiting? Well what if what the property that needs to be staged is a totally vacant property? Or what if the property, that needs to be staged, is occupied but still lacking in pizazz and is basically an empty home? What does the prop-less stager do if a house needs more "bling" to bring some life and appeal to it?
Houses that need life and be "propped up" to add to their sales appeal happen more than I thought they would. Realizing this, Real Estaging made a commitment 3 years ago to build a prop library… we quickly learned it would ultimately best serve our home selling clients regardless of what their staging needs were.

Currently we have just about 5000 items available in our "PROP LIBRARY"... which might at first seem like a lot. But what do we do if all of our props are out and placed in homes and a new staging job comes in that needs to be propped up? Well, we do what we have been doing for 3+ years… we go out and buy more! AND... the quality and appropriateness of what we buy is VERY important. We just can't buy shlocky junk and put it in a house and say it is “staged.” Bad props will distract a buyer’s attention from looking at the property. We know that if a stager wants to build a reputation for quality staging... they have to own and place in the home quality props.

And as important as it is to give a client the options to have the BEST that staging can offer, I have to admit owning a Prop Library sometimes feels like that voracious plant in the play The Little Shop of Horrors that screams "FEED ME SEYMOUR!"

July for us has been a CRAZY BUSY time here at Real Estaging (hence, I have had no time to write anything for my blog). And being so busy, fortunately (or unfortunately) we found that much of what we own in our inventory had already been "PLACED" out in client properties.... and we needed more!

So what did we do? We went shopping... and rung up a whopping $6,448.21 for new props for the month of July! (Brook supplies the rental furniture for our clients.) THAT was a lot of Ka-Ching for BLING! But, if we wanted the business, it is money we had to invest without immediate return. Placed props do NOT pay for themselves the first time they are placed... it takes a few flips!

Why do we invest in props when so many other stagers don't? We know having the resources that provide options and a variety level of services WILL help differentiate your staging business from other stagers in the market place. Being a one stop staging shop has helped build our reputation. But I gotta admit owning a Prop Library has at times turned our one stop staging shop into a Shop of Horrors.

Stage It Forward…
Me

Good Photography Helped National Media Tell our Staging Story

I know that at times I sound like a broken record. But this is a story that is worth repeating. In the past I have blogged about how important good photography is to tell your own staging story… but now I have proof how important is it and can do more and help you tell a BIGGER story.
National print media uses the web to search out and find good photos to use in conjunction with the feature stories they are publishing on the home staging and interior re-design.

A Few months back, Home Magazine found our the our Real Estaging website gallery and contacted us, asking if they could use photos of our home staging work for an upcoming feature story they were going to be publishing (June 2007 issue). Of course we were more than happy to help them out.

Well I gotta admit Real Estaging has come a long way. To have a ½ page photo spread as the main work featured in a national magazine for an an article on Home Staging that also quotes Donna Freeman of HGTV’s Secrets that Sell and Barb Schwarz, president of StagedHomes.com (and lets face it the grand-dame’ of home staging)… well this is quite an honor. We surely must be doing something right.

But more importantly the point I really want to make is... we shoot ALL of our home staging jobs. Right from the start, we made a commitment to INVEST in the time to completely and thoroughly photograph each and every one of our home staging project.

Over the years, with each home staging we completed and photographed, we got better and better at capturing the essence of our work. Yes, it took us awhile to learn how to use our 3 different cameras... but we have gotten pretty good at it. And we are proud to say we are ALL self taught. (Yes we read manuals!)

IN the future, there may be a time when we will have to hire a professional photographer to take our photos to the next level... but we happy to report that investing in the time to learn and do the best we can has paid off now.

Thank you Home Magazine... all of us at Real Estaging we are thrilled and honored!

This article really helps to Stage It Forward...
Me

PS: REALTORS, if you have not replied to the Real Estaging Poll on home staging, we would appreciate if you would go to our blog an do so. Just quickly select a button on the right colomn on our blog and then hit "VOTE" >>>>>.

Are Model Homes Dying Design Dinosaurs?

(For a clearer larger version, click on the image above)

Every year large builder/developers all across the country invest millions of dollars to construct, design and install lovely & lush model homes. Why? It is pretty simple… models sell homes. As one would expect, a model is a great tool to help a potential buyer figure out just how to arrange and fit furniture within a prospective home. However, and more importantly, builders know a beautiful model does something else, it connects emotionally with the buyer... inviting them to a new possible "lifestyle" the might enjoyed if they bought the home.

Until recently, only larger builder/developers could justify, afford and benefit from investing significant sums of money required to create a model. But now, because of the unique approach to design that home staging offers, more and more smaller "boutique" builders have learned that experienced Home Stagers can inexpensively design and quickly install beautifully staged models that rival the über-expensive models of their larger counter parts.

