Summary: In the market to buy or sell real estate? Follow these tips from the people behind the HGTV program "Bought & Sold" to make the process easier. 1. Arranging an open house to attract potential buyers doesn't necessarily work. Nosy neighbors and real estate agents will be attracted to the event but not serious buyers. 2. Despite conventional wisdom, the smell of baking cookies does not make a home more appealing to potential buyers. To enhance the chances of selling a home, ensure that the home always looks and smells good, and is well-lit inside and out. 3. Hire a home-stager to help maximize your furniture and accessories. An expert can help rearrange these items to make each room look more appealing. 4. Flipping real estate is great, but be sure to hire an agent with house-flipping experience. First-timers should start with a smaller project to get familiar with the process. 5. Reduce the asking price if there are no takers within the first month. If selling the home is a top priority, reduce the price substantially. It lets potential buyers know that you are serious about selling. 6. A good listing agent can usually point out property damage, such as termites or asbestos, that could become an inspection problem. 7. Roofs, air-conditioning units, wet basements with drainage problems, and major structural issues such as dry-rotted or cracked support beams, are usually the most costly issues uncovered during home inspections. 8. Many people interview agents to list their home for sale but never consider interviewing them to help them look for a new home. Both endeavors are equally important. 9. Interview several real estate agents before selecting the one for you. It is important to meet with at least three. Don't feel obligated to accept the one that an agency assigns to you. 10. Don't ask your agent for predictions. In a fluctuating real estate market, no one can predict what will happen during the buying and selling process. - Sheba R. Wheeler

Summary: The SFIRC (San Francisco IAHSP Regional Chapter) was founded to provide a professional business association for Accredited Staging Professionals throughout the San Francisco region. Our goal is to foster growth, unity, and networking among peers and other professionals in the Staging community. Through our efforts we hope to elevate the professionalism of Home Staging and work to continually expand our quality of services.

Summary: Numerous Regional IAHSP chapters have begun to be started in several metropolitan areas across the US and Canada. These regional chapters are being founded to provide a professional business association for Home Stagers in localized areas. Their goal is to foster growth, unity, and networking amongst peers in the Staging Community.

Summary: Actual staging stories from HomeStagers.com

Summary: In this slow Real Estate market hiring a professional Stager is an investment that will easily pay for its self. But if you would like to have a go at it on your own, here are some ideas to get you started. Start with the outside. That is what potential buyers will see first. You want to make sure that they want to come in. Think "Curb Appeal". Now is not the time to invest a lot of money into the house unless you really have to. Don't paint unless the paint is really faded or pealing or if the paint is an outdated or funky color. Most of the time all you really need to do is touch up the trim and paint the front door. The same goes for the lawn. You don't want to spend money having it landscaped, just make sure the lawn and hedges are neatly trimmed. Plant some flowers and use hanging baskets to add more color and freshen up the look. Make sure the yard is free of clutter and that the windows are spotlessly clean. Hanging a nice wreath on the door will create a homey, welcoming feel. Inside you need to remove all clutter and have the house professionally cleaned. If your carpet has stains or worn spots cover them up with area rugs. You don't want to replace the carpet unless you absolutely have to. If you do need to buy new carpeting, go with a neutral color in a medium price range. Remove dark or outdated draperies and replace with top treatments that allow as much light as possible into the room. Replace all of your light bulbs with bright clear bulbs and leave them on. People like bright homes. If your furniture takes up every available space in the room, put some of it in storage. Empty space will make the home appear larger. Pack up any collections that you have, be it Salt and Pepper shakers or Swords. Put them in storage. It's ok to have a couple of nicely framed photos of your children or some vintage photos of you ancestors, but if you have an entire wall covered with pictures of every relative, take it down, and fill in the holes. Every room should have a clear purpose. If it is suppose to be a dining room it should not look like a home office. If the room is suppose to be a bedroom it should not look like a gym. You want create little "Display areas" through out the house, much like they do in furniture show rooms; particularly in the main rooms and the entry way. You want to try to really wow them. You can pick up some interesting accessories at your local home store. Another great way to dress up an area and add color and texture is fabric. Having some decorative pillows, cushions and table covers made in coordinating fabric will really pull the look together. And nothing makes a house look cozier than fabric. Use scented candles or potpourri to add fragrance instead of aerosol spays that smell like you are trying to cover something up. Having fresh flowers during the showings is also a nice touch. Following these simple and inexpensive steps will greatly help to sell your home quicker. If you need more help contact your local Staging Professional. Norma J. Smith is an Interior Decorator in the Boston area specializing in Custom Window Treatments. Her website is http://www.njinteriors.net Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Norma_Smith

