Rebecca

The ultimate goal for a stager is to create the image of a lifestyle that will appeal to a wide range of buyers.”When people are looking to purchase a home, they are buying a new lifestyle,” Mr. Finlason says. “They don’t have the answer on how to define that lifestyle, so we do it for them.”

The first episode of The Stagers will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT on July 1 on HGTV.

Read the entire article here.

Enjoy,
Rebecca

Information is power, and that couldn’t be more true when it comes to real estate. Catering to savvy buyers and sellers who crave Web 2.0 tools, Fizber, a for-sale-by-owner Website, aims to connect buyers and sellers. Despite pricing uncertainty in the current market, the site’s traffic continues its upward trend, landing the site at 41,318 on the WebReport 100k – up almost 84% over the past 60 days.

What sets this “homes for sale by owner site” apart are a myriad of helpful tools. Some are available on similar sites, but it’s nice to have them all assembled under one tent.

Among the offerings:

Drive Score – Find the perfect neighborhood with a Google map mashup that displays regional events. All you do is put in an address and local events will populate.

As a seller, this tool is useful if there are local attractions that you want to flaunt. As a buyer, Drive Score helps you get a better idea of neighborhoods you might not be too familiar with.

A widget to help sellers and agents promote for-sale properties is available as well.

Climate Watch – Particularly useful if you are looking to relocate, climate look up reveals annual weather information about towns and cities. Aside from quality-of-life issues, weather is also a major factor when it comes to insurance. Avoid potential problems and learn about the locale you are researching versus the rest of the United States with a series weather-related graphs and charts.

Home Staging – Ever look at a property online and decide not to visit it because of the displayed pictures? That’s because you assume that only the best pictures will be used to promote a property. Despite everyone and their mother owning a digital camera, simply put, many of us are not good photographers. That’s where home staging comes in. Designed to put the best face on your home so that it sells quickly, Fizber lets you search the nation for home-staging providers in your area. A rapidly growing trend thanks to all of those cable TV real estate shows, the expense, more often than not, pays for itself.

Street View – There’s nothing like seeing a neighborhood and property in person, but when I’m stuck at my day job, hitting the road isn’t an option. Folks in the market for a house will appreciate Street View, a Google map that allows you to explore city neighborhoods. Virtually strolling an area around a property’s address can help buyers evaluate a neighborhood – before deciding if it’s worth making a physical visit.

The technology of Silicon Valley comes to Main Street on Fizber. The site’s clean design, litany of useful tools and over 70 partner sites are keeping people coming back for more.

If you watch Design Star, you’ll know this Latino cop who loves interior design.

Who’dda thought?

Enjoy the videoclip Verdugo sent in to be on the show!

Full Story Here!

Rebecca

Kathleen Garvey from Ft. Myers Florida takes All in first ever Stager Idol Competition sponsored by the Real Estate Staging Association.

Stager Idol Winner Announced
Ft. Myers, FL, June 07, 2008 –(PR.com)– The Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) is very proud to announce Kathleen Garvey of Enhanced Interiors & Home Staging has been selected as the winner of the very first Stager Idol competition for Professional Home Stagers, the property merchandizing arm of the Real Estate Industry. Kathleen Garvey has been a professional stager in Fort Myers Florida has many supporters, Joe Hall, Affiliate Chairman of the Cape Coral Realtors Association of Cape Coral, FL, says homeowners and real estate professionals should “Experience the Difference” a home stager can provide when selling a property. With Kathleen Garvey’s staging expertise, creativity, and knowledge, rest assured that the property will be showcased as one of SW Florida’s finest properties. The extra touches Kathleen adds to a home make a world of difference in selling a home quickly. They are very proud to hear of her “win” and Jeffrey D. Peterman General Manager; Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings said, “With great energy and enthusiasm, Kathleen Garvey takes staging to the level of excellence that sets the bar in the industry. In our continuing effort to support Home Staging in SW Florida, Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings congratulates Kathleen on the outstanding international win of Stager Idol.”

Garvey went through 4 stages of the competition. First there was a public vote to determine the top ten finalists. Those top ten submitted staging projects in a report format and those were judged by the Celebrity Judging Team to move to the Final Five Finalists. The Final Five submitted another project and the round continued to the Top Three contestants. Those contestants participated in a final round of judging consisting of a phone interview with each of the celebrity judges.

Celebrity Judges; Ann Maurice; the House Doctor, Stephanie McWilliams with the HGTV hit show Fun Shui, Margi Kyle of TV’s Desperate Designs reviewed the staging projects and award points to each contestant ultimately Garvey pulled ahead in points and was determined the winner.

Garvey will receive, fame and cash and prizes totaling over $12,000.00. Sponsors of the competition include Real Estate Staging Association, Certified Staging Professionals, Dewey Color Systems, Smart Stagers, Brook Furniture Rental, Kirkland’s Home, Active Rain, 3 Ddream.net, Feng Shui Cure, Feng Shui Plaza, Village Workroom, Interior Redesign Industry Specialists (IRIS), Inventory Guardian, Stager Talk Magazine, Real Estate Shows, Trade Secrets, Diva in the house Radio.

For more information on Stager Idol or future sponsorship opportunities please contact Shell Brodnax at shell@realestatestagingassociation.com. For more information on Kathleen Garvey please call 239-849-6009 or visit www.Enhancedinteriors.net

Well, who knew little old Rochester would come in at #2 for Hottest Housing Market? Although the majority of big cities are experiencing a housing price “adjustment”, smaller cities who never experienced a big bubble are still chugging right along. Click the link above for full details on the top ten cities on the rise.

So, if you’re looking for good housing prices with a potential for going UP in value, check out my fair city of Rochester, New York!

And if you ARE trying to sell a home in less than favorable market, do yourself a favor and learn some home staging techniques (my e-book at http://home-staging-secrets.com is a good place to start and way cheaper than hiring a professional stager).
Rebecca

Here’s a quote straight from the article posted at: http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/551615.html

“Specifically, home staging would be considered “advertising fees” and would fall under the allowable selling expenses.

Second, you may be able to negotiate with your Realtor and add the expense to the commission paid for selling the house. Either way, the same result is accomplished, and the services provided will be considered deductible.

That said, if the home stager recommends the entire interior needs a fresh coat of paint, these selling expenses are not allowable deductions.

Bottom line: Paying for the home stager’s services is deductible, while expenses for repairs, maintenance or permanent redecorating of the house are not.”

Tax time is coming soon, so be sure to keep track of your deductible Home Staging expenses,
Rebecca

Read more at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/20/REDOUF7J4.DTL

Enjoy,
Rebecca

What is home staging or house fluffing and how can it help you?

Written by Kathy Somers
Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada — Apr 03, 2007 — /prbuzz/ — American’s have been using staging strategies since the 90′s but the trend is just starting to be recognized by Canadian homeowners.

In order to make a home more appealing to a wider variety of buyers it’s important to de-clutter and neutralize the space. Home stagers are able to take this marketing tool one step further. Buyers today are more real estate savvy, baking cookies and putting on a pot of coffee doesn’t cut it anymore in today’s competitive market. Beautifully decorated model homes have elevated the expectations of the homebuyer. Regardless of the market it’s important to stand out from the rest!

A “home stager” is a person who will come into your home and give advice on the things you can do to improve your homes overall appeal. Home stagers look at your property with the objective eye of a buyer. They help you to understand the things that are working for you and also the things that may need to be corrected or reworked.

Generally a home stager will do a 2-3 hour consultation. During this time they will go through each and every room with you and make personalized recommendations for your home. A home stager can also suggest paint colours furniture layout, and placement of artwork. Most home stagers will shop for you or accompany you on your shopping spree for decorative items, linens etc. If you need furniture rentals that can be arranged: as well as handymen and tradesmen referrals for any repairs or painting that needs to be done.

Professional help can range from $100-$150 per hour on average, although you can have a home stager do only the consultation and leave you to make the changes on your own. Most people should expect to spend 1% of the list price on staging. While that can seem expensive, it’s a great deal cheaper than your first price reduction which usually means $5000-$10,000 dollars. It’s up to you how much of the staging project you want your home stager to complete: from the consultation only, down to the final details of the showing.

The object is to create a pulled together look that is contemporary and appealing to the sophisticated buyers of today’s real estate market. Staging your home will give you a competitive edge.

Kathryn Somers, President and Creative Director of Stage it first would like to offer you your first hour of a home staging consultation free. To take her up on this exclusive offer, contact her by email at Kathy@stageitfirst.ca
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it and mention that you saw this offer in the PRBuzz.

Before you call a real estate agent!
Before your first price reduction!
If your property is vacant!
Stage it First!

If you need any information on home staging, visit www.stageitfirst.ca or email Kathryn Somers at Kathy@stageitfirst.ca

Just a tip if you are selling: Sell as fast as you can while buyers can still get mortgages at decent rates!

If you are buying in the next year, stay tuned for some lower home prices.

Rebecca

If you’d like more detailed information on how to stage a house for sale quickly, check out the Do-It-Yourself Home Staging Kit at: http://home-staging-secrets.com

It has 97 pages worth of step-by-step instructions on when to stage and how to stage, plus detailed staging checklists, remodeling checklists, and home inspection checklists to make your house fluffing job even easier.

I hope you enjoy it!
Rebecca