However, a good thing will only stay a secret for so long, it was only a matter of time before a savvy larger builder would discover the cost effective model resource smaller builders were using... and that builder is one of the nation's largest builders, Toll Brothers. Recently we here at Real Estaging were contracted to stage a quick delivery spec home within Toll Brother’s upscale community Hawthorn Woods Country Club, located in Chicago’s far northwest suburbs.

What makes this staging story even more extraordinary is the fact that Toll Brothers ALREADY HAD a lovely & lush model for the same home we staged. Pictured above are interior photographs, taken from much the same reference point, of the both the original lovely & lush model and the staged model we designed and installed. (I am not going to tell you which is which quite yet.) While I don't know how much time it took to plan and install or how many thousands and thousands of dollars were spent on the lovely & lush model... I do know we, planned, designed and installed our staged model in ONLY 3 ½ days and all for less than $5,000. (Which also happens to include the rental fee for furniture provided by Brook Furniture Rental.)

Developers need to know that traditional designers often struggle with the staging approach, for they get caught up in trying to make too much of a design statement. The ability to create and deliver a beautiful model in a short amount of time is one of skills that makes a stager different than traditional model designers. How do we know this? We have seen it first hand observing the desingers in our sister design company (Craig Interior Design) attempt to stage. And as we all know... design time is money.

So, how will the use of home staging as an alternative to models play out in the long run? Will developers explore and take advantage of this new approach and allow their lovely & lush models go the way of the dinosaur? Well, that is yet to be determined. However, I applaud both the sales manager, Julie Tarsio, and property manager, Dan Miekina of Toll Brothers for having the foresight and innovative thinking to look at new possibilities and try new approaches, when it comes to using design as marketing tool. In the future, one wonders that if because of creative thinking like this, the vast amount of moneys builders had spent on models will be redirected into staging multiple spec homes that dot their communities, and in doing so give more homes within a development their own unique yet enticing model lifestyle image.

Stage It Forward... with ideas and information
Me

PS: Click on the image above to see a clearer larger version of the images… oh and the image in the lower left is the real-estaged model.

FAKING Your Home's Staging is Fine, Just Don't be CONTRIVED

While home staging does entail some visual creativity, in actuality it also requires a bit of merchandising and a few marketing "tricks" to get the job done. Unlike the practices of interior decorating, re-design, or even traditional interior design, much of what home staging is that it is the creation of an illusion of a possible lifestyle within a particular house so that it appeals to the largest home buying segment possible.

But it is important to note that in order to create REAL appeal, a home stager might have to resort to some "fakeness". One basic known industry practice (like decluttering or depersonalizing) every good stager relies on is to bring the outside in.

However, while some in our industry suggests that bringing the outside in is as a simple stroll out to one’s garden to cut something fresh and green, in reality this option just might be realistic. While, for some, this might SOUND like great advice to bring the outside in, for others the facts that either it’s freaking freezing and everything is dead in the garden or, oh ya you don't HAVE a garden, you live in a high-rise condo quite often IS reality.

So what can one do to bring the outside in? Well, this is where fake plants can help. Today's silk plants are so "perfect" and so widely accepted that they just blend into the background and, even MORE IMPORTANLY, do not draw the attention of a buyer's eye. Fake fruit works well too.

Also, using fake FOOD as props is a BIG No-No! For some reason, fake food captivates people’s attention… for they love to go up to and look and touch fake food to see just how "real" it looks. A good stager knows, and will advise their client, that anything that distracts a buyers so that they are looking at something other than the house steals precious selling attention.

For homes that are vacant, it is quite acceptable to use fake TV's. Because TV watching is a big part of our culture fake flat screens help a buyer understand how a room can be configured.

That with all that being said, I want to stress the importance that while sometimes "Fake" is fine... it is NEVER OK to resort to contrived trickery. Contrived and “cutesy” staging (Upper Picture ) is staging that just tries to hard. Resorting to gimmicks such as laying out silk gloves, with a single red rose (fake); setting a tray on a bed with a tea cup, a book of sonnets and the word "Love" configured with sticks from your garden; or setting out two champagne glasses wrapped with cute raffia bows on a tub’s edge is just NOT real and not the way most people live.

Because this is typically NOT the way people live, it becomes a contrived distraction to home buyers touring the house. So always remember, the best staging allows the HOUSE to be the star, not the stuff in it. The best and most talented stagers know and easily master the principal that "less is more" and their work is always tastefully understated.

