Weekend Treat – Things I Read Along the Way

Our weekend treat includes some interesting news and information, tips and quotes that I discovered along the way this week.  I thought you might enjoy them and maybe even learn something.  The possibilities are endless!!

·         Passengers who were on the Costa Concordia said that the Celine Dion song, “My Heart Will Go On (the theme song of the film Titanic) was playing on the Italian cruise ship’s restaurants when it hit a rock and began to sink. ~ The Week

·         The average American worker spends more than $20 a week on coffee or $1,092 a year.  But it’s still less than what we spend on lunch and getting to and from work.  The average annual cost of commuting rings in at $1,476, while lunch sets us back an average of $1,924 or $37 a week.  ~ Consumerist.com

·         “In a thousand years archaeologists will dig up tanning beds and think we fried people as punishment”.  ~ Olivia Wilde in More

·         Devoting time to getting your body moving can lead to higher productivity.  In a study, a group spent two and a half hours a week being physically active.  Not only did they get more work done than non-exercisers, but they also felt better about their occupations and were less sick less often.  ~ Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

·         If US college tuitions continue to rise as they have for the past three decades, today’s newborns (the Class of 2034) will face bills of $110,432 a year at the country’s priciest universities.  ~The Daily

·          “Happiness, it turns out is a destination we reach only when we are trying to get somewhere else.”  ~ Matthew Syed in the London Times

·         “Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel!”  Your parents’ sage advice is even more vital now, considering that nearly 25% of adults admit to texting while driving (Cindy comment - probably a higher percentage for professional stagers and Realtors!!).  Recent research found that drivers writing a text took about twice as long to respond to flashing lights and missed over 13 times more lights altogether that focused drivers did, which could mean a serious increase in the risk of accidents and injuries.  Women’s Health

Remember to dwell in possibilities but be sure to have fun doing so!!

Cindy

Nobody Notices Normal

What a day!  I just finished Day Two of RESA 2012 in Las Vegas.  Today’s speakers were phenomenal-informative, interesting and inspirational!  It was a day full of topics that ran from motivational to team building to presentations to marketing to inventory tracking to time management to “out of the box” income producing alternatives.  Whew!

After the evening awards dinner, some new staging friends and I did a little obligatory gambling (I need to keep my day job as “Luck” was not a Lady last night). We ended the night talking staging (as if a day of nonstop staging presentations weren’t enough).  My head is bursting with information, ideas and insights!

One benefit of this RESA convention is the opportunity to meet professional home stagers from all over the country.  And of course, we compare notes. 

Real estate markets are all drastically different.  Staging is the standard in some markets and is in its infancy in others.  We each do our businesses differently.  And, we are all at different points in the development of our businesses. 

But one theme was totally consistent with each stager I met.  When we get a house to stage, we all want it to be noticed.  We want our work to stand out.  We want our Realtor partners and selling clients to sell their house for the highest possible price in the quickest amount of time.

We spend thousands of dollars on furniture and accessory inventory, education and marketing all in order to service our clients and make this happen.

In our own unique ways, our professional home staging work is based on a simple premise - “Nobody Notices Normal!”  This catchy phrase was introduced by one of the speakers and it so captured what we do.

When we stage the house, the last thing that we want is normal.  Normal does not fire the imagination.  Normal does not turn heads or hold stares.  Normal does not bring out the “Wow” response.

What we want is inspiring, beautiful, creative, memorable, and comfortable.  We want that staged house to stand out from the crowded market – in its online photos, in its first impressions, and in its rooms and spaces.  We want the buyer to imagine the possibilities in this unique and special place which we hope they want to call their new home.

Think about all of the possibilities bursting from this insight that “Nobody Notices Normal”.  If you get it, then you understand the value and benefits of professional home staging.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

What Happens in Vegas Comes Back to Oklahoma!

For the next few days, I will be continuing conversations from the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) convention be held in Las Vegas.  What happens here will not stay here.  I plan to share highlights, information, observations, insights and conversations from the RESA convention.

RESA was founded in 2007 as a way for stagers to connect with other stagers and to elevate the status level of stagers within the Real Estate Community.  According to RESA founder Shell Brodnax, “RESA has provided unity and legitimacy for the home staging industry… The real estate community is indeed recognizing home staging as a legitimate and valuable asset.”