Summary: The Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) was formed to provide support to all professional real estate Stagers in the United States and Canada. RESA is the portal to the Staging industry and is the source of education and business tools focused on the needs of Stagers. RESA members will have access to up to date information relative to the changing industry, marketing support services and access to continuing education providers. RESA members are able to form local chapters where needed to provide peer to peer support and to provide education to real estate agents and homeowners on the benefits of Staging.

Summary: By Jeanette Joy Fisher Because more homes on the market benefit from real estate staging, those not staged look bland and insipid by comparison. Popular TV shows inspire home sellers to use real estate staging strategies to sell their homes faster and for more money. Shows like Sell this House, Designed to Sell, House Doctor, and Buy Me! raise awareness for real estate staging and home staging services. Real Estate Staging, sometimes termed home prepping, house fluffing, and even house primping (maybe next it will be house pimping?), simply means merchandising your home like a product. Think of your home as a house to sell. Just like any product for sale, you can use marketing psychology to make your home stand out in a crowded real estate market. You can either hire a home stager or learn the art of decorating a home to sell quickly and for top dollar. 12 Reasons to Stage Your Home Staged Homes What do home buyers want? A poll of potential buyers released March 1, 2006 by Maritz Research revealed that sellers ought to do more than just look after required maintenance before showing their home. In fact, decorating improvements help make a strong impact on buyers and can ultimately affect a home’s market value. The study found that although renovations can boost a home’s sales price, sometimes too much unique style can decrease a home’s marketability. Therefore, if you're selling a home, you should understand your profiled buyer and make changes that buyers in your price range and location want. The study found that thirty-six per cent of potential buyers were willing to pay premium prices for homes with updated interior decoration. Surprisingly, more men than women wanted updated décor with 41 percent of men versus 30 percent of women desiring this feature. More than likely, this is because women like to decorate their own homes and men want to move in without doing any work on the house. When asked which home feature they would pay more for, 79 percent of buyers said that they would be willing to pay more for a renovated kitchen. However, most of these buyers did not want to pay for a remodeled kitchen in a style they didn't prefer. Home sellers need to evaluate the cost of a kitchen renovation in relation to the expected price increase. Often, a though deep cleaning, painting in today’s color choices, and a new faucet combined with home staging strategies give home sellers the market edge without a large cash outlay. The poll stated that 63% of buyers preferred a higher priced home ready to move into than a bargain priced fixer-upper. Because home buyers are willing to spend more for the ideal home, but not the time or work to renovate a fixer, home sellers who take advantage of home staging can make their home feel like a "dream home" without undertaking major remodeling projects. Although most buyers prefer a renovated home, the poll revealed that 65 percent of buyers expect to spend about $5,000 making their home suit their tastes and that only nine percent of home buyers would only buy a home that needs no improvements. How does Real Estate Staging Help You? Home buyers buy a home based on their emotions, not on logic or "must have lists." You can use real estate staging techniques to create a buyer's "dream home." Understand which changes give you the highest return on your exterior and interior decorating changes. Make needed repairs, deep clean, declutter, paint walls in today's fashion colors, rearrange furniture, place strategic art and accessories; and add special design touches specific to your target buyer. Sell your home for top dollar with real estate staging. Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher Learn how to profile your buyers and create a buyer's "Dream Home." Plus, get the added benefit of expert real estate advice. Explore Jeanette Fisher's Home Staging with Design Psychology books.