The picture (Right >) of a staged property (staged and photographed this week by Marci Toliver of Fresh Eye Designs) is a perfect and pure example of how to apply an understated "less is more" approach to staging. As you can see, it is a beautifully appealing breakfast nook that is not contrived.

Oh ya, and one more thing, Marci just happened to make that floral arrangement herself…. using fake tulips.

Stage It Forward...
Me


PS: THANKS MARCI... for allowing me to feature this picture of your beautiful work. This is STUNNING staging!

PSS: My company, Real Estaging, happens to use proptronics.com as our supplier for these props. I recently spoke with Darlene, the owner of Proptronics… she graciously offered to give a discount to any stager who mentions this post. Please just ask for Darlene or Michael. HOW COOL IS THAT?

Wanting to Share the "GREEN"... I'm Gonna Recycle a Full-Circle Moment in My Own Life

This past November I took a business trip to China. I traveled there because the professional designer side of "me" was required; however to my surprise the personal side of "me" was profoundly impacted.

It just so happens that when I was in China, I visited both Hong Kong and a city called on the mainland called Shenzhen (which is 45 minutes away from Hong Kong via water taxi). During this trip something became quite apparent to me… Hong Kong was all about consuming, and Shenzhen was all about manufacturing. Shimmering and sparkling, yet stuffed and cluttered in EVERY nook and cranny of the streets of Hong Kong, were stores, shops and boutiques offering for sale every conceivable thing we stuff into our lives.

Oddly, in contrast, was Shenzhen, a city where pollution constantly spewed out of the thousands and thousands of factories located there. The pollution was so bad that I could literally and easily look directly into the sun in the middle of the day. Sadly, at one point we drove over a river that was so polluted it was thick and black as tar. (I am NOT exaggerating.) It is also important to note that Shenzhen is just one of the multitude of manufacturing/industrial cites throughout the world that makes the material goods we think we "need" in our consumer society.

Upon returning to the states, I started to reflect on all I had experienced and thinking about how it affects my job as a home stager… and I came to a “full circle moment” in my life.
I came to realize that in this age of consumption, it’s kind of odd that my job as a stager is to "transition" a home back to simpler view. Basic to what we do is de-cluttering the mass amount of consumer "stuff" that has built up in a seller’s house. In fact, if a stager’s work is done properly, completely and timed right, the seller can actually PROFIT from the sale of their home. It is scary to think that these “profits” then COULD then be used to go out and buy more "stuff".

But now, because of this trip to 2 cities in China… if I have it my way, people that use our home staging services will begin to look at their lives and their desire for stuff in a new way. I hope and want to show people, whose homes we transform, that a beautiful home NEVER needs to be STUFFED full of useless consumer crap. I hope to share with all our clients the fundamental lesson EVERY interior designer is thought early on in their design education... the fact that "Less is More."

For now, because of my trip to 2 cities in China, I come to realize our planet's life truly depends on less being MORE.

Green It Forward...
Me

STAGE IT FORWARD... means giving IT back

The willingness and importance to give back is basic to what the group of Home Stagers in Active Rain’s Stage it Forward group are all about. Giving back is so basic, that in the group's short description on Active Rain, the words "sharing" or "share" is used in three separate places.
However for me personally, Stage It Forward is more than just helping fellow home stagers grow their businesses... for me, Stage It Forward means using my time, talent and treasure to benefit community where I live. So at Real Estaging, our company’s current Stage It Forward effort centers around the creation of a marvelous community wide fund raising event for Brickton Art Center... which happens to be a WONDERFUL not-for profit organization (committed to outreach) in Park Ridge Illinois.

Starting last summer, we helped invigorate and re-invent Brickton's Artistic Living event by refining it and adding an entire Tour of Homes. With a goal to raise $20,000, here is what we have been working on and organizing…

The Artistic Living Tour of Homes event revolves around what is being called the Gallery House were art is featured within each room of a newly constructed home (donated for the weekend of May 18th - 20th by Tim Metropolis of TMM Development Corporation and listed with Gretchen Gullo of Coldwell Banker) in Park Ridge. This beautiful constructed Arts & Crafts style home will be where its interior spaces will be transformed and feature the creative works of both artist and designer. This house will also host the: Gallery 1033 Cocktail Party - a unique themed grand opening cocktail party and event night, and Silent Auction Room - featuring a variety of donated artistic objects, gifts and other items from local businesses.

In addition to the primary Gallery House, this tour event will also feature several other beautiful homes of Park Ridge. Residents are opening the doors to the interiors of their home to be locations on the tour. Craig Interior Design (our sister design studio) is even offering to help stylize & stage these homes with FREE design advice and help prior to the event.

