 "Staging spaces to sell, live, entertain..." December 2008, Vol. 1, Issue 6 |
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STAGING SOLUTIONS!
Your Indianapolis Metropolitan Staging Resource | |
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 Greetings!
Season's Greetings,
As the year approaches its end, we are celebrating our accomplishments, examining our shortcomings and promising to make each day better than the day before.
We are in the process of making changes to improve our services and even offering new ones. How about you? How are you planning to offer additional value and differentiate yourself from your
competition? With the New Year fast approaching, the one thing you need is to be ready for business. So, revise your business and marketing plans, update your contact lists and keep your date book handy. Be ready and excited to start 2009 off on the right foot.
On behalf of all of us at Home Matters, have a safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year!
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 Earning Equity with
Elbow Grease
They say there are two sides to every story, and that's certainly true when it comes to preparing (Step 1) and presenting (Step 2) a home for a fast and profitable sale. On the preparation side, it is typically the home seller who provides the elbow grease necessary to improve the condition of the property and, thereby, increase the profitability of the sale. On the presentation side, a professional home stager can provide the hands-on services to make a property look its best and create the emotional connections to make buyers "fall in love" with it. Even though these two "sides" are separate (ideally, with condition issues being addressed prior to staging), they (along with the efforts of a savvy realtor) combine to form a successful sale.
They also say that every cloud has a silver lining, and home staging is no exception. The bad news is that staging can't overcome a home's condition issues; the good news is that a well-informed, motivated home seller can! And if motivation and information are what a home seller needs, a skilled and tactful home stager can provide them in spades.
Many home sellers are willing to do whatever it takes to address condition issues that may prevent their home from selling, but simply lack the knowledge, skills and support to start-or even identify-the tasks at hand. A home stager can consult with your "do-it-yourself" clients to provide prioritized, cost-effective, step-by-step guidance to prepare their properties. And for home sellers who prefer to use someone else's elbow grease to address condition issues, Home Matters offers a list of tried-and-true service providers who can handle everything from packing to painting, from handy work to hauling, and from loading to landscaping. All along the way, we will give your clients the reasons behind our recommendations, which are based on sound real estate experience and effective staging results.
When it comes to helping home sellers prepare their properties for the challenges of today's real estate market, a little information and support can add up to a lot of motivation. Give us a call so we can help your clients turn their elbow grease into an investment in the equity of their homes.
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Marketing Your Listings
with Staging Support Every good realtor knows that a successful (i.e., fast and profitable) home sale in any given location requires the alignment of three variables: price, condition and presentation. A better realtor knows that it is only after all three variables are addressed that a home can be marketed with maximum effectiveness. But only the best and most savvy realtors know that partnering with a professional home stager can help bring these variables into balance and, in so doing, make marketing (and selling) your listings much easier than going it alone. As a savvy realtor, you use your research and expertise to set the appropriate price and develop a comprehensive marketing plan for each of your listings. And, you know that you greatly improve the chances of getting top dollar by referring a stager to consult with your home sellers to address any condition issues (as described in the "Elbow Grease" article above). Still, you may not be aware just how much a professional home stager can help you with the third variable, presentation. As property presentation experts, home stagers can support your marketing efforts every step of the way. And the earlier you get us involved, the easier your job will be. For example, in occupied properties, we can use our hands-on skills to edit, enhance, rearrange and repurpose the existing furnishings. In vacant properties, we can provide just the right furniture and accessories to turn each of your listings into a buyer's next dream home. Once the stage is set, we can provide the high-quality, wide-angle, digital photos that will give your print and electronic marketing the power to get buyers in the door. We can even attend broker open houses for our staged properties to help you show off the remarkable results. The possibilities are endless.
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The Year in Review and What's Coming Next...
It has been said that we should take a little time to reflect on the journey of our life's work, which is sound advice for our soul and our bottom line. So today, with that in mind, we would like to share with you our 2008 in review and a preview of what's ahead in 2009.
OUR STATISTICS
- Home Matters staged 127 homes throughout Indianapolis and its surrounding counties to date in 2008.
- Home Matters also performed 241 consultations for "do-it-yourself" home sellers to date in 2008.
- Homes staged by Home Matters SOLD for an average 94% of the list price.
- Homes staged by Home Matters SOLD in an average of 48 days after staging.
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- We added a 2,000 sq. ft. space for our accessories and offices to the existing 4,000 sq. ft. racked building system which holds our furniture.
- We updated our portfolio of before-and-after staging photos on our website and added a few downloadable items for you to use in your listing packets.
- We started our monthly "Staging Solutions" newsletter in July.
- We conducted 10 educational home staging seminars for Realtors and home sellers.
- We showcased our staged homes at 2 trade shows.
- In October, we taught a GRI course on home staging at the IU campus in Kokomo.
- Home Matters was asked by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) to host a Real Estate Stagers Round Table Forum in Indianapolis. The event attracted 25 stagers to lay the foundation for new relationships and a better staging industry. Indianapolis was one of 31 North American locations to host such an event.
- Linda Barnett proudly accepted RESA's Indiana State President position.
- Home Matters was featured in an Angie's List segment on WISH-TV, as well as an Angie's List podcast showcasing an actual live staging.
- Linda discussed the home staging industry, as a guest speaker on the Blog-Talk Radio Program.
- Linda served as Techical Editor for the latest of Wiley publications' popular series of dummies books, "Home Staging for Dummies".
- We added 2 design specialists to our existing staff of 3 specialists.
WHAT'S NEXT?
- Coming in January 2009, we will offer a Certified Staging and Redesign Training Program for new stagers and in February a Certified Staging Traning Program for Realtors; Linda will conduct the training here in the Indianapolis area. Please go to: www.homemattersllc.com for details.
- Also in January, we will lauch our Preferred Agent Program. Please call for details.
Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your marketing team. Our partnership, which helps people move forward with their lives, is a responsibility and a mission that we take very seriously. | |
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Message
CONTACT OUR
HOME MATTERS TEAM
Linda Barnett
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Happy Holidays! |
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| Again, we thank you for your partnership throughout the year. As always, we hope you find the information contained in these newsletters to be helpful in working with your clients to sell their homes. With Best Wishes for a Prosperous New Year! |
| Contact Information |
Home Matters' Team of Professional Home Stagers and Redesigners
1206 Indy Place
Indianapolis, In. 46214
317-209-9801 or 317-797-4885
All rights reserved (c)
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