Summary: All of you in those much talked about real estate bubble markets can just skip this article. Go read the local paper (which will probably carry at least one article about housing bubble markets) or watch The Apprentice. Even reading about staging a home is a waste of your time. By all accounts, all you have to do to sell your home is open the door and stand there holding a bushel basket to collect the purchase offers. But only a small part of the nation really has housing bubble status. There are large parts of the country where home prices have not appreciated much at all during this frantic time (notably in the Midwest and parts of Texas) and other areas where prices have been rising at a measured pace but homes still average several months to find a buyer. In areas where slower real estate sales equal a large inventory of homes in every price range it is still critical to put the best face on a house. Sometimes that is called making the beds, but real estate agents generally refer to it as "staging." Many agents specialize in staging. Some professional stagers keep their basement or garage filled with props - everything from antique furniture to art to silk flowers. Others have that gift that allows them to walk into a room, look around and transform it with a few deft steps - moving furniture, clearing off the coffee table, rearranging the potted plants. Still others will ask for a budget and free range to hire a professional home decorator, painter, or landscaper. At the very least an agent should be able to give a seller advice as to how to show off a home's best features. If an agent is decorator-impaired, they should still be able to call in a couple of more talented agents from their office for home staging tips. And don't think that this is a girly thing. One male broker knows every antiques and Oriental rug dealer in his market area and calls on them to haul in the goods in return for prominent mention in his ads and a place for their business card on (their) dining room table. But, if your agent seems unwilling or unable to assist you in staging your home or if you plan to sell your own house, FSBO (for sale by owner), here are some tips and suggestions, starting with the cheapest and least labor intensive and working up to what might be prohibitive on either or both counts. But then, if you are clever, you might find a way to do even the most spectacular staging on the cheap. Tips on how to fix your house up to sell. 1. Open the drapes and blinds. Sunshine is the world's best decorator and nothing is more depressing than walking into a home where shades, curtains and drapes are closed. The buyer is likely not a character out of Wind in the Willows and will leave with the impression of a dark and claustrophobic property. 2. Wash the windows - inside and out. For the same reasons as above, no other small improvement will give you more bang than this. 3. Clean up the yard. You've heard of curb appeal? How about unseen from the curb? Cut back overgrown shrubs, particularly those that obscure windows or make it difficult to get to the front door. Mow the grass. Rake or pick up downed leaves and branches. Put away lawn tools, kids' toys and discard or store any outdoor furniture that is rusty or ragged. If season and funds permit, put down some colorful annuals or put a few nicely planted containers on or near the front porch. 4. Clutter Control. You have heard this a thousand times, but de-cluttering and organizing a home is very important and not just to make the place look neat. A cluttered home looks smaller and less airy. All of the pictures, knick-knacks, even an exquisite art collection are distracting to many buyers. The agent is trying to point out the gas log in the fireplace and the customer is studying your collection of old ink wells on the mantle. Also, you want to make room for the buyers own things. If the living room is jammed with furniture the buyer might not be able to figure out where his own stuff will go. It does no good to explain that your stuff won't be there when he moves in. Some people just can't visualize. If you can't get rid of some of your home clutter- house plants for example - round them up and make a single display rather than have them in dribs and drabs through a room or the whole house. The rule of thumb: count every item in each room - furniture, books, vases, old birthday cards propped up on the shelf - and pack up or eliminate 50% of them. Then, if there is time and energy, get rid of 50% of the remainder. 5. Clean your kitchen and bathrooms - Scrub like crazy, particularly the kitchen and bath(s). The kitchen may be old but it can still sparkle. Clean the stovetop with a good degreaser and all countertops with whatever it takes to remove stains and discoloration. Wash the front of all cupboards and appliances and keep the floor swept and scrubbed for the life of the listing. De-clutter here too, especially the refrigerator door (death by a thousand knives for the inventor of the refrigerator magnet). Ditch countertop appliances, canisters, etc and keep cupboard doors and drawers closed if your hand is not actually in them. It is critical that the bathrooms sparkle. Old bathrooms can be charming and a new shower curtain or fresh flowers on the counter may be all you need. Put out your best towels and, if you have young children, please enforce the flush rule. Clean bathrooms are a must. Now we are getting into the more expensive staging suggestions, but the next few things will really help you prepare your house to sell if they are needed and you can afford to do them. 6. Refinish hardwood floors. These are a major selling point when selling your home and sometimes a home's most compelling feature. Often they don't need complete refinishing, just to be roughed up and polyurethaned to obtain that killer shine. If yours are looking tough give a couple of pros a call and check out the price. In some markets several rooms can be extensively refinished for less than $1,000.00. 7. Paint / Repaint Your Home. If your taste in decorating is a bit, shall we say strong, it may pay you to hire a professional to tone down some of the more dramatic color rooms. Many people love dark red dining rooms, but none of them may be looking at your house. Neutral colors are best for marketing your home for sale. There was a house, a very expensive house, in a "bubbly" Boston suburb that was on the market for a year and with a total of four agents. The house was in a wonderful neighborhood, had a traditional floor plan and a beautiful yard, but every room and every ceiling was papered in a different black and white pattern. Moving from one room to the next induced vertigo. Agent after agent tried to convince the seller to invest four or five thousand dollars in a professional redo (two of them got fired for suggesting it) but the owner would not budge. A sharp-eyed investor finally picked it up well below its original listing price, did the remodel and sold it three months later for a substantial profit. 8. Buy, borrow or rent what you need. If your furniture shows the effect of raising five kids or if pets have ruined the rugs and upholstery think about storing or getting rid of your existing furniture and finding just enough more attractive stuff to get by. If your nest is empty and the kids' rooms are beaten up, throw out the furniture, give the walls a quick wash coat of paint and put one or two small flea market pieces - a hobby horse, a bean-bag chair, the old bassinette from the attic - in the room to merely "suggest" its use. A rocker, table lamp and a pile or books in an otherwise bare room gives it the feel of a cozy study and so forth. If you want to go all out there are dozens of companies, some of them national, that will rent a roomful or a houseful of furniture on short term contracts. Not cheap, but maybe worth looking into. If your house has a lot of competition in the market you need to measure up. Think of it as show biz.