The final fun new twist is that Brickton is commissioning a special gallery exhibit entitled The Doors of Park Ridge. This show will feature and exhibit the artistic interpretations of doors of homes, shops, schools, or churches etc. throughout Park Ridge, as seen through the eyes of and created by local kids.

The whole event is designed so that whether donating "BIG" or donating "SMALL" of one's time, talent and treasure, we have created many ways for others to experience the joy of giving and share in this wonderful event. All are invited and encouraged to tour the homes and see the power of what is possible when you… Stage It Forward.

THINK CRUSTY THOUGHTS...when taking pictures of homes for sale

While I happen to be a home stager, you may have noticed a number of my postings here on my blog have been about improving photos used in advertising homes that are for sale. This is because I KNOW from experience that what a home buyer SEES influences the desire to purchase a home... or NOT. But what a home buyer SEES often begins BEFORE they drive up to the property or walk through its front door.

Realtors and home sellers MUST understand that with each passing day the Internet becomes more of a resource for buyers to PRESCREEN your properties. Buyers looking at the photos realtors have posted in the online ads the produce. With digital photography being so easy and inexpensive... there is now excuse for Realtors NOT to have photos that PERFECTLY capture the images of their listings.

WOW... the "perfect" label is a mighty demanding standard to expect! But isn't marketing and selling a home what realtors have been hired to do? Isn't capturing and then displaying homes on the market the job of the realtor... and in the best interest of both the seller AND the Realtor?

It is no surprise that many Realtors now use professional photographers/videographers to shot properties to help market and sell them. It is this reason more and more professional Homes Stagers are photographing the homes they stage and offering these quality images, which best show off the home, to the Realtors to use in their marketing campaigns.

So when it comes to taking pictures of properties here is a simple CRUSTY PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION technique that will help a property look its best.

But before I share this technique… I need to make a point. Many of us, through years of taking pictures of PEOPLE, have wrongfully (especially when it comes to interior shots) take pictures of homes that are for sale.

Quite often realtors approach taking pictures of properties like taking pictures of PEOPLE… they just point the viewfinder in the middle (where the people usually are) and CLICK. But if one just takes a moment to LOOK, not only in the direct center, but also LOOK to see and take into consideration what is happening around the 4 outside edges (think bread CRUST) pictures used to sell homes will be composed and FRAMED much better.

It's really that easy.

Oh, by the way, the home encrusted in the picture above is of a totally vacant home we recently staged.

Stage it Forward...
Me

Home Stager's Websites are the Display Windows of their Skill & Talent

I believe that the home staging industry is in the business creating amazing first impressions; therefore, I often search the Net for websites of home stagers to check out what kind of first impression they ARE or ARE NOT creating for the consuming public.

I first started doing this 3 1/2 years ago when I was opening my own staging business and researching the staging industry. At that time, two home staging company's websites caught my attention and left me with an amazing and favorable first impression. Those two staging companies were: Nest Home Design in San Francisco and Dekora in Vancouver BC. (They still are shining examples of professionalism.)

A little while back, I happened to stumble upon and then was blown away by the website of Turton Interiors. Then, just yesterday, I found yet another great website… Bella Casa Staging. It happens, by coincidence, that both of these stagers received their initial foundation training from the same training resource (stagedhomes.com), however each has gone on to find their own unique way to express their creativity, staging styles, and business acumen within their individual websites. It is also important that I note that both of these stagers have chosen to further differentiate themselves within their respective markets by NOT having a web presence provided exclusively through the company that provided their initial foundation training.

In my opinion these 4 staging company websites embody the essence of GOOD home staging. Just like a well staged home, these sites are fresh, clean, uncluttered and easy to maneuver in and around. All are stylish and creative, simple... not flashy. They are well thought out, and beautifully display both creative skill and talent. When a consumer visits these sites they can SEE that these professional stagers know what they are doing.

Now, as more stagers graduate from the multitude of staging training companies and enter the home staging industry and as home staging continues to gain in popularity... it only makes sense that more and more of the consuming public will first "shop" the internet and use a stager’s website to "pre-screen" them. It is only natural that prospective clients be attracted to stager’s sites that are beautiful, simple to navigate and demonstrate an understanding of scale, proportion, color, and balance.

As a professional stager, “who you are” and “what you can do” must be displayed on your site. With the accessibility and ease of digital photography, Before & After Galleries/Portfolios are essential to a home stager in there website. By investing no more than $500 in a decent digital camera and then taking the time to READ the operation manual and learn how it works will pay off.

If you are serious about growing your business and differentiating yourself from other home stagers, I suggest you invest in and create your own website that is a beautiful "Display Window" of your talent. To help, I list and link (in the right hand column) many of the best sites that I have stumbled upon, so that those of you who are committed to improving and growing your own staging business can easily access examples of some of the best DISPLAY WINDOWS with the Home Staging industry.

