Introduction to Home Staging

What is the best way to market my company besides print advertising?

Join a networking group so that you can pass out your cards.
Find some volunteer groups to help out with.
Word of mouth. Talk to everyone you know. In paint stores.
Raffle of a free consultation or a free room design. You can use this to add to your portfolio.
You could set up a bowl for a drawing at a local restaurant that you frequent or at a benefit.
Have a girls night out at your home and show them how to set up table scape’s or mantle settings. Holidays are a great time to do this.
Participate in a silent auction. Check out the school systems and see if they need help with anything for fundraisers.
Work with Habitat for Humanity. Do a press release when you do something. Get a magazine to cover an event when you are participating.

Stay around people who support you and your new venture.

Check with Realtors to see if they have anyone on board that they are using and if they might consider you.

Wishing you my very best of luck and success.

It is all about forming relationships.

I’m a realtor and want to formally expand my role as a stager. I do staging anyway as a realtor directing clients to make the homes look better without spending lots of money. Thanks

If you work for a large franchise, I would check out the education section of their agent website to see if there aren’t some free or very affordable options there. Frontdoor used to have a big section about staging homes for sale, but I have not looked for it lately.

for Home Staging business

Call a local realty company and ask if any of their agents use a staging service and what the name(s) of the companies are. Then call those companies and see if you can either intern for them or if they are hiring.

You do need to have an idea of what and how to stage. I know there are schools now that offer this training.

I’m thinking of getting into home staging for a business out here in Vegas- any feedback as to firsthand knowledge of the need and possible success of this business? Home Staging is widely used on the east coast, but doesn’t seem to be known here. In this economy and with all the homes for sale, I figure the odds of getting work are higher if the value of staging is understood by the seller (many sellers do not want to lower their asking price and hence need to do something/everything to get the top dollar they’re asking for) (Home staging is, in a nutshell, basically decluttering/reorganizing/depersonalizing a home to create a picturesque atmosphere in order to get prospective buyers to feel like it could be their home, therefore bringing in top dollar for home sales to sellers and selling their home faster.)
Your intelligent thoughts/foresight are appreciated. Please reference your field of work/study in your reply also.
Thanks!!

Not the best economy for this now. But you are to be applauded for the spirit. They do stage homes here. Many of the foreclosures are staged. I visited some in 2007 when I purchased my current house.
I would hook up with a real estate agency, and when they put the house on the multi listing, that is when you want to being the process of placing the furniture in the house. Sorry, with all the vacancies now, the pretty decoration will not sell the house. But I do wish you lots of luck on your plan.

You can try this site and put in your location to find a staging company. http://www.stagedhomes.com/

Here’s a link to the page to find a stager in your area: http://www.stagedhomes.com/asps/asps.php

They appear to have 38 stagers in the Houston area: http://www.stagedhomes.com/asps/asplist.php?text=houston&state=TX&zip=&groups=none&Submit.x=159&Submit.y=19

No matter whether the real estate market is going up or down, there are some things you can do to almost guarantee that your home will sell faster, easier and for a little more money than compared to a similar house in the same street.

However there are some big real estate selling mistakes that many home owners overlook that could affect their ability to sell their properties. Let’s look at some of the biggest real estate selling mistakes home owners make.

1. Poor Condition

Selling real estate that is in poor condition will mean an instant reduction in the potential price you could have set for the sale. Trying to market a home that is in poor condition or a home that has obvious maintenance issues that have been ignored is a sure way to put off many potential buyers.

People will automatically assume that if a house has any minor maintenance issues showing, then there must be bigger maintenance issues beneath the surface. Take some time to complete any repairs or maintenance on the home.

2. Real Estate Staging

Selling real estate is about trying to attract potential new buyers into thinking a property is the right place for them to raise a family and build their own memories. Most people who sell their homes overlook the importance of real estate staging prior to a showing. Giving your house a quick wipe over with a cleaning cloth and putting the dishes away is not enough.

