Providing Services to Prepare the Home for Sale

When is a mirror not a mirror

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:01:29 -0600

It can be very expensive to have items that are only used for one thing.

Yes we do charge rent for our items when we stage but it takes a lot time to recuperate the expense and breakage.

Recently I purchased two mirrors to hang on a wall. One was to hide an ugly circuit breaker box on the left side of a window. The other was to balance the look and went on the other side of the window. I took marker pens and wrote cute things i.e. Call me when you get home, on one of them. The other had a grocery list.

They were purcahsed at Target and we horrible to hang. I think someone was drunk when they attached the hangers to the back. I could not get them to hand straight without poster putty on the corners.

I thought I'd never be able to use them again.

This week, the dinamic duo, used one for a bed table.

Clever we are

The home owner loved it.

Stage-Show-Sell, offers affordable home staging solutions in the Birmingham - Bloomfield and surrounding areas in getting your home ready for the market. We service both home sellers and realtors. We have the experience, our own rental furniture and accessories to stage many homes. We specialize in Estate work. The house can be put into our hands for the whole process of getting the house on the market

Women's Council of REALTORS® Article: Home Staging As a Value-Added Bonus to Your Clients

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:06:05 -0600

I can't say it any better than this.

Please read the post below

Via Charlene Storozuk - Burlington Ontario Home Stager (Dezigner Digz):

Prior to leaving for Las Vegas to attend RESA's International Home Staging Conference, I was asked by the Women's Council of REALTORS® to write an article about home staging for their March newsletter. What better time to write it than upon my return from the Conference when I'm all pumped up about home staging and wanting to spread the word! The article was just released today on WCR's website.

If you've been thinking for some time about incorporating the services of a professional Home Stager as part of your marketing plan, give this article a read. You might find some helpful information to get you started in the right direction towards getting that edge against the competition.

Here's the link: Home Staging As a Value Added Bonus to Your Clients

-------

Dezigner Digz is a professional home staging and interior decorating company based in Burlington Ontario. The owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and currently serves on the Executive Committee as Regional Vice-President, Canada. Her work has been featured in the book FabJob Guide to Become a Home Stager, 2009 edition. Charlene has written several articles on home staging, some of which have been published by the International Business Times. She is also a Contributor to REALTOR® Magazine's blog Styled, Staged & Sold. For more information about us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com.

Little Things mean a lot -- $35,000 price reduction - realtors loose

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:37:13 -0600

The house that is our competition has been reduced $35,000. In my books that mean the realtor has lost $1050 in commissions. Wouldn't it have been cheaper and smarter to pay for a consultation with a stager?

The presentation of rooms is so important. Little things mean a lot. Fresh color on the walls. Bold colors in the rooms and the correct placement of furniture.

We can call it de-cluttering, re-designing or staging. What matters is that it's done.

Marianne and I finished staging a home this past week. The sellers know when they put it on the market that they wanted it sold.

They wanted to purchase a new home then put the old one on the market. The did not want to be living in it while is was on the market.

We realize that not everyone can do this esp. in this economy. They are lucky and smart.

I started working with them last June so they had the time to do all of my little "honey do" projects.

They painted and cleaned and tweaked here and there.

Yellow paint is now gone. Bed direction is changed.

Draperies are open and clutter removed.

We used their furniture and used our bedding and extras.

This is what their small bedroom looks like now. This will be their MLS photo

This is one of their competitions MLS photo.

This is the 2nd bedroom in the house we just staged.

Before

After

The walls were painted. It's difficult to see with the afternoon sun streaming in.

Exercise equipment was removed and the bed was moved to another wall.

Our competition MLS photo and they have just reduced their price by $35,000 and are going for a short sale.

I know that if they had called in a stager first the house would have sold and they wouldn't be in this short sale situation.

What do you think??

Our living room before

After. The walls were painted. The couch from the FR was moved to the LR and slip covered.

Competition Living Room

Why aren't the realtors working with a stager to have the homes sell faster and for more money?

Sellers. Don't wait for your agent to bring up staging. Call a stager today

Realtors....stop talking out of school ...without the facts

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:03:51 -0600

Yesterday I attended my Con Ed class to keep my license active for yet another year. My license is in holding, and has been for 2 1/2 years, and I want to keep it for many reasons.

The best reason is that it keeps me up to date on what is going on with the news laws and challenges for my realtor associates.

During the lunch period the conversations turned to the millage votes that were held in many cities the day before.

Troy Michigan mileage was voted down. That will impact many of the cities services. Many of which has been a selling point for the homes. It's my understanding tha the Community Center will be shut down. The Parks and Recs Dept will be run by a private business.

It will be interesting to see what services are really cut.

What peaked my interest was a realtor who was adamant that the Bloomfield Twp. mileage passed because 45% of the absentees ballots were not returned. She assumed, of course, that only seniors used the absentee system. She knows that seniors don't like to pay taxes and of course they would have voted no.

I thought that was absolutely amazing. Absentee ballots are used for seniors who are out of the area during the voting, seniors (like myself) who always vote absentee and business people who don't want to take the time to stand in line to vote. Many young mothers vote absentee because they don't want to stand in line, esp. during flu season, with young children. They also don't want to count on the snow issue. So it's a lot easier to get the paper ballot and be able to read it through and vote with knowledge.

So now we know who votes absentee.

Now the facts on the vote.

There are 33,123 registered voters

10,667 cast their ballots OF WHICH 5,661 were absentee votes. (over 53%)

The mileage passed with 5,647 for and 5,014 against.

That's a close vote

6206 ballots were mailed to homeowners for absentee votes

5661 of those were returned to the twp (91%) by my math

545 were not returned.

Approx 10% of those with absentee ballots voted at the polls.

That leaves about 500 absentee ballots not used.

3281 of the absentee ballots voted yes

2371 voted no

That's a 3 to 2 ratio.

Considering the same ratio would have applied to the remaining ballots means that it still would have passed.

The blame, if there is any blame, goes to the 2/3 of the voters who did NOTHING.

I'm happy to say that I voted yes. I want to keep my community, Bloomfield Township, strong. Bloomfield Township has never, in my memory, turned down a good mileage. The extra mileage for the few years will be offset by the lowering of my taxable value do to the economy.

Staging - is it the fiduciary responsibility of the Realtor

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:08:02 -0500

I'm really serious about this. We, stagers, know that staged home sell faster and for more money. We can't guarantee a sale. We can make the home look it's best for potential buyers.

Isn't it possible that Realtors should suggest to their clients that they should talk to a stager?

Stagers know how to talk to the sellers about preparing their home for sale. Isn't it better that they prepare their home for sale than take many price reductions?

Everyday I see fliers that come to me saying a house has had a big price reduction and the photos show that the house is really nice. It needs to be professionally prepared. A consultation with us could save them thousands of dollars.

Would you go out to a great restaurant in your jeans and T-Shirt when you know the dress is formal? No, you prepare for it by putting yourself out there as best as you can.

Why don't we do that with the houses that are going on the market?

Staging - is it the fiduciary responsibility of the Realtor? I believe that it's the realtors duty to bring it to the table of seller for them to decide.

#1 IN HIS COMPANY ..............IS STAGE-SHOW-SELL THE KEY?

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:33:50 -0600

Bill Bouscher of Prudential Great Lakes Realty gets it. He understands staging. Company statistics for 2009 indicate that he was number one, in closings, for December and ninth in his company for the year.

What makes Bill so successful? He is a professional. He understands the power of getting the home ready for the market. His team approach of using Stage-Show-Sell, LLC to prepare the homes and his pricing strategy have made him successful.

Every home that we teamed up on, when the seller used his pricing, had an offer within two weeks of hitting the market. The sellers who didn't use his suggested listing price stayed on the market longer.

Their homes had offers within two weeks when the sellers agreed to reduce the price to his suggested lising price.

Price, condition and location are the keys to a successful closing. Bill Bouscher and Stage-Show-Sell, LLC is the successful team.

Are Stage-Show-Sell,LLC and teamwork the key to his success?

Staging works for the 2nd time WITH MULTIPLE OFFERS - UPDATED

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:09:17 -0600

Tomorrow I get to de-stage this Royal Oak home. I'm very proud to say that again it had a MULTIPLE offers within two weeks after staging. This time it will close.

