Home Staging SOP

Creating a stylish kitchen has turned into a costly American obsession, with the average remodel costing tens of thousands of dollars. For the majority of us dealing with a slowing economy, a credit crunch and rising gas prices, the idea of a pricey kitchen remodel might not be at our list these days. That doesnt mean you have to live with the kitchen you have until the limping economy bounces back. There are home staging ideas costing $200 or less that can still help transform your current kitchen that well present well on the market.

Step 1
Paint. If you have a small budget and want to make a big impact, wall color will do it. For the cost of a few gallons of paint, you can easily change the look and feel of your kitchen. Remember while selling your home it is crucial that you use bright and neutral colors. You are trying to sell your house and not your personality. Dutch Boy offers a new Refreshing paint with exclusive Arm & Hammer odor-eliminating technology that actually removes common household airborne odors, making it ideal for the kitchen.

Step 2
Hardware. Have your kitchen cabinets seen there last day? Cabinets can easily be brought back to life with a coat of primer and paint, and so can out dated cabinet hardware. If youre willing to a little work and purchase an inexpensive can of spray paint, you can transform any handle or knob into a new one. There are a variety of metallic spray paints available such as chrome, copper, brass and satin nickel that mimic the look of these expensive finishes. Buying brand new hardware can cost anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to a couple of thousand, (depending on the quality).

Step 3
Backsplash. The kitchen backsplash can easily serve as the focal point of a kitchen, if its done with care.

A contractors cost to install an average-sized kitchen backsplash can run upwards of $1000 for labor alone. Rather than using tile, consider installing pressed tin ceiling tiles. Apply adhesive found at your local home improvement store to the backs of the tiles and simply press them onto the wall behind the stove or sink. You can also create the illusion of an expensive backsplash by using self-adhesive linoleum floor tiles that look like stone or marble.

Step 4
Sink and Faucet. Replacing an old, scratched sink is easier and cheaper than you might think. While real porcelain might be out of your budget, many stainless steel and acrylic options can be purchased for less than $100 .While youre at it, dont forget about updating the faucet.

Step 5
Lighting. It might not be the first thing you think of when updating a kitchen, but updating existing lighting fixtures is a simple way to add style without spending a lot of money. Changing out old ceiling fans and light covers is an easy step in preparing a kitchen for sale. For about $50, you might also want to consider adding under-cabinet lighting fixtures that plug directly into existing electrical outlets and mount to the underside of your cabinets.

Let us take a look at 7 of the most popular kitchen
countertop materials being used today:

Granite – A natural stone, granite is a popular choice for its classic beauty and longevity. Granite is the densest of the natural stones. It can create a kitchen countertop that is extremely scratch resistant and can keep its shine longer than most materials.

Marble Another natural stone, marble is considered to be the height of elegance and will last longer than most kitchens. It is however very expensive and requires some maintenance: acidic foods such as limejuice will etch the finished surface of a marble kitchen countertop.

Slate Because of it richness and beauty slate is usually used in interior applications such as kitchen countertops, bathroom sinks or fireplace surrounds. It can be used in either modern or traditional kitchens as well as in combination with marble. Slate is durable, strong, and can withstand hard use. It is also less expensive than marble and granite.

Concrete This is one of the biggest trends in kitchen countertops today. It is a good look for clean, industrial and contemporary kitchen designs. Available in pre formed sections or poured and formed on-site. Concrete kitchen countertops are expensive, require a sealant and must be treated with care. The countertop can crack if the concrete should contract. Concrete can be stained any color. The most popular color is a natural gray tone. The top layer can be finished as desired.

Corian A solid surface material that first became popular in the nineties, it is highly recommended by kitchen countertop experts. It is a totally manmade product and is not porous. As a solid surface it can easily be repaired if scratched or burned.

Stainless Steel Advantages include very hygienic, easy to clean, having ability to stand up to extreme wear and heat. Stainless steel can provide a great look for an ultra modern kitchen. Some disadvantages with stainless is that it can be noisy and that scratches can develop.

Tile Tile surfaces can be tough, hardwearing, takes hot pans, heat and stain resistant as well as beautiful. There are many types of tiles including ceramic, porcelain, quarry, glass, natural stone and mosaic, which are available in many colors, sizes and textures. Tile can often be used for trim or backsplashes. The downside of tile is that the grouts can be easily stained. Also the tiles can become chipped or cracked.

Lesson Planning from the Heart: Right brain strategies for preparing and teaching effective lessons.

Author: Duncan Foord

Bio data: The author is Director of Teacher Training at OxfordTEFL, Barcelona Spain. He has been training teachers on Trinity Certificate and Diploma courses for the past 10 years.