Summary: Mary Summers believes she could have sold her two-story colonial in Severna Park, Md., for $10,000 to $20,000 more if she and her husband had merchandised or "staged" it properly. Her four-bedroom house, originally listed at $470,000 in December, sold for $450,000 in February. Unfortunately, brokers from the Summers's real-estate agency were only learning the sales technique of staging a home as it was closing at the lower price. By the time her agency had learned how to provide this gentle art of temporarily redecorating a house to facilitate a buyer's purchase the sale was complete. But Mrs. Summers, who enjoys decorating and remodeling, decided to let a group of local agents enrolled in staging class practice on her house after-the-fact. "It was the wildest experience I've ever had. They went all over the house, they even went in closets and updated the house with things I'd bought for the new place," she says. Using her existing furniture, the group changed the look of several first-floor rooms. They expanded the dining table in her French-provincial dining room, made creative use of holiday linens, and moved an old trestle-style sewing table from an upstairs room into the dining room. In the living room, they switched pictures and mirrors on the wall with art from other rooms of the house and also traded accessories, such as lamps, from other rooms. "They found props all over the house," she said. "They gave it a whole new feel." Specific Techniques Realtors forever have advised sellers on techniques -- picking up clutter, hiding dirty dishes in the dishwasher, brewing an aromatic tea -- to make prospective buyers feel comfortable. But effectively preparing a house to show at its best goes well beyond such obvious tips. Indeed, these days, realtors themselves are learning the principles of staging or establishing referral relationships with staging professionals to help homes sell both faster and for more money. West Coast Realtor Barb Schwarz is credited with inventing staging in 1972. Ms. Schwarz, who divides her time between Seattle and the Bay Area, says she has trained 500,000 realtors and interior decorators on concepts such as the "three Cs" (cleanliness, clutter reduction and color) to give homes more appeal. A student of theater who began working in real estate, Ms. Schwarz realized that, rather than decorating to showcase their own belongings, homeowners needed help to show off their home's architectural features. "Buyers are the audience," she says. "I couldn't get sellers to do what I wanted them to do to their houses to make them sell." Sellers who took her advice sold their homes faster and for more money. Marketing a Product Ms. Schwarz says there are at least three price levels at which a staging professional can stage a home, ranging from simply rearranging furniture to emptying a house out and filling it with rented furniture. Some gestures require only a few minor purchases -- a few ficus trees, new linens -- while sellers with bigger budgets might do minor landscaping, repainting, or re-wallpapering. Since 1972, Ms. Schwarz has staged and sold 1,600 homes and won't handle a listing without using the approach. But most real-estate agents don't conduct the staging itself, she says. Instead, they provide homeowners with tips or referrals to stagers who charge between $30 and $150 an hour. Some realtors pay part of the staging fee, while others let the seller handle it. Staging speeds up sales in a sluggish market, and, Ms. Schwarz says, can bump up prices 2% to 10% in a moderate market. The biggest advantage occurs with luxury homes or in a market with bidding wars over properties, where effective staging can boost prices by 20% to 50%. Ms. Schwarz applied her technique to a Minnesota luxury home, listed at $1.4 million, that had been on the market for nine months. The house was cluttered, full of baby toys and needed new carpeting, some landscaping, and new accessories. The family invested $25,000 -- more than she normally recommends -- to make the changes. But the owners sold their house for $1,925,000 -- an increase of more than 35%. Rigorous Training The bulk of Ms. Schwarz's students are real-estate agents, but she says that interior decorators and entrepreneurs increasingly are among the 2,500 who have earned their Accredited Staging Professional (A.S.P.) credentials, a five-year-old designation that means they've completed a two-day classroom course and hands-on practice staging a real home. Staging has even gone international: In Hungary, where houses sit on the market from six to nine months, staging has helped cut sale time to three months. "Staging gets the buyer focused on architectural features, not the owner's belongings," says Joanne Frances, a former interior designer and organizer who became a staging instructor four years ago in Baltimore. "The way you live in your house and the way you [arrange your belongings to] sell it are different. You can't have cat dishes lying around, dirty towels in the hamper, and dishes out on the counter." A dirty house "instantaneously gets a reputation among agents," she notes. Many agents avoid confronting a customer about the condition of their house by referring them to staging professionals. In Maryland suburbs, many agents are paying the $200-to-$600 cost associated with a one- or two-day staging, "worth it when the alternative is lowering the price in 30 days," says Ms. Frances. Looking Through a Buyer's Eyes Jan Beury is one of her students. A 29-year real-estate agent in the Annapolis suburb of Crofton, Md., Ms. Beury has staged many homes for clients. "People can't see through the things they’re attached to in their house," she says, noting that she frequently encounters messy homes with worn carpeting, pet smells and bent blinds. Fixing such problems means the home "will sell faster, even within a day or two," she says. Ms. Beury includes staging in her fee and does much of the work herself; she works with only three listings at a time. Crofton, a waterfront town where townhouses sell for $100,000 to $350,000, and houses go for $300,000 to $500,000, is popular with commuters and families, and most have good decorating sense. "But there are also people who desperately need me," she adds. "There are several listings that I wouldn't have taken if the owners didn't let me stage." Among them: A small townhouse that had been on the market for a month at $100,000 with another broker. The townhouse had a smelly dog, no decorating scheme, and so much clutter that the carpet was invisible. After she took over the listing, Ms. Beury rented a storage unit and removed furniture and clutter. Then she rearranged the remaining furniture so the property looked more spacious. She also made changes to the wall décor and angled the furniture to better showcase the windows and let in more light. Between those gestures, a cleaning, and some air freshening, the couple sold their home within a week -- at $110,000, or 10% more than their original asking price. Bobbi Hauser, who has staged homes in the suburbs north of Chicago for 10 years, learned about staging when she had a resort bungalow to sell. A painter who had begun studying interior design, she decided to make some changes to the property. "I was worried I wouldn't get enough for it," she says. After the staging, she hiked the list price by $15,000 and found a buyer. She earned her real-estate license in 1997, but also stages for $100 an hour with rental furniture and props she keeps in her interior-design store. Most jobs take three hours because, she says, most people have what they need in their homes already but don't know it. Ms. Schwarz envisions realtors eventually will pay for staging, particularly when they're competing to land a listing. She notes that three-fourths of her own staging projects take less than one day to complete. -- Ms. Doherty is a free-lance writer in Seattle. Email your comments to rjeditor@dowjones.com.