Stage It Forward...
Me

Raise Your Standards by Setting Your Sites Lower

As a professional home stager I know what home buyers look at (regardless of where, when or how they see it) matters greatly. In fact, I believe in "SEEING" so much that I am ongoingly investing in and building an entire company devoted exclusively to improving what home buyers see and visually experience when they shop for real estate.

So to keep my eye on what is happening with technology and in the marketplace I often go out to realtor sites to research and SEE just what has been featured by realtors for buyers to look at and evaluate on the web. And I have to admit it surprises me to see so much sloppy photography that realtors use to market their client's properties.

One of the MOST common problem I repeatedly see is with photo composition. So often I see the interior room photos featuring far to much of the ceiling in the photo... and I don't know why. Seriously... when was the last time you had a client ask you to show you a house with the biggest ceiling? If you ask me, with digital photography being easy, quick and cheap, there is NO EXCUSE for this to occur in room shots. To me... in the not too distant future, bad photography this is going to be the sign of a lazy agent.

Now, there are times when ceiling beams, light fixtures, skylights, or some other feature or element on a ceiling should be featured in the photograph... but let's face it, this is typically NOT the case for the majority of the homes that are being photographed. Below are 12 of nearly 50 images I found last week when for about 1¼ hours I sat down to do some on-line industry research. I’ve posted these examples because I know SEEING what I saw will help SEE what buyers are SEEING.

TIP: Showing more of the floor is typically better then more ceiling. So the good news is it does not take expensive photo editing software or classes in photo composition to correct this common error. All it requires is that the realtor take an extra moment and look at what is in their camera's view finder and lower it if too much ceiling is being included in the shot.

I write about this VERY basic point about real estate photography because as more and more consumers rely on internet sites to prescreen and preview properties, the knowledge and application of BASIC photographic skills is going to be a simple yet critical competence that WILL distinguish the amateur from the professional realtor.

So remember, simply lower your sites and you will quickly raise your own standards and gain the marketing advantage shooting and posting good room photos will make in creating that favorable first impression of you are looking to gain for both you and the properties you are selling.

Stage it forward...
Craig (Me)
NOTE: While some of these photographs have other quality issues... for the purpose of this posting they were selected for how they featured ceilings.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK... before you sign up for home staging courses

With more and more people positively experiencing the rewards of all that real estate staging brings to both the home seller and real estate professional, Home staging has begun to bloom in interest and knowledge of it continues to grow.

So, with so much positive feedback and real estate industry "buzz" about what a professional stager does... people are looking at home staging as a career option and are researching home staging training resources for professional classes and courses.

Each week more and more people are asking me for my opinion home staging classes. So to make it easier I thought I would take a pro-active step to help those interested in home staging training. This past weekend, I when I was working on updating the look of this blog, I decide to create one comprehensive listing where many (if not all) the resources that offer kind home staging educational training courses in North America could be easily referenced. WOW was I very surprised to find 30 (large and small) companies across North America that offer classes in home staging training courses.

So if you are personally interested in formal classroom training in real estate staging, let me give you a VERY IMPORTANT Tip #1… OPEN YOUR EYES and LOOK at the companies offering foundation training. Their websites are windows into their ability and professionalism.

As you click on each you will start to SEE for yourself who leaders are and who are not. Tip#2 look for copy write dates. If the site has not taken the time to update a small little copy write, what makes you think they have update the details of their curriculum?

Finally the biggest TIP of all is 3#. Its really quite simple, when researching these companies and their informational web sites, keep in mind that the career you are undertaking is Home Staging. This is the business of creating AMAZING first impressions. So if a company is going to TEACH it... they should BE it. EVERY element of their site should be clean, clear, beautifully display and convey just what they are about. They SHOULD be and LOOK like leaders in the industry!

To date, the industry has evolved enough to have trained and produced a number of individuals who now have gone out and applied and perfected their skills and are now offering their own courses. So another KEY POINT to remember is that while the “biggest” may not be the best for the small “mom and pop” shop just offer a less expensive and more comprehensive training package. This is where you must LOOK to do your homework.

I believe there are NO coincidences in the world… so oddly, as I was researching and composing this post, I stumbled upon 2 other separate and unrelated post on Active Rain, that shed new light on the subject of home staging training.

The first was a comment by (literally) "the staging diva" Debra Gould on one of my older blogs that to this day gets quite a bit of traffic... ASP? HSE? What's-a-stager-SUPPOSED-to-be? Debra who teaches foundation training offers her wise insight to anyone considering training. I encourage you to check out what she said by clicking the link above.