Menu:
Introduction
An approach to planning with comments on a sample lesson plan
Reasons why this approach can be effective
Frequently asked questions
Bibliography

Introduction
The article suggests that a global rather than linear approach to conceiving lessons and lesson plans can be helpful to trainee teachers, by allowing more flexibility in staging and more focus on our communicative aims. The ideas are based on the writers experience observing lessons taught by experienced teachers on Trinity Diploma courses and beginner teachers on Certificate courses.

As teachers and teacher trainers we are familiar with teaching and observing lessons which dont reach their end, in other words we or the teacher we are observing run out of time before reaching the last one or two stages. Not doing everything youve planned is not necessarily a bad thing, but in my experience the bits planned for the end are nearly always the most crucial bits of the lesson, the pay off, the raison detre, the heart of the lesson. Rather than work towards our aims, it might be more helpful to work around them.

An approach to planning with comments on a sample lesson plan
I have produced two procedure plans for the same lesson. One is in traditional linear format, the other as a spider graph or mind map, centring round a heart. The communicative aim of the lesson is at the heart and the various activities which might support learners in achieving this aim are shown as satellites and arteries which feed and pump life into the heart. Forgive the mixed metaphors, but you get the idea.

The mind map is numbered, but it is fairly clear which bits can be left out and which bits depend on other bits and are therefore more distant from the heart. For example the drill activity (2) is dependent on examples to drill (1). Of course both can be left out altogether. We could start the lesson at 3 or 5 or even 7. I think this kind of flexibility is more difficult to envisage with the linear format.

Conceiving the lesson in terms of a kind of mind map, rather than a series of numbered and sequenced events can be helpful for several reasons:

Reasons why this approach can be effective:

1.Right brain dominant and visual teachers will immediately identify with information presented in this form more easily (for more on this, see Fletcher, 2000). In my experience about half of the teachers I put the idea to are immediately enthusiastic and the other half are sceptical. Below are some reasons to persuade the other half to give it a go.

2.The importance of the communication activity is emphasized. It is the heart of the lesson, it must be there or the lesson dies. This should be reflected in the plan. In linear sequences it appears as one among a series of activities which seem to be of equal importance. Looking at the example plan included here, it is clear that students can give each other advice about problems without having worked on formulae for giving advice or reading a text from a problem page. In other words, the satellites are peripheral and can be easily left out of the lesson. I think it is possible to have a heart which isnt a communicative activity (see FAQ 1 below), but most lessons seem to work best when it is. Of course the heart could be a receptive activity such as understanding an extract from a film or a newspaper article.

3.If we believe that students learn better through a communicative approach then its probably a good idea to be conceiving communicative lesson plans; in other words plans which not only foreground communication activities, but also, in their very form, embody and reflect the task-feedback-task cycle which is inherent to the communicative approach. The linear formatted plan invites a dogged adherence to the sequence planned, as if leaving something out would somehow break a chain and wed have to start again. This type of thinking, derived I believe from behaviourist models of language learning, is not always helpful and doesnt really reflect the full picture of the way we learn.

4.Flexibility. The mind map lesson plan/mindset allows the teacher more freedom to add and discard activities more easily in response to time constraints, learner needs or whatever. The satellites can be numbered to suggest a sequence.

5.Learner involvement. If the lesson plan is presented to learners in this format on OHP or whiteboard at the start of the lesson, they have an opportunity to add bits, take bits way, even change the heart and start again, if they want. Alternatively the teacher can start with a heart and let the learners suggest the satellites. This can be taken a stage further so that learners decide the hearts and the satellites, a kind of course planning from the heart.

Frequently asked questions

1.Does this model only work for lessons based around communication activities? No. I can imagine a lesson, say, with a class preparing for a First Certificate exam, where the teacher wants the learners to work on their accurate use of prepositions. The heart in this case could be students fill in a gapped text with prepositions removed and the satellites could include work on typical uses of certain prepositions with reference to a grammar book or teacher chalk and talk or learners researching and peer teaching, sentence gap fills, reading and noticing, a game of preposition dominoes etc.

2.This model seems to be relevant for task based learning, but what if you dont subscribe to that? Before task based learning, communicative teaching was frequently expressed through the PPP type lesson. This type of lesson usually contains a task, the third P, Production or Free Practice. The difference was that it always came at the end as if it was only possible once the students had earned it by jumping the first two hoops Presentation and Practice. PPP is like a half way house to communicative teaching, embracing the idea of a communication activity as a vehicle for learning but retaining much of the audio-lingual insistence on sequencing and getting it right before moving on.