Summary: Home-Staging: Just as stagehands set the stage for a production, you can do the same for a home. It can be made to look cozy, colorful and inviting, with a personalized look to make it stand out from the rest of the other houses on the market. Download our eBook and learn Home-Staging.

Summary: “Home staging” is not a new term, but for many homeowners and real estate agents the concept of “professional home staging” is shedding new light on how to promote a home in the real estate marketplace. In past years, homeowners were left to their own discretion as far as preparing for home showings. Though they could occasionally rely on an agent for instructions, more often than not real estate agents were just as perplexed at working out the details as the homeowner. While agents are experts in the field of selling and closing, many are not design savvy. Agents usually know exactly what factors can help sell a home. It’s just not always easy to get a home into selling condition in a timely manner without some sort of experienced assistance. Professional home stagers are practiced in the art of preparing a home for resale. They work with the “flow” of a home, eliminate clutter, edit and arrange furniture, and even assist in enhancing curb-appeal. With the aid of a professional home stager, your house can make a notable first impression on potential homebuyers. First Impressions As the real estate industry often stresses, the first impression is the key factor in selling your home. Typically,” says Jan Van Horne of Coldwell Banker Burnet Realty in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, “a potential buyer has made up their mind ten seconds after they step in the front door. They were already forming an opinion as they pulled into your driveway!” That really doesn’t leave too much room for fault. “To achieve the greatest possible outcome,” Jan adds, “a home should always be presented at its best the first time around.” Finding a Professional You find and select a professional home stager much like you would find any other professional service. Ask around and get referrals. Check with your real estate agent. A number of larger real estate companies offer access to a listing of professional home services in your area. These individuals and companies have often already been pre-screened by the real estate agencies or their agents. How Much Does it Cost? When you contact a home stager, ask for an estimate. Most home staging businesses will be happy to give you a free estimate and it is usually a quick process. Keep in mind that this is only an estimate and estimates can be a bit off. However, unless something unforeseen takes place between the estimate and the actual job itself, an estimate should be fairly accurate. Get several free estimates and make some calculations. Just like any service, pricing in the home staging industry can vary over a wide range. Some charge an hourly rate and some will charge you a set fee for the entire job. Be sure to ask how they determine their fee so that you can make an educated decision. Also, factor in the condition of your home, the average amount of time homes have been on the market in your area, and the asking price of your home. Asking price can play a huge factor in what a homeowner should be willing to pay for staging services. Some professional home stagers bring in rented furnishings, driving the price up considerably. Some simply charge too much to make it pay off. A lot of home stagers seem to forget that their clients are planning on moving out of the house very soon. Most home sellers are not willing to invest a huge amount of cash in a house they are planning on leaving behind. Find out up front what the stager is planning to bring in and at what cost. Though expert services do come at a price, the cost should balance with the expected benefit of a higher selling price. As a rule, the higher the asking price of the home, the more one can spend to have it professionally staged. Agent Participation In some instances, it makes sense for a real estate agent to contribute to the cost of professionally staging a home. “As a real estate agent,” says Tony Cirelli, a Minnesota Re/Max agent from Apple Valley, “I have to look at profit margins. I analyze current market trends and what will be spent on advertising before dropping any cash into staging.” Pat Cirelli, Tony’s wife and partner, agrees. “For the most part, an agent should be able to determine if a home is in need of this type of service, and if it would be of benefit or not. If you know it would be in the homeowner’s best interest and if you know that something will need to be done before the home is listed, it might be wise to set aside an amount of your marketing budget for staging. If it’s a reasonable fee, it is usually a worthwhile investment. It could certainly make all the difference in your showing.” Lori Matzke - for further information on professional home staging and a printable tip list for showing your home, visit Center Stage Home Presentation Services copyright 2002 by RealEstate ABC - may not be reprinted without permission

Summary: The buyer's first impression used to be made when they drove by or stopped into your open house. It is now made when home seekers look at photos and virtual tours online and homes are eliminated from the running from the computer screen. To effectively attract the attention of buyers, a house must look good in internet photos. In order for a house to look good in photos, it must be properly prepared or 'staged'.