Buying a home is an emotional purchase for most people. Buyers want to walk into a home and feel good. They want to imagine how their own furniture will look in each room and how their own decorations will brighten up each room.

Taking some time to freshen up paint with a light, neutral color and then removing all your personal finishing touches, such as your family photos, kid’s toys and some ornaments will make each room in your home look more spacious and more open. If you have big bulky furniture, either re-arrange it so each room appears bigger or borrow smaller furniture from friends and family.

3. Street Appeal

People selling real estate often overlook the importance of street appeal. Many home owners spend a lot of time fixing smaller maintenance issues within the home, but only take a moment to run a lawn mower over the yards.

Potential buyers want to be able to drive up to the front of a house and immediately feel that the home is appealing and attractive. Overgrown trees and shrubs obscure the house from the street. Prune them back or cut them down. Open up the yard with border plantings to make the land plot seem bigger than it really is from the street.

Selling real estate is all about appealing to buyers in such a way that they feel comfortable paying money for your property even when other properties might not be selling. An inexperienced agent may tell you to reduce your price, but the reality is people who sell real estate can actually increase their price if they’re willing to put in some work to appeal to potential buyer’s emotions.

Roger Vetruba
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/top-3-real-estate-selling-mistakes-736738.html

My husband and I are getting ready to list our house for sale, and are getting it ready to stage. Before I buy items for the house (like artwork, plants, candles, etc.), I was needing to know if these items are expected to stay with the house or will we be able to take them with us? Also, any ideas for staging the house would be quite helpful. We have already decluttered everything, taking down all personal pictures, magnets, etc. We have painted everything neutral and cleaned it up inside and out.

Not unless the items are mentioned in the contract, for instance, some people sell the house with the refrigerator, washer and dryer but that has to be written into the contract. If the people buying your house requests an item stay you can negotiate with them.
I would suggest giving the rug a professional cleaning that always makes a good impression. I still remember walking into a house with a white rug.. but with a black trail of dirt to all the rooms not very impressive.

Make your house look like a model home:

Remove personal items such as family photos.
De clutter bookcases and shelves.
Clear kitchen counters. Remove bottle of dish soap/sponges.
Straighten out closets and medicine cabinets.
Deep clean house, shine chrome fixtures, clean mirrors, windows.
Use a vanilla scented plug in air freshener.

Looking for use of the terms Executive, Mercedes, etc. words with class and power. Four Seasons Home Staging…..Center Stage Homes…Something snazzy!!!!

The naming of your business could be one of the most important decisions you will make. A name’s originality and legal availability will create a real asset value of its own, as it becomes marketed and gains market acceptance.

The name you choose will become the focal point of all the benefits and features that relate to your business. Customers will be able to find and refer others to it in the future.

Since any names that are suggested here may already be owned by another party, I wanted to go a different route…

I suggest either hiring a name creation firm or get together with your friends and/or family and throw a "name party" & have everyone bounce some ideas around. Compile a listing of names that you like the best. Once you have that list, do as much free research as you can before you delve into comprehensive research.

I listed some links where you can do some preliminary name checking. However, please be aware that this is merely scratching the surface of what’s out there.

Only comprehensive research will tell you if the name is truly available. But, these links are free & a great place to start, so I’d try them out first.

Comprehensive research consists of looking at marks that are similar in Sound, Appearance or Meaning in the pending & registered Federal AND State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files.

There are other sites that offer free searching capabilities in conjunction with their commercial services, so I’m not able to post those links due to the Yahoo! TOS. You’ll also want to check domain names & yellow pages, so simply do a search for "free domain name search" and "national yellowpages" and the appropriate links will pop up.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

whats the money like

As a business for yourself? If you can hook up with a realtor or two, you could do very well for yourself.

Your fee (not including any accessories or rentals) could range anywhere from $350.00 – $1,000.00 (and higher) depending on the house, the area, and how much you have to do.