3.What about beginner learners? Surely they need some carefully sequenced input before they can attempt even basic communication tasks? Yes, I agree. How can students play bingo for example if they dont have a grasp of numbers in English? You could have two hearts! Or better still combine them in one Learn the numbers 1-50 well enough to play bingo. If you set out with this in mind you will be less likely to be overly diverted by satellites like practice word stress thirteen vs thirty,

4.What about staging? Isnt it important to create lessons for learners which are carefully sequenced to support learning? I think some sequences make more sense than others, but theres probably too much fuss made about staging, by which I understand activities following on from each other logically. I suspect learners brains and learning are often a bit more messy and more robust than that, so we need plans that can go with the flow without abandoning core objectives. This lesson could start with stages 5 and 6, for example, or even 7

No one gets involved in the business of real estate thinking that they would like to lose money. Of course not. But if you dont have an effective marketing plan in place that is exactly what you may be doing. At the very least, if you dont have any effective strategies to employ you are minimizing the profit that you could be making. And the goal is to maximize your profit right? No matter what your exit strategy is, you need a plan that includes some top notch selling strategies.

When it comes to getting top dollar for your property you need an arsenal of tricks and techniques at your disposal. Before you even begin to advertise your property, you must begin the marketing. This starts with home staging, or scene designing. Know your market. I cannot stress this enough. If you are aiming your staging and marketing efforts at the wrong target market, you are wasting your time and money. Research the neighborhood, determine who lives there, and who would want to live there. Market to that group and forget the rest.

Once you have your property effectively staged to the appropriate target market, you are ready to begin the rest of your marketing campaign. Of course you should utilize the traditional advertising methods such as the MLS, lawn signs and internet listings, but dont make the mistake of limiting yourself. You need to take the initiative to attract the right people to your property. host events at the property that will appeal to buyers or renters or offer move in incentives such as gift certificates to local businesses.

Dont forget your overall marketing plan. When you have potential buyers or renters visit your property, collect their information for follow up. If you let people leave the property without collecting their contact information, you are letting one of your most powerful marketing tools walk away. Ask what they are looking for, in what neighborhood, you may have another property that will appeal to them. And dont forget about who they know. Offer a cash bonus if they can refer any potential buyers to your property. Word of mouth advertising is very effective.

An effective marketing plan complete with selling strategies are key to success in real estate no matter what your exit strategy is. It is no longer enough to put a sign on the front lawn and wait for buyers to walk through the door. Creating an arsenal of strategies, tips, tricks and techniques guarantees you real estate success.

Everyone always asks me how I am able to do so much. Well, there are 2 secrets:

1) Leverage other people’s time by being a good delegator

2) Get very organized.

I know what you are thinking- -Well, Karen you are probably already hyper organized right?- Wrong. By nature I am an insane

perfectionist. I like everything a certain way, I am very picky on details, and I don’t want to have to say or see it twice!

But, I am only good and having other people do this for me. I am good at giving them specifics, creating timelines and

setting standards-and of course, holding myself to the same standard which I expect to receive.

Only you can know what system of organization works for you but I can tell you for a fact that if you are serious about

creating enormous income (even just decent income) you need to get organized.

1) Evaluate your level of current organization: Is your office clean and uncluttered? Do you or your asst. know where

everything is? Or, do you need to come up with a specific system so that things are easy to file (half the battle) and then

easy to find.

I like overall categories like; -Marketing- and then subcategories such as -Flyers.- If I am working on properties, I keep a

main template of marketing pieces in the Marketing file so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel with each new property, but I

also do the same thing per property. So, in this instance, I would have -Properties- as my main category. Then I might have

a sub-category for -Home Staging’s- followed by -Active- and -Completed.- Then of course the property address file within

each of those. It makes my life very simple and I can get anything in a moment’s notice.

This simple system works with any type of business. I use it for my Home Staging Training Company, my Speakers Training

Company, Our On Line Systems program as well as My Coaching and Mentoring Business for Entrepreneurs and Small Business

Owners.

2) How do you manage your email? This is a big one for many Entrepreneurs because we live by our email and cell phones.

I will address phone calls next, but first, let’s look at managing your email. When you are going to work, you need to turn

your email off. Don’t minimize it, turn it off.

You must schedule time to answer emails just like you schedule time to get your work completed. If you allow your email to

interrupt you all day long, you will never complete your big income tasks and you will continue to wonder why you can’t be as

prosperous as you would like.

If you choose to keep your email and phone active all day long, you must understand that you are conditioning your client to

view you as having a lower value because you are always available instead of being busy enough not to be available.

However, if you manage their expectations, by telling them exactly when they can expect a return email from you, they view

you as professional, organized and valuable.

Now, you can get your Mo*ney tasks completed and still service your customers in an extraordinary way.