The second was very revealing (if not scandalous) blog about training posted by a Shell Brodnax also on Active Rain. Shell worked for 4 years for one of the largest professional staging training organization in the country that expounds upon the fact that they “certify/accredit” people who take their course.

The blog Shell wrote sheds some interesting light on the subject of training from home stagers. For in this blog she explains that while students had enjoyed the initial training experience, they soon became disillusioned after getting out in the real world and having to deal with what was NOT trained or covered in the EXPENSIVE course they took.

Shell's lists of 35 questions she often had to dance around, when asked by graduates after training. Shell speaks to the complexity of what it REALLY takes to stage a home, and run a staging business. She shares with us all some of the basics that NEEDS to be taught by organizations claiming to offer professional staging training.

Bottom Line... Home Staging is NOT just fluffing a nick knack, it is a BUSINESS! So if you are going to invest in your time and money for a future career, look for companies that not only trains staging... but focus on teaching the ins and outs of owning and operating a home staging business.

So I guess it comes down to… let the buyer LOOK and be aware.

Stage it forward...
Craig (Me)

Post Script: I happen to know that this is one of my most visited posts... if you are looking into a career and training in home staging I STRONGLY encourage you to read this: Home Staging 101: Day in the life of a stager- this ain't for the faint of heart! This post by Kate Hart is a bit tongue-in-cheek... but it REALLY is what this "glamorous" industry is all about.

Stagers, why spend money? List your business for FREE on a national Home Staging directory.

I know that I have shared my thoughts about the real estate social network called Active Rain before. So now that it has grown in membership I once again eel compelled to share with you once again what a great site this is. Active Rain simply amazes and inspires me. For while Active Rain is wonderful marketing, educational, networking and showcasing resource for all professionals in the real estate industry... this one site provides more possibility and opportunity for the home stager and the growing Home Staging Industry then any other I know of.

December 31st marked the closing of Active Rain’s inaugural year (actually they launched themselves in June 2006)... and what a year it was for all the members who have joined and shared in this incredible cyber community.

In a year where the real estate industry was spinning with change and challenge and as we saw large companies jockeying for position on the web... Active Rain appeared as if out of nowhere.

An important lesson for home stagers and leaders in the real estate staging industry can be learn from the simple fact that the creators of Active Rain believed that individuals, not corporations, ARE the heart of the real estate and the industry segments that make it up. It is for this reason they created a means to give dedicated real estate professionals a way to share their ideas, insights and concerns about all aspects of real estate.

Using Active Rain blogging, industry professionals found a totally FREE way to share their voices and highly effect means of educating both colleagues and consumers as to the realities of a dynamic and ever changing industry.

Generosity has worked in Active Rains favor. Since its start, membership has exploded! As of today (December 31) Active Rain proudly has over nearly 12,500 members. With all those members and the fact that countless non-members visit to read and take advantage of the daily feed of fresh information, this site a force to notice among ALL segments of the real estate industry. Pure possibility ripples out as more and more real estate professionals join, find their blogging voices, and share their insights.

Just when one thought it couldn’t get any better, the developers of Active Rain looked to make the services they offer even better. While Active Rain is predominately a social net work of information to, for and within the real estate professional community, Active Rain created another site called “Localism”. Localism is going to give professionals a voice that will be seen DIRECTLY by the consumer into the markets served by the real estate professional.

So while you will find many professionals representing different segments of the real estate industry, I know Active Rain and its sister site, Localism, holds the greatest possibility to create amazing marketing impact for the staging industry, as well as for individual stagers. Their national listing of stagers is truly a Home Staging Web Directory. It has blossomed to nearly 300 Home Stagers. Innovative, fresh, and unique... Active Rain provides real estate stagers with a means to freely gain differing perspectives, share ideas, showcase their businesses, ongoingly grow in knowledge (in both real estate and home staging) and market services.

Where else on the internet can any home stager (regardless of where they were trained) go to join a FREE national staging directory that openly and willing offers and shares so much? More than any other any website on the net, this one totally FREE directory site provides more current information for the Home Stager working to grow and showcase their business on a daily level than any other.

So in 2007, as Home Staging Industry continues to struggle for continuity and awareness, look to Active Rain's National Directory of Stagers and it's FREE Stage It Forward group to provide a forum for Home Staging professionals to turn small ripples into waves of opportunity and move our industry ever forward.

Wishing you, "all the best" on and in the New Year.

Stage it forward...
Craig (Me)

TRIX TO FIX YOUR PIX

For both the stager and realtor, GOOD quality photography taken of a property that is a necessity. For the listing agent, the photos you take of your client’s property show the “product” you are marketing and trying to sell. For the home stager, photos of your work capture and depict your staging talent.

