Introduction to Home Staging

Landlords too often fall into the mentality that their business is a passive one, where they buy a house, rent it out, and sit back. While this can occasionally be true (for very lucky landlords with rare tenants), there’s certainly plenty of work involved for most properties: mailing notices for late payments, filing evictions, screening tenants, repairs and maintenance… the list goes on.

But that’s all playing defense, trying to minimize losses and address problems. Today, we’re going to walk a less-traveled road, and talk about offense, and how landlords can find good deals on the things they need.

First and foremost, most landlords want to acquire more property. Where can landlords find deals on rental properties? Through the people they know, and I’m not just talking about the people in your real estate investment club. I’m talking about through their very tenants, through their contractors, through the groundskeeper at their office building; in a word, through the people who actually live in the neighborhoods you want to buy rental properties in.

You see, most landlords don’t think to network through non-industry people, but these are the people who will let you know that the neighbor across the street has a “chemical dependency” and needs to sell their house quickly. If you like a neighborhood for rental investing, get to know as many people from that neighborhood as possible on a first name basis, and make sure they know that they won’t be forgotten if they refer a good deal your way.

Landlords also need rental forms, like a rental application and rental agreement. There are a number of places to find these online, some better than others. You might have luck with the website of your local municipality, as they sometimes offer them. I personally like EZ Landlord Forms (see Author Resource Box), because their rental application is free and their rental agreement is customized based on your state and the preferences you enter, and because they have online property management software that keeps track of the rental properties for you.

As a landlord, it may be worthwhile to do minor staging of the property to make it look more attractive (for a great article devoted solely to real estate staging, see the author box). This may involve furniture, or wall decorations, or landscaping, or any number of other strategies to make the house more appealing to potential tenants. For furniture, Goodwill is a great place to start, because they only sell clean furniture in good condition, but they sell it cheaply.

For wall decorations, Hobby Lobby offers excellent sales (i.e. 50% off) on picture frames and all other types of home décor, usually on a biweekly or monthly basis. If you can charge your tenant a higher security deposit, you might consider hanging a flat screen television on the living room wall, because it’ll grab their attention immediately, and sometimes you can find excellent online coupons for these. As for landscaping, negotiate to have your contractor include it when they do the rental unit clean-out from the previous tenant.

Don’t fall into the trap of being an absentee landlord, because it WILL cost you money in the end. Negotiate aggressively for better deals, and remember that being pro-active will save you a phenomenal amount of money.

Brian Davis
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/landlords-how-to-save-money-738304.html

Which of the following is the name applied to the stage house or changing room behind the raised platform in a typical ancient Greek Theatre complex?
a. Skene

b. Proskene

c. Tymele

d. Orchestra

The skene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skene

I already have a distributor (http://www.furmansound.com/products/pro/power_dstrbtn/powerdist1.php), but need to know how to hook it up. I do not have the funds to hire an electrician to work alongside my lighting and audio techs, and I’m at a point where I’m thinking of just taking career electrician classes just to learn how to be able to draw power from different sources to get to my tech booth and staging equipment if I can’t get an answer on how this would be done.

At venues they usually have electricians to give me power, but some events (IE weddings) obviously don’t since they’re done in homes and I’ve been having to run 15amp cables all over the house and it’s very unprofessional. I’d just like to figure out how to get one main line from the power source to my distro box and I can handle all the electrical loads and balancing from there.

You may want to consider purchasing a generator that can supply you with constant 100 amps (12000 constant watts) and running cord long enough to supply your rack mount distributor with the needed power. That way you will have the flexibility to set up anywhere that the client needs you to. Just remember to get cords that are rated for outdoor use and make sure that they are large enough for the load.

I think its called "staging". I know it involves Interior Designing and most likely requires a certificate, right?

I dont want to work with the public (telling people how to decorate their house), I want to be able to decorate it the way I want.

I was wondering who I would need to work with to do this, the company that builds the house or the realtor?

Any other information you can give me on the subject is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

You go to a University with a degree program in Interior Design. Investigate some colleges and university and dedicated Design Institutes.

Im going to see The Maine, All Time Low, Mayday Parade, and Every Avenue At HOB in Cleveland. I have general admission tickets, and wanna be close to the stage. Any Tips? November 22nd, 2008

I’ve done it a million times. You have to be tough and be rude. Whenever you get a chance try to squeeze your way into the next closer space, do it. You have to look for opportunities though, catch people slippin. Usually when crowdsurfers slam by is the best opportunity to advance.

But be warned – you are being rude by taking peoples places, but it’s the only way to advance. You should know that you will irritate some people.

My inlaws have two homes. It has been long known when they were near retirement, their daughter (my wife) would buy the oldest of the homes, the one all the kids grew up in.

We have little to no cash down and our credit scores are in the high 500’s. The inlaws are willing to do almost anything to help us get into the home, even staging an elvated price to make it look like we dropped a big downpayment, though we can not prove it beyond word of mouth. Living there paying rent for a year may be another option, before we take owner ship of the house.

The house will be going on the very low side of the price range for this area at approx $200k. Average house price in this area is $350k or higher. We can afford the monthly depending on interest rate as we are already paying $1000/month rent now.

Any advice would be greatly apprecaited. Again little or no money down, poor credit, willful inlaws, and a family history in the house.

They can sell at an elevated price if you want. The rest can be a gift of equity to you and your wife. It must be in letter form and in the sales contract. If your scores are in the High 500 then financing is no problem. try to get them to give you a 10% gift of equity and them to pay the closing cost and you should be good to go!

Expired listings are the hottest “cold lead” you can find. These people tried to sell their home, and the market unapologetically told them it didn’t want it, which creates a more motivated seller with a dose of realism. If you’re in a reasonably busy market, you could probably make a healthy living from just expired listing marketing alone.

There are several people representing their system as the magic bullet for this booming market. In this article, I’ll show you how to leverage some off the shelf parts and very quickly, and efficiently create your own expired listings marketing system. Our goal for you is creating a very turn-key system that simply delivers leads to you with minimal to no work.

Any expired listings system will require several parts:

First, you’ll need source data of expired listings. Typically this coms from your MLS, but there are 3rd-party providers of this as well, which will attempt to run a name-match on the address, and will send you data in a format easier to deal with. One such company is TheRedX (no affiliation), though you can certainly get this data free from your MLS. What one pays for is ease-of-use, as they will email you a CSV file. My opinion is this service is definitely worth the cost, but for those concerned more about money than time, you can certainly pull this data yourself, then key it into a reverse-address-lookup to try and get a resident’s name.

Second, you’ll need a way to get in front of these potential listings, which will require using postcards. In most cases, a phone number is not available or the resident is on the do-not-call list. It’s not enough.

Here you have a few choices:

a. You can wait until the listings stack up to 100 or more, then use a postcard service to print and send them all at once. This is inferior because expired leads depreciate in a matter of hours, and within a few days are pretty much worthless. You need to reach the potential seller very quickly. You need the right information seen by the right people at the right time.

b. You can deliver them to the house, or have someone else do it. This is the best for timeliness, as if you’re first in line, you can “lay a bear trap” for other real estate agents, as I’ll show you in a bit. This helps you get the listing, but is time-consuming, or costly if you hire someone else to deliver these for you.

c. You can pre-print the postcards, then hand-address them as you get the data. This is a bit of work to set up, but low cost overall. The biggest drawback to this is that it will require your time every day, and most people quickly fall off doing this as soon as they get busy. Also, if you use multiple cards, this can get complicated quickly, as you’ll have certain people on day 1, others on day 2, others on day 3.

d. You can purchase a postcard automation system which will print, stamp, and mail, in your own handwriting, even multi-card campaigns for roughly $.52 per postcard. This is especially effective for postcard campaigns, where doing it oneself would get horribly complicated and time-consuming. This card automation system allows for pre-created campaigns and typically includes scanning of your handwriting to turn it into a font. One upside to this is if you subscribe to a 3rd-party data source, you can even, with a bit of work, make this 100% hands-free.

Third, you’ll need your message. This can be a bit tricky, because it’s easy to fall into being the bearer of bad news. Personally, I’m a big believer in using video, because people are busy, and sometimes lazy. If they need to read a lot, you’ll need to catch them with a killer headline, or your postcard will go straight to the trash. Two proven techniques I’ve seen work are to first, tell them it’s more than just about the price, and second to make it clear “the Market” has told you the house isn’t worth that. Using a video, phrased as a 3rd party, can also deliver news the seller doesn’t want to hear – which is that the house was probably overpriced.

Only 1.5% of all agents follow up over 5 times, yet 60% of sales happen after the 5th contact. See the pattern? Now you know the reason for the 80/20 rule, about 20% of the real estate agents outselling the other 80%. The trick: automated followup, via email sequential autoresponders and card campaign automation.

Your expired listing marketing system should let the potential seller know it’s about pricing, promotion, and presentation. They may be able to leave the price as-is, provided they increase how the home is presented (read: add staging, re-paint, cosmetic repairs, etc.), and promotion (read: reach a wider audience). If you are the one to tell them their house is overpriced, they’ll shoot the messenger. Don’t be that casualty. Instead, try “the market of supply and demand has told us in it’s current condition, the price requires adjustment.” I like to remind people I’m like the weatherman – I don’t make the weather, I just let you know how to prepare. Expired listing sellers are probably frustrated, so use caution in your language.

Our company, has produced a customizable video called “Help! My Home Won’t Sell” or “Why Didn’t My Home Sell?”. If you decide to produce your own video, be sure to have a crystal-clear “call to action” for them to call you at the end, and illustrate the value by doing so.

Whatever course you choose, I hope this helps you get more business. Real estate marketing is competitive, but can lead to many closed transactions and millions in income. Investing just a few hours to set up your turn-key expired listings marketing can provide a pillar of business for years to come.

For more information about our product, please visit http://www.Movoxo.com/expired-listing-marketing-system You’ll find a free “expired listings success” video and e-book, and more information out our expired listings marketing options.

Roger Vetruba
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/expired-listing-marketing-system-how-to-build-one-736778.html

I know its hard to answer i but i am asking people with experience how long will it take from here? its only a resonably small unit. approx 127sq (16sq)

It depends on how many people work on it. But i’d say 4 to 6 weeks tops, providing there it is well organized.

Expired listings are the hottest “cold lead” you can find. These people tried to sell their home, and the market unapologetically told them it didn’t want it, which creates a more motivated seller with a dose of realism. If you’re in a reasonably busy market, you could probably make a healthy living from just expired listing marketing alone.

There are several people representing their system as the magic bullet for this booming market. In this article, I’ll show you how to leverage some off the shelf parts and very quickly, and efficiently create your own expired listings marketing system. Our goal for you is creating a very turn-key system that simply delivers leads to you with minimal to no work.

Any expired listings system will require several parts:

First, you’ll need source data of expired listings. Typically this coms from your MLS, but there are 3rd-party providers of this as well, which will attempt to run a name-match on the address, and will send you data in a format easier to deal with. One such company is TheRedX (no affiliation), though you can certainly get this data free from your MLS. What one pays for is ease-of-use, as they will email you a CSV file. My opinion is this service is definitely worth the cost, but for those concerned more about money than time, you can certainly pull this data yourself, then key it into a reverse-address-lookup to try and get a resident’s name.

Second, you’ll need a way to get in front of these potential listings, which will require using postcards. In most cases, a phone number is not available or the resident is on the do-not-call list. It’s not enough.

Here you have a few choices:

a. You can wait until the listings stack up to 100 or more, then use a postcard service to print and send them all at once. This is inferior because expired leads depreciate in a matter of hours, and within a few days are pretty much worthless. You need to reach the potential seller very quickly. You need the right information seen by the right people at the right time.

b. You can deliver them to the house, or have someone else do it. This is the best for timeliness, as if you’re first in line, you can “lay a bear trap” for other real estate agents, as I’ll show you in a bit. This helps you get the listing, but is time-consuming, or costly if you hire someone else to deliver these for you.

c. You can pre-print the postcards, then hand-address them as you get the data. This is a bit of work to set up, but low cost overall. The biggest drawback to this is that it will require your time every day, and most people quickly fall off doing this as soon as they get busy. Also, if you use multiple cards, this can get complicated quickly, as you’ll have certain people on day 1, others on day 2, others on day 3.

d. You can purchase a postcard automation system which will print, stamp, and mail, in your own handwriting, even multi-card campaigns for roughly $.52 per postcard. This is especially effective for postcard campaigns, where doing it oneself would get horribly complicated and time-consuming. This card automation system allows for pre-created campaigns and typically includes scanning of your handwriting to turn it into a font. One upside to this is if you subscribe to a 3rd-party data source, you can even, with a bit of work, make this 100% hands-free.

Third, you’ll need your message. This can be a bit tricky, because it’s easy to fall into being the bearer of bad news. Personally, I’m a big believer in using video, because people are busy, and sometimes lazy. If they need to read a lot, you’ll need to catch them with a killer headline, or your postcard will go straight to the trash. Two proven techniques I’ve seen work are to first, tell them it’s more than just about the price, and second to make it clear “the Market” has told you the house isn’t worth that. Using a video, phrased as a 3rd party, can also deliver news the seller doesn’t want to hear – which is that the house was probably overpriced.

Only 1.5% of all agents follow up over 5 times, yet 60% of sales happen after the 5th contact. See the pattern? Now you know the reason for the 80/20 rule, about 20% of the real estate agents outselling the other 80%. The trick: automated followup, via email sequential autoresponders and card campaign automation.

Your expired listing marketing system should let the potential seller know it’s about pricing, promotion, and presentation. They may be able to leave the price as-is, provided they increase how the home is presented (read: add staging, re-paint, cosmetic repairs, etc.), and promotion (read: reach a wider audience). If you are the one to tell them their house is overpriced, they’ll shoot the messenger. Don’t be that casualty. Instead, try “the market of supply and demand has told us in it’s current condition, the price requires adjustment.” I like to remind people I’m like the weatherman – I don’t make the weather, I just let you know how to prepare. Expired listing sellers are probably frustrated, so use caution in your language.

Our company, has produced a customizable video called “Help! My Home Won’t Sell” or “Why Didn’t My Home Sell?”. If you decide to produce your own video, be sure to have a crystal-clear “call to action” for them to call you at the end, and illustrate the value by doing so.

Whatever course you choose, I hope this helps you get more business. Real estate marketing is competitive, but can lead to many closed transactions and millions in income. Investing just a few hours to set up your turn-key expired listings marketing can provide a pillar of business for years to come.

For more information about our product, please visit http://www.Movoxo.com/expired-listing-marketing-system You’ll find a free “expired listings success” video and e-book, and more information out our expired listings marketing options.

Roger Vetruba
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/expired-listing-marketing-system-how-to-build-one-736778.html

Our agent says we are priced below our comps and that we get a lot of traffic on the internet and at open houses. Our house has been on the market for 38 days and we have has a total of 2 viewings apart from our open houses. Our house is nicely staged and it looks like a model home. What gives? What should we be asking of our agent? We basically have about $25,000 wiggle room in the price and we were hoping to use that as a "haggling" cushion. Should we shave the price now? Our house is a 1928 tudor in a neighborhood where comps are really difficult as no 2 properties are alike. Is it too early for me to freak out? Should I be concerned about lack of showings if we’re doing well with open houses and on the web as far as hits? Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can impart!
Also our next door neighbor is our agent and friend so it’s a lot more of a sensitive issue –so we can’t go all Rambo on our agent
Oooooo—good point, Angie! I didn’t really think about that. Do you think there’s a conflict of interest here?

How long is the contract with your realitor? Conflict of interest or not – it is is not selling, list it with someone else or try it on your own for say 30 days.

Offer seller concessions of up to 6 percent of the closing costs may help. Offer to pay the appriasal. Print up flyers to hospitals, factories, businesses, grocery stores, with the picture of your home. Listing price, selling price, give up some equity in the home if need be. Good Luck to you. (ok)