The realtor is singing my praises. The owner loves me She knows the reason is selling is the staging. She asked me not to de-stage until the papers are signed. That doesn't work here. We must de-stage before closing or she will have to pay rent to the purchaser. That gets real messy.

Please all of you keep your fingers crossed that this house closes Friday at 3.

Transaction closed with record breaking speek. Everyone is so pleased.

Staging works

Birmingham Home sold two weeks after staging- Vacant - staged- sold

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:57:20 -0600

This adorable Birmingham home was on the market for two years without an offer. Two weeks after staging with Stage-Show-Sell., LLC it had an offer.

The cape cod had a bedroom and sitting area on the upper level with a beautiful bathroom.

The entry level had a bedroom and a full bath.

These were also staged.

Tha basement was confusing because it didn't have a purpose to the buyers eyes. The seller used it for a media room and that wasn't selling the house esp. with it vacant.

Having the basement staged gave the buyers the option of knowing that it could be used for a bedroom. Please note the exit window. The basement could also be used as an office or media room

AR opinion is needed

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:53:21 -0600

One of the nice things about having the business a little slow this week is the chance to play with different programs.

This home was re-staged in December 2009 after the buyer couldn't close on the home.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to try the Photosynth program again.

I'm looking for opinions on the program and it's potential in marketing homes for sale.

Royal Oak staged by Stage-Show-Sell, LLC

My AR family I need your opinion

tis the season to be ..........

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:21:14 -0600

Tis the season to be de-cluttering. Thought you all thought I was going to say Jolly. :-)

Well I do wish for the Jolly but I want to stress the de-cluttering.

This time of the year we give gifts and we receive gifts. Some of the gifts we really like and others well we could really do without.

Now before grabbing all those gifts and shoving them in the closet take a hard look at what you already have.

What you all ready have a dust buster? and now you have another one !! Decide if you want to return the new one (Good luck) without a receipt and get half the money the gifter (think I made up that word) paid for it. Toss out or donate the old one and get a income tax credit for it (my favorite is donating things that work) Or a really fun thing is to thing of who really needs one and put it away for re-gifting during the year. Put a tag on it so you know who its for AND MARK YOUR CALENDAR for that person birthday that you already have the gift.

Great time to be singing Whistle While You Work and enjoy.

Dump that closet that's always been too full. Throw everything on the bed from your closet. Put them in stacks of sizes. Yes we all have severl sizes in our closet. Toss out the ones that are too big because none of us want to go back there. Toss out the ones that are several sizes smaller than what we are wearing. Let's face it, no matter how many New Years resolutions we make to exercise and loose weight, it's going to take time to get there. Time means style changes. The clothes are ugly by the time we get down to the weight we want to be AND when we get there we deserve new clothes.

Get your kids in on the action. Have them dump their toys out and decide which one are complete. Which ones they haven't played with in a long time and are still good for donating and which ones need to go out the door. This really makes the kids feel good when they know that their toys are going someone else for someone to play with.

Oh right, they are all collectibles. Right. They are only collectible when you are buying them. Not when you are selling them. I know because of all the estate sales The truly great toys like Lego ...keep for your grand kids.

Pretend you are moving and do you want to pay someone $$ for shipping things that you haven't used for years.

Now go out there and make this time your Boxing Day. Box things up and get rid of them. It will make you want to sing. Tis the Season to be Jolly Fa La La La La La La

Photosynth Group announcement

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:55:01 -0600

I'm fascinated by Photosynth and what the possibilities that it has. The only problem is that I'm having a terrible time getting it right.

So, I hoping that there are more AR members who are playing with it and we can support each other.

This home was staged by Stage-Show-Sell, LLC in November of 2009.

This project took me about 10 hours of playing and experimenting It's not right but it's close enough to start the group with.

As you can see one of the problems that I'm having is getting it to start where I want it to start. How do I get it to recognize the first photo.

The Microsoft help section leaves a lot to be desired.

Royal Oak Condo is now ready for purchase

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:48:45 -0600

December 2009 this condo was prepared for sale by Stage-Show-Sell, LLC

Taking is from the 1960s to now should help the marketing of the condo

Cleaning is more than dusting a vacumning. It's looking at the house with a buyers eye. First impressions count that's why it's important from the front door be clean and shinny and that includes the doorknobs. The windows need to sparkly and show the outdoors

These small and economical changes to the condo will bring the buyers in.