Find more about RESA at  http://realestatestagingassociation.com/

I’ve only been here a few hours and already I’ve had a great time meeting and learning from other stagers – and that was only in the hotel lobby and opening cocktail reception.  We all have the same challenges (inventory management, storage, pricing) and wrestle with the same dilemmas.  The industry is so new! We are all on the ground floor of this industry. 

Imagine the possibilities I will discover today when the RESA conference begins.  Stay tuned for more from Las Vegas.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

You Have to Teach Them How to Live in This House

In the past, we discussed the notion that selling your house can be very emotional.  But buying a house can be an equally stressful process.

The buyer’s objective is to find the “best” house for themselves and their lifestyle at the “best” price possible.  And “best” is a very relative and unique concept for every buyer.  Buyers are making a major gamble and investment that this house is going to be “best for us”.  And that gamble is measured in thousands and thousands of dollars, lots of personal status and self-image points and off the chart readings on the “Life Stress-o- Meter”.

The house buying process forces buyers to simultaneously make emotional decisions and rational decisions with lots riding on those decisions.  Buyers need to both “love” the house and “afford” what they love – not always possible and oftentimes very stressful.  Plus, it is natural to be stressed when you are concerned about whether your loved ones and friends will really like this house and/or whether your furniture will really work in this house.

Home staging teaches buyers how to live in this house.  Home staging paints a picture for the buyer about what life could be like in this house.  It opens them up to consider the new possibilities of this house rather than fall back into their comfort zone.  Home staging helps reduce the level of buyer stress as well as help them make both the emotional and rational decisions. 

When moving about a professionally staged home, buyers imagine cooking fabulous meals in the kitchen; chatting with friends and family by the fireplace; and, snuggling up with a good book in the master bedroom.  Home staging strikes the buyer’s emotional chords and drives emotional decisions. 

When done well, home staging also helps the buyer make rational decisions.  Home staging defines a home’s best features and delivers the easy flow of a home.  It makes the house feel neat, ordered and in proper perspective.  Home staging makes sense of the house and its functions which teaches buyers how to live in this house.

Home staging helps buyers imagine living their best selves living in this house.  And when they are so inspired, these buyers are more likely to find the possibilities in both their emotional decisions and rational decisions to buy this house.

Remember to dwell in possibilities - emotionally and rationally!

 

Cindy

Pretty Costs, Pretty Pays

Selling your house requires that it stand out from the crowd.  It can stand out because of its price; special location; or, unique features (which we call focal points in the home staging business).  Your house can also stand out from the crowd because it is prettier than the rest!  And Professional home staging makes houses pretty!!

But the reality is that Pretty Costs.  Just watch the ads and infomercials for makeup; age defying creams; hair products; clothes; weight loss programs; augmentations, and fitness machines and programs.  They guarantee some variation of pretty (usually with minimal effort) and they all cost money – sometimes lots of money.

Why do they work?  Because we also know that Pretty Pays.  Pretty babies draw “oohs” and “ahhes”.  Pretty girls turn heads.  Pretty men (usually referred to as handsome) also hold stares.  And pretty houses stand out from the crowd for all of the right reasons.

But when it comes to selling our house, some sellers (and sadly even a few realtors) believe that what they have is good enough.  They don’t need pretty.  In their view, “we don’t need to spend money on getting our house ready.  If it was good enough for me it will be good enough for the next guy.  Why waste my money on improvements and home staging if it is going to sell any way.”

For these short-sighted sellers, an investment in improvements and home staging is viewed as an unnecessary expense.  They are living in the past and expect their home to just sell.   Gone are the days when you can just stick a “For Sale” sign in the yard! 

For the savvy, strategic seller, this home staging cost is an investment in selling their house quicker and for the best possible price.  They know that Pretty Costs and Pretty Pays.

Professional home staging makes the house pretty because it accentuates the home’s best features and provides a nice, easy and consistent use of space and movement.  And don’t forget, a professionally staged house dramatically improves the pictures for the online listing.

Pretty Costs and so does professional home staging.  But Pretty Pays dividends and so does professional home staging which pays dividends in selling houses quicker and for the best possible price. 

A pretty house fires the imagination of the buyer and presents the possibilities of life in this memorable place.

 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy