Month: December 2018

The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program scheduled for January 2008 offers a new career opportunity for individuals with a talent for decorating and creativity.

The New Year is often a time for individuals to think about making improvements in their lives and one of the areas in which people are most dissatisfied is work. Simply making a resolution to leave a job, train for a new career or set up a business isnt enough. You need to take action.

Some people know what the ideal career would be for them, but feel its beyond reach. Others have a passion or a hobby but dont believe it could ever make them any money. And most people would like to set up a business but dont have the right experience.

The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program gives individuals who are interested in turning their decorating talents and creativity into a new career the tools to start and grow their own successful home staging business. If you are one of those people who has a passion for design and decorating, home staging may be the ideal way to marry your passion with a highly lucrative business opportunity.

Home Staging (House Staging, House Fluffing, House Primping, Real Estate Staging) is the art of decorating a home to sell quickly and for top dollar. Home staging has been named one of the hottest growth businesses by Entrepreneur Magazine.

“My mission is to inspire and empower others to discover new opportunities to live the life of their dreams”, said internationally recognized home stager Debra Gould, President of StagingDiva.com and developer of the Staging Diva Training Program.

“For many of our Staging Diva Graduates, it’s their first opportunity to combine their passion for decorating with a desire to run their own business.”

The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program is the only home staging program taught by someone with an MBA and over 25 years of business experience, who has also personally built a successful home staging business (not as a sideline to selling real estate).

The programs emphasis is on business practices, marketing strategies and pricing of services. It is not a “decorating” course but instead encourages those with an eye for decorating to turn their passion into a business.

Want to know if Home Staging is the right business for you? Gould has also developed an online quiz to help you decide. View the free quiz at http://www.stagingdiva.com

Heather Ray Ryan of Florida says, “The Staging Diva Home Staging Training Program gave me the knowledge, power and confidence to quit my job of eight years and start doing something I have only dreamed of. Family and friends have a new found respect for me for being an example to my children by stepping outside my comfort zone and going for what I really want!”

The next Home Staging Training Program begins January 9, 2008. For the course description and schedule, visit http://www.stagingdiva.com.

Debra adds, “Over 700 Staging Diva graduates worldwide agree that my course is not theory, its practical hands-on advice you can use today and in the years ahead as your business evolves.”

When you are planning to sell your home and want a fair price you will have to impress the potential buyers to get them pay what you demand.

That can be possible only if the buyer is adequately impressed by your property. In fact the buyer should see himself living in your house, the moment he steps into survey your home. Obviously first impression counts. The process of doing up a property or dressing up a property before the sale is called Home staging. As an art and marketing gimmick it will give you a competitive edge and fetch a fair price that perhaps you never imagined!.

Justify Your Price

So the critical action to impress a buyer rests with you as a seller. You you must embellish your house in such a manner that every penny you are asking as the price is fully justified. So now, put your home’s best foot forward! First tour your house with a critical eye and repair anything that needs it.

Boost the Appeal: Make sure your home is perfectly ready to lure the buyer or all onlookers. To make the home beautiful, you can do these things

Wash the siding and walkways
Put easy-to-read house numbers
Blooming Plants flowers and fresh greenery
Mow the lawn
Clean windows
Repaint the porch floor

These will make the floors shining and windows gleaming. Now clean all counters so that all surfaces sparkle.

Repair the Cracks: Do away all cracking plaster and burnt out lights.

Lighting: It is an area of low-cost yet high-return investments. Many houses may not have enough light. Try to put more overhead fixtures and add some great lamps.

Space: Decongest the furniture such as a giant sofa that may make a living room look small. Remove them. Only small groupings of furniture can create a sense of space.

Kitchen: The kitchen should look very neat, clean and clutter-free. Keep a single bowl to hold all cooking utensils. Store all small appliances in cupboards.

Clean out the clutter: Get rid of all clutter and in that process let make some of your personal stuff also go away.

Personal items: Minimize the presence of family photos and provide more clean surfaces and objects that are artfully displayed.

Storage space: Buyers want more storage space. So do not show them your overflowing cabinets and closets as it becomes an advertisement of inadequate space for storage. If you are using basement or garage for storage make sure that you have left enough empty space.

Furniture: Remove unwanted furniture to provide a feeling of open space that buyers seek. Stow your personal stuff away when buyers come calling. So have space for easy stowing and clear out items not in regular use.

Depersonalize: After the clutter is out, focus the attention to achieving a modern look. Depersonalize your own decorating.

Painting: Paint the walls in neutral colors and upgrade the appliances.

Now you can behold what difference has come to your little home!

When potential home buyers first take a look inside your house, your living room needs to present itself well and attract their full attention. This is one of the first rooms they will see when entering your property. You must take full advantage of this space and update its look to resemble a modern and warm environment. If a potential home buyer sees an outdated and dingy living room, it will have a negative emotional impact on them. On average, if this happens they are not excited and will try to leave the property as soon as possible. Dont let that happen and consider the home staging ideas below to better your chances at selling your house.

Step 1
Paint the living room. Paint can add a dramatic difference to any room. Bright white or neutral color walls are the way to go. Painting is also the easiest and least expensive way to update any space. When painting, make sure not to overlook the trim work. You want to brighten it with high-gloss white paint and caulk any open seams between the molding, ceiling, baseboard and wall.

Step 2
Add some flowers. The scent and look of a vase full of beautiful colorful flowers will definitely add a hit of zest to any room. Research shows that yellow floral arrangements envoke buyer’ emotions. The Home Staging Channel does not recommend using fake flowers either. Fresh live flowers are what excite buyers.

Step 3
Replace your flooring. Most flooring projects can indeed be a costly investment. On average, quality hardwood flooring ranges from $2-$9 per square foot. For a 220 square foot area, expect to spend about $1,250 if you do-it-yourself. If you prefer to hire a professional, calculate this into your budget. Next comes sanding hardwoods which can be physically tough. If you make a mistake, you can permanently damage the floor. If youre concerned, you may want to hire a pro. You can then do your own staining and sealing to save some money. If you have carpet in the living room, you can either have it professionally cleaned, which can range anywhere from $75-$200 or you can replace it if its torn, stained or has a bad odor. Pricing for new rugs and carpet also vary. Do your homework and find out the best ways to update this part of the living room.

Step 4
Hang some art. Adding wall art also adds zing to a living room. When you see pictures of the wonderful outdoors it brings a feeling of energy and joy. DO NOT display photos of beloved friends and family while your home is on the market. This is mistake that many homeowners make while there home is on the market.

Step 5
Fire Place Mantel. Replace your old mantel with a new wood or stone mantel for as cheap as $100. The fireplace will be the main focal point of the living room! Make sure it presents well. TIP: do not put too many knick-knacks on the new mantel. You want the potential homebuyer to focus on the new mantel and not your decor.

Step 6
A ceiling change. If you have popcorn ceilings in the living room, or any other room of the house, get rid of them! Popcorn ceilings will be a tough sale. Instead, paint the ceiling with a high-gloss white color.

Step 7
Fabrics and pillows. Another way to increase the energy in your living room or any other room in your house is to add pillows and fabric accents. Add curtains in neutral colors or deep jewel tones. Silk pillows with ornate beading and sequins are very beautiful too.

When your house is on the market for sale, its up to you and your creativity to sell it quick. You dont want your house to be on the market for more than a few weeks. It should ideally sell within the first week its on the market. Consider the home staging tips above and you may make a sale within the first few days of your house being on the market!

In today’s unsteady economy most of us try to save a penny here and there. And when the time comes to put the home on the market, some homeowners opt for not hiring a professional home stager. No judgment here, we all decide ourselves what is best for us. But for do-it-yourself homeowners, let me share some advice on how to prepare your home for sale if you are on a budget.

1. Start with a curb appeal. Your house should look well maintained and neat: mow the lawn, remove all dry or dead flowers and plants, power spray the entire house to get rid of cobwebs and dirt, it will give the house a freshly painted look.

2. Inside, remove all personal items: photos, collections, achievement awards, antique. It will distract potential buyers’ attention from the house and will not let them mentally move in.

3. Remove all clutter and extra furniture. Additional sitting furniture, side tables, statues, books, magazines – it all creates clutter and you want rooms to appear as open and large as possible. For example, most dining sets can go with four chairs instead of six.

4. In the kitchen remove everything from the countertops. All small appliances, paper-towel holders, cutting boards, etc. – hide it all in the cabinets. You will increase the appearance of your countertop space – exactly what the buyers’ are looking for. A nice vase with fruits or couple of knick-knacks will give your kitchen a more welcoming look.

5. In the bathroom put all your personal items into the basket and hide it under the sink. Freshen up the look of your bathroom with fresh flowers, clean white towels, and, preferably, new shower curtain.

6. If you want to give your house a totally new fresh look, painting is one of the cheapest way to do it. You don’t have to break the bank to buy a gallon or two of paint. The return on this kind of investment will be huge. The trick here is that you need to choose the right color of paint, that will appeal to most buyers. If you need help choosing the right color scheme for your home makeover – please, contact Studio 74.

7. And remember: the cleaner the house – the newer it looks. So, while staging homes for sale, scrub everything top to bottom, it all pays off at the end.

For more tips and ideas on staging homes for sale, call Studio 74.

So you have fixed your financial situation and are ready to purchase a foreclosed property, all you need now is a nudge to the right direction with home foreclosure listings. All buyers look for good bargains and there are no better bargains around than home foreclosures. These pre-owned homes are offered to the market after their former owners failed to pay the loans they took out to pay for their homes. Foreclosure homes sell for a lot lower than their real market value and there are various types of properties that are in foreclosure so you can definitely find the right one for you.

The Best Resource

Your best source of home foreclosure listings are the online subscription services. For a minimum fee, you can take advantage of a wide range of listings that are updated on a daily basis. Online home foreclosure listings will have all foreclosure properties across the country, so it also a great resource for people n the real estate business looking to make investments in different states. A good home foreclosure listings service offer tools and value added services to ensure that your search yields good results. They would normally have specialized filter options that you can use to narrow down your search. They will also offer valuable literature on your preferred area with information on demographics, cost of living, social and community services. Some of these subscription sites offer email customer support manned by professionals to answer whatever questions you may have. When looking for a good home foreclosure listings service, go for the ones that offer a special 7-day trial package that will help you decide if indeed you need the service.

Other Resources

You can check out public notices found at courthouses across the country for home foreclosure listings. You may also find home foreclosure listings in newspapers of large circulation, which usually carry information on home auctions and other foreclosed properties. If you have time in your hands, you can give out flyers and post some of them to let everyone know you are looking for properties in distress. You should post your flyers in high-traffic places like malls, gyms and supermarkets to ensure that a lot of people see them.

Banks also have their list of foreclosures as well as other financial institutions like mortgage companies and lending institutions. Most of them will not directly transact with you so you need to be represented by an agent or broker.