Your Insurance Is Canceled

In late May, my husband and I became the proud owners of a two bedroom home in the South Wedge in Rochester, NY. We never planned to become landlords but in an effort to help a family member that needed a place to live, we put an offer in on this small house the first day it came on the market. Eight weeks later, we handed over a very big check and then the family members decided Rochester, NY

Instilling Confidence

Today, there are a ton of houses on the market. To be precise, there are 6,890 single family homes listed in the Rochester, NY metro area. And if you are trying to sell yours, you want to do something to stand out.One of my sellers realized that the competition was fierce. When they decided to place their property on the market, they invested a little time in organizing all their owner’s

Property Tax Rebate Checks

When you weed through all your junk mail during the next few weeks, be on the lookout for a letter and application from the State of New York for a property tax rebate. Applications are scheduled to be mailed to western New York in mid to late July.You might recall that last year, New York State property owners simply received a rebate check. This year, our state legislature, in its infinite

Great Time To Be a Landlord

I enjoy watching the ebb and flows of the market. It amazes me how everything is connected. For example, mortgage interest rates have inched up over the past couple of years from 4-point-something to now 6.5 or so. And sub-prime mortgages have dried up. In other words, you have to have pretty good credit to buy a house today.Guess what? Not as many people are buying houses these days. Two years

When Children Die

It's been a horrific week in Rochester. For my out of town readers, five beautiful, energetic 2007 high school graduates died in a fiery crash on their way to a cottage on the Finger Lakes. Almost as traumatic, a car-load of classmates were following close behind and witnessed the entire accident.There were no drugs or alcohol involved although I've heard rumor that the driver was talking on a

Scary Numbers

In the Rochester, NY real estate market, 50 per cent of the houses that are listed in the MLS do not sell within 90 days. Just last year, only a third of the home on the market wouldn't sell within 90 days. I guess it is safe to say that Rochester has joined the rest of the country with a slowdown in the housing market.Another way to look at it, however, is 50% do sell, and many of them sell very

Home Stagers... Isn't it Time You Became a B.A.S.T.R.D. ARSE Like Me?

To my fellow home stagers... I did not want to make too big of a stink about this, but I am delighted to announce yet another staging training & certification course than is now becoming available to you.
While I know many of you all already are well trained staging professionals and have worked hard at applying the foundational basics in the art and business of home staging, I also know many of you still feel a bit inadequate and under-trained.

You’ve shared with me your tales of how your competition, at times, rubs your nose in the fact that they believe they are better educated then you... ESPECIALLY when it comes to the skillful use and application of Raffia.

Well, guess what? Your worries are over...

I am happy to announce I have been recently sought out by the British Academy of Staging Training & Raffia Design (B.A.S.T.R.D.) to be educated, certified and then bring back to you their renowned ARSE approach to staging.

Last weekend, I am happy to reveal, the B.A.S.T.R.D.s flew me over to cheery old England for an exhaustive training program to learn ZILLIONS of ways the professional home stager can use Raffia cheaply, yet beautifully, transform their client's properties. GOLLY! There was so much I had to learn in this grueling three day wonder workshop. WOW! I would never have thought one could create so much out of a shriveled stinky dead weed?

But even now, though I am so pooped out, I am just too excited and want to share with you that I am now a Master B.A.S.T.R.D ARSE. That's right I got my MBA! I'm a real live educated ARSE too. I can no longer say I “stage naked” as the renowned stager Kate Hart says. Oh, and more importantly… I am trained and authorized to now teach you the B.A.S.T.R.D. methodology so that you too can generate beautiful Raffia staging transformations. Just LOOK at all the stunning, yet clever, ways Raffia was used in the room pictured above. LOVELY, simply lovely.

You see one thing I learned was… NOTHING SELLS a home faster than a home staged with RAFFIA! And while I know many of you might think you know why it works so well, I know you believe it is because it looks cute and adorable. But it is not the way it LOOKS that helps it make a house sell. Actually it is the way that it SMELLS that SELLS! But I have to admit while it does look pretty too. WOW, there is so much to teach you. Did you know the ARSE tag line is, "Don’t be a stinker... swell smells sell!"

Well I just know the home staging industry will soon be revolutionized as more and more stagers use this misunderstood and underutilized tool. So I invite all home stagers to come learn the secrets of Raffia! I am now taking reservations for next month's inaugural class. Space is limited... so sign up now. And know, I look forward to teaching you how to be a total ARSE… just like me.

Smile It Forward...
Me

Post Script: I believe it is important that we can laugh at ourselves and not take ourselves too serious. A smile before the holiday is a good thing. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it... Happy 4th.