Therefore it is to the advantage of BOTH the realtor and stager to take and display the ABSOLUTE BEST PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES you can. This is especially important NOW as more and more people use the internet as a means to prescreen a home or a stager they are interested in.

Knowing this… the other night I went online and looked at listings on Realtor.com for properties currently for sale in the metro-Chicago market area. While there are those realtors that are doing a good job, I have to admit much of the photography I that agents use to market a listing concerns me.

Below are a few common mistakes I saw occurring repeatedly. (Please note, while I did the best I could to repair the photos of properties on Realtor.com, I did NOT have access to the original digital image file. So "clean-ups" are of the images are NOT as good as they could be. All "original" images are shown to the left.)

BIG SKY: When taking interior photos, be aware of how much ceiling you "capture". Unless the ceiling has an interesting architectural feature or finish... there is no need to place so much emphasis on it? In the right hand picture I cropped the image and warmed its tones up. TOTAL edit time: 3 MINUTES!

TWIST & SLIP: Kitchens have many "clean" vertical & horizontal lines, so when they are photographed, especially when using wide angle lenses, they tend to look all-skewed-up. Note how crooked the refrigerator and stove look in the picture on the left... which were straightened up in the picture on the right. TOTAL edit time: 2 MINUTES!

BRIGHT LIGHTS: Sometimes when taking pictures towards the sun, the resulting pictures can have a "hot spot" that blinds the viewer. One way to clean up the image is simply crop the picture. Notice how when I did this I ended up with a BETTER view of what the property being featured. I also punched up the contrast. TOTAL edit time: 2 MINUTES!

ICY COLD: I saw this particular "problem" occurring on both INTERIOR and EXTERIOR photos of homes. An easy edit that only required I add more red and yellow to the picture to help warm it up. TOTAL edit time: 2 MINUTES!

DATE STAMPED: This goof REALLY surprised me! WHY would a realtor want to let potential buyers know how long a property has been on the market? The stamp will NSTANTLY create doubt with shopper if the property been on the market long for a long period of time. In my edited picture the date stamp was removed. Then... I cropped it and fixed it by straightening it out creating TRUE vertical lines. TOTAL edit time: 4 MINUTES!

DAY NIGHT: This is one of the easiest photo edits one can make. Just by punching up the brightness, I took a "dusky" dark home into what now looks like daylight. Ultimately, more of the house was revealed. TOTAL edit time: 1 MINUTE!

SLIP SLIDING AWAY: Doesn't the realtor's original photo look like the house is about to slide into a big hole in the backyard? While this is a MORE COMPLEX adjustment... once learned it is easy to do over and over again. TOTAL edit time: 3 MINUTES!

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DARK SHADOWS: WOW... would you have thought that adjusting the brightness and contrast that such a GREAT picture of a room would come shining through? The ORIGINAL photo was a total disservice to the seller. I also cropped the pix so not as much of the ceiling was not being featured... really who cares about THIS ceiling? TOTAL edit time: 2 MINUTES!

GREASY SLIDER: Here again I fixed up the "slide" and punched up the brightness just a bit! I corrected all vertical lines so they are truly straight up and down takes a bit more time... but once understood it's easy! TOTAL edit time: 4 MINUTES!

ON FIRE: Occurring mostly on interior shots, this error is just the opposite problem of ICY COLD. This photo is way too HOT. My edits required the addition of more blue and touch of green to cool it down. Again, I cropped the image so that the ceiling was not being featured. TOTAL edit time: 4 MINUTES!

BLEACHED OUT: Simply by increasing the contrast and decreasing the brightness... LOOK at how easy it is to add LIFE to a washed out photo. I cropped the image tighter to show MORE of the house and less of the sidewalk. TOTAL edit time: 3 MINUTES!

TOWER GIANT: THIS is one of the most common problems I see with exterior photos of large condos. Look how odd the building looks on the left... kind of like a pyramid. TIP: Vertical lines MUST always be STRAIGHT up and down... many CAMERAS skew these lines all up. Correcting back to reality is easy. TOTAL edit time: 2 MINUTES!

X

SOOOOO... the TOTAL amount of time I invested in editing these 12pictures was a quick 31 minutes... which means I averaged 2 1/2 minutes to fix each picture.

X

I share all this information because I believe that listing agents have an OBLIGATION to the sellers to show their properties in the BEST possible manner visually. AND stagers, you will benefit too when your clients can clearly see the magic of your work.

Stage it forward...
Craig (Me)

PS: I personally use PhotoShop to edit photos. However, in my previous post entitled "Photos Lie" others share what they use as a photo editing tool. For more information and opinions on editing tools, I encourage you to go back and review that post.

When it Comes to Holiday Decorating Should Sellers GRINch or BARE it?

Last fall I blogged about whether or not it was wise for a home seller to put up decorations for Halloween... and while at that time many people gave varied opinions, I stated that I thought it best not to.

SO... what about decorations for Christmas? Should a home sellers decorate their houses? My answer is a definite and resounding... YES, BUT with conditions.

Decorating a house for sale at Christmas is a bit different then decorating for Halloween. First the Christmas selling market is MUCH slower; and second, Christmas decorations are not as scary, creepy or offensive looking as Halloween decorations.

That being said, keep in mind that any decorations still can be distractions. So if a property is for sale in the market and if a seller chooses to decorate (out side and/or inside) during Christmas, my advice is to tastefully tone-it-down... way down in some cases. Remember in December home sellers are still "selling" a house first... not Christmas.

So my advice is that for one selling season leave the elaborately beautiful displays of Christmas for the neighbors to create and in the windows of department stores.

Stage it forward...
Craig (Me)

Did OPRAH'S SHOW Send a Mixed Message to Home Sellers?

It's no secret how much I admire and respect Oprah. So this week when I finally watched Oprah’s show on preparing a home for its sale I have to say I was let down.

I applaud the shows hope to help home sellers who currently find themselves financially and emotionally burdened with a house that won't sell... after watching this segment I felt the show sent a confusing and false message about what it takes to ready a house for its sale… especially in a TOUGH “buyer's market”. In this episode, the efforts of Oprah's design guru Nate Berkus were chronicled as he helped a financially strapped couple, Zigi & Yosef Edmonds, repair and visually prepare their townhouse before being put up for sale. The home located in Redondo Beach, has 3 bedrooms, 2 ½ bath and eventually listed for $609,999.

The show made it quite clear that in a buyers market the buyer can be fussy. Following Nate's Top 10 tips to ready a house for its sale, is sound "staging" advice. Implementing these tips would surly prove to be beneficial to struggling home sellers.

Unfortunately, my first let down with the show has to do with fact that the staging budget for the Edmond's property was a whopping $10,000. This $10k covered furniture, fixtures and finishes. Unfortunately this "Hollywood" budget is totally unrealistic and fear it will end up discouraging the most home sellers who would and could benefit from less costly home staging solutions. So while home looked FANTASTIC... the show NEVER made it clear just WHO was paying the $10k for all the merchandise that was bought in. I do know that in the introductory bio piece produced on the Edmonds the show said they were financially strapped. The bio went on to say the Edmonds had to sell their home because of grave financial problems.

So my first point I want to make to home sellers interested in staging is that real estate staging typically DOES NOT cost what was spent by Nate on this segment of the Oprah Show.

Now with that being said, it is also important to understand just that real estate staging is breaks down to 3 key areas...TIME, TALENT & TREASURE. And while we know the Edmond's staging budget included $10k worth of "treasure"... I believe it is unfair and misleading not to point out the fact that staging also takes TIME and TALENT to achieve an overall merchandising solution. Therefore, with regards to TIME & TALENT required for Edmund's staging, I have 2 questions:

1. Who paid for the TIME to perform the physical labor of painting, planting, installing, building, removing old carpet & flooring, installing new carpet & flooring, and removing the out dated appliances? (Note: Zigi and Yosef were part of the labor force... but NOT the entire force.)
2. Who paid for the creative TALENT (staging know-how) of both Nate (Interior Decor) and Jamie Durie (Deckscaping)?

So my second major let down with the show is the fact that it was NOT made clear that implementing effective and successful staging requires the seller to know what to do, how to do it, and have skill and physical ability to do it. If the seller does not have knowledge, skill and ability... those who do need to be hired and paid for what they provide.

I am happy to say that while the show may have ended up sending a bit of an over simplified message regarding real estate staging... it still exceeded my expectations in a way that only Oprah does so well. (So, NO I am NOT throwing an “Oprah baby” out with its bath water.)

In typical Oprah fashion she found a wonderful family that NEEDED a home staging jumpstart (a prime "Stage it Forward..." cause for sure). Life for the Edmonds has been a very sad course of events. Yosef, who quit his job in hopes to pursue dreams of freedom and success through self employment, has not triumphed. So to help keep his family of 4 financially alive they MUST sell their home and since January 2006 they have been trying. On top of all the financial problems plaguing the Edmonds, Zigi is a also suffering from a brain tumor. So all in all, they see selling their home as a much needed opportunity to escape some their problems.

The good news is as of last Saturday... a sale is pending for the Zigi and Yosef’s home. I pray this is a sign that the Edmonds are finally turning a corner.

Stage it forward...

Craig (Me)