Transforming a laundry room to sell

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:32:41 -0600

1960s Laundry & Mud Rm transformation

Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302

This laundry room and mud room were stuck in the 1960.
This very inexpensive renovation added value to the home.

Staging a home is more than placement of furniture. It's removing the features that are not attractive to buyers.
Staging is making home look good in the buyers eyes.

Details

Bedrooms:

Bathrooms:

2 1/2

Contact Info

Virginia Tatseos

Dir 248-421-8201
Email | Website

All information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.

Challenges of winter staging.....plea to mother nature

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:36:41 -0600

I realize that many of you warm climate stagers don't understand the challenges that we go through. Yes I do know that you are having a cold snap. Gee what is it this week 60 degrees :-)

Last weekend we de-staged a home, during a snow storm, in Madison Heights. That means getting the supplies damp, slipping and sliding on the ice walks and driveways. Try loading your car when there is no purchase for your shoes on the ground. Right after that we had to stage another vacant in Royal Oak.

Understand how complicated it is by understanding that vacant house have to be winterized. That means turning off the water and putting anti-freeze in all the pipes and TOILETS. We women have to know where the nearest fast food restaurant, with facilities, is.

There are no utilities when the house is a foreclosure and there is no one to pay the utility bills. That means no heat and no electricity.

This is like going back 100 years and staging a log cabin except there is no wood burning stove.

What damage can happen to our furniture and linens in this cold damp climate?

What happens to us trying to unpack boxes with gloves on our hands?

Oh, mother nature, please let this be a short winter.

No New Years Resolutions for me..I will continue on the path that I've been on

Virginia Tatseos (Stage-Show-Sell) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:25:15 -0600

Yesterday, Christmas day, I spent flat on my back reading a book for the 3rd time. Christmas was the day before for my family so I spent the day doing nothing. It was great. We call it a PJ day around here.

The book I choose to read, again, was by Andy Andrews. This book had

such a change on my outlook that I've decided it's one that will say with me forever. I won't loan it out.

Even though this book is for determining personal success it has effected the way that I do business.

His Seven Decisions and how they have changed my business

1. The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.

The mistakes that I've made marketing to realtors that don't get it (staging) is my mistake and I won't go it again. I can't change them. My future is working with those who know and understand the benefits of Stage-Show-Sell, LLC

2. I will seek wisdom. I will be the a servant to others.

We at Stage-Show-Sell, LLC will volunteer to help others that need my service. I will joing organizations that will help me grown personally and business.

3. I am a person of action. I seize this moment. I choose now.

No more putting things on the back burner. Do more saying I'll do that tomorrow. Today is the day to begin any project whether it's joining a new networking group or cleaning my closet.

In 2009 we joined two new networking groups that are great.

4. I have a decided heart. My destiny is assured.

Stage-Show-Sell, LLC will continue to grow in 2010 just as it did in 2009. I know and feel the future.

5. Today I will choose to be happy. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.

Many years ago I was overcome with the negative things of life and business. I was a realtor at the time and some how got into the DRAMA of the business. All the realtors out there know what I mean. I choose to find everything a leaning experience and not let the problems of day drag me down.

My business picked up.

My life, because of dying parents, was dragging me down emotionally and physically.

I choose to be happy and enjoy the days that were left and not on what will be lost.

6. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.

Everyone has 'baggage' from the past. Get over it. I've learned to forgive myself and learn from the past.

I've learned that others aren't upset with me as I thought. Why should I be upset with myself.

I will forgive those who don't believe in Staging. I don't need to carry the burden and frustration. We can help only those who want to be helped.

7. I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith.

I believe in me and my business. I know what I do makes a difference.

Staging works and the more I "think it" the more it will happen. My PMA ( positive mental attitude) will win.

All the homes that I have staged in 2009 have had an offer on them within two weeks of staging EXCEPT the ones that the sellers didn't co-operate with the agents and price their homes right.

So there will be No New Years Resolutions for me I will continue on the path that I've been on.