3) Unless you are waiting for Brain Surgery, turn off your cell phone! I mean it. Why do you allow people to interrupt

you all day long. It takes 20 minutes to -re-group- after you have been interrupted. 20 minutes! You are here to achieve

great things-right? So, 20 minutes is valuable time.

For friends and family, accept and return their calls after business hours (you are holding regular Home Staging business

hours right?).

For clients, do the same thing you do with emails. If you have an assistant, then great, he or she can answer the phone for

you. You can also hire an answering service. If neither is an option for you, manage your clients expectations by telling

them on your voice mail exactly when they can reach you and when they can expect to receive a return call. I would get very

specific and tell them you are always available M-F by phone form 8-10am and you return calls daily between 4-6pm. And if

they have a specific time they need you to reach them, ask them to leave the time on your voice mail and you will do your

best to accommodate them.

Now, they completely understand how to reach you and when you will contact them. You can go further and let them know that

you are taking care of them 100% by offering these specific hours they know they can reach you.

4) What are you doing with all that email? There are so many times when we know we should look at something or want to

save it and read it later, but we just don’t have the time or system in place to do so.

I like the -One Touch System.- In other words, if you receive an email that you may want to read but don’t have time, create

a -Drop Folder- for those emails on your desk top. As soon as you open it, drop it into the folder for later.

Then, schedule an hour once a week that you review this folder. You can now review, delete, save and/or take action. One

hour a week to create a One Touch System.

The more organized you can become the more profitable you become and it allows you to also have the right staff. So,

logically, if you have enough customers, you can create the income and lifestyle you so desire.

To Your Greatest Joy and Success,

Karen Schaefer

www.APSDmembers.com

In the 2005 best seller Brand Sense, author Martin Lindstrom says that as much as 83% of all marketing communication is limited to sight and sound. In the real estate business most of the marketing communication is done by sight. Ads placed in local newspapers, the MLS, and post cards announcing open houses etc

However, the most important marketing communication happens when prospective buyer crosses the threshold of a house.

This is very similar to the experience a shopper has when entering a store for the first time. It is at that point, that first impression, where you must use emotions as the media for your message.

The more senses you appeal to, the more dramatic the emotional response will be. I am not talking here of the old trick of baking cookies to get that smell throughout the house. Everyone likes it, but they know the trick so now, it appeals to their logic versus their emotion. But what if you had a fresh basket of lavender at the front door just as they came in? For some reason, which they can’t even articulate, they feel welcome. It might give them a cozy feeling of when they were a child going to their grandmothers home (because we all remember the lavender sachets grandma had in her drawer). It feels right and it completely appeals to their senses, not their logic.

When staging a home for a retail sale, it is vital to appeal to as many senses as possible. For that reason I use a variety of what I refer to as “Pockets of Emotion” throughout the house. These are those moments in a home that surprise you and make you laugh, give you pause while enjoying a fond memory, or appeal to your senses on such a high level that often times, you can’t even describe why it feels so good-it just does. I strategically place these “Pockets of Emotion” to suggest that “yes this is a perfect child’s room, because my child is playing right now” or “this is a great kitchen for our family holiday baking projects”. These Pockets of Emotion are designed to truly engage all the senses, not just the sense of sight.

In addition I use the sense of hearing when ever possible. If the home is in a high traffic zone, I may have light music playing in the background to take the focus away from the outside noise. Another great sense of sound is a fountain bubbling and birds chirping (and yes, I know how to make that happen at just the right moment!).

When I stage a house, you will find that I use not merely the senses of sight, smell, and hearing but of touch as well. I love having people touch something as the feeling stays in their fingers then entire time they enjoy the home. It is also a great reason to have them remove their shoes, if you have really wonderful carpet, so they can feel it on their toes. I also use interesting and textured fabrics to draw people into a room. It is so interesting to watch people as they are drawn into a room and encouraged to reach out and touch a window treatment or pick up a pillow. It helps them to fall in love with the property and feel as though they are home.

As for the sense of taste, I have found it is always a good idea to put a tasty surprise where prospective buyers are sure to find it. I often will put a bowl of big beautiful apples in the refrigerator, so it’s a surprise when they open it-with a sign that says “An apple a day keeps the Doctor away-enjoy!” or even seasonal cookies or candy inside an intriguing container that it is so attractive you can’t help but take the lid off.

Remember the more senses you engage, the more emotional the response will be and because of that response the more memorable the experience. Your ability to reach a buyer with a truly memorable experience can be summed up in one word: “Unforgettable”

Often in the blink of an eye, a prospective buyer will a sense whether the environment they have just entered is authentic or not. They will be able to get “feel” if the property is right or wrong. It is my job to make sure that it always feels right and to give them the opportunity to fall in love with their new home, on the spot. When they fall in love-we know the house is sold.