About Cochise County, AZ

I was given this idea to market my staging business which for the last year has been pretty much non exsistant due to lack of Realtors wanting to provide their clients with Staging.

So the idea goes like this: Contact a title company to see if they would like to partner with me in offering to local Realtors and their clients and Staging Consultation at the low cost of $50 per cleint in a group setting. The presentation or consultation would take place at the title agency, refeshments would be provided and the Realtors could bring one client with them along with photos of their home.

There would be limited seating to provide adequate time for all parties involved.

I would then present a brief presentation about staging and show before/after shots and then open it up to questions and provide suggestions according to what I see in their photos. Now, I am all about going all out with suggestions. The homeowner can decide what fits their budget.

This allows for low cost staging advice, educating the agents and sellers on the value of staging and most importantly open the door to more staging with those clients and their agents.

What do you think of this idea and do you have any suggestions to make it better?

I'm up early completing my marketing materials for an event that the city of Douglas AZ is hosting. They are having an All Classes Reunion events have been going on and will continue throughout the weekend. There is a golf tournament tomorrow . During the reception after the golf tournament there is opportunity for real estate businesses and others to present to the attendees reasons to move home.

I'm preparing listing flyers, a video and reasons to move back or invest in Douglas Arizona, or Cochise county. Took quite some time but I figured out how to download our listings right from the mls to flyers that are a list with pictures of the listings.

Here is the schedule.

There is also a bike race this weekend.

And apparently...rain and wind from hurricane Norbert! What's up with that!? We live in the high desert. I'm fairly sure the Sierra Madre mountains will mellow it out.

There is the Two Flags Festival this weekend at Castro Park. Celebrating our sister cities here on the border with Mexico. Douglas and Agua Prieta. There will be vendors and entertainment.

Got lots to do to get ready for some fun. :)

Well everyone it is done. The staging of my brother-in-laws home in Indpendence, Or. was completed last week and placed on MLS on Monday this week. It looks great and knowone can come close to how good it looks on the internet now...Wow!

I put together a real estate show for you all to enjoy. Take a look and give praises to Margaret of Creative Concepts in Salem, Or. Her work on this project was both professional and heartfelt. Our thanks and many blessings go out to her and her husband for all their hardwork and dedication to their profession

If you know of anyone who needs a great home in this area please, pass the information on about this beautiful home.

Myth and Magic of Manufactured Homes.

Manufactured homes are great options for buyers who need an inexpensive option for a home and also for homes in rural places. A manufactured home can be completed in much less time than a site built. The quality of these homes has much improved since the “trailer” or ”mobile” phase. These homes can be ground set or on pedestals or walls. Either option might prove useful depending on the environment they are in. Raising one off the ground in an area that has occasional flooding might be just the answer to being able to live in a place that has a rainy season. Other people set theirs' closer to the ground resembling more of a ground-set patio home.

These homes can be moved and placed on lots that are just what your client wants. Conventional financing will be the way to try. Moving a home will limit financing...FHA will not finance one that has been just moved to another lot.

However with respect to placing a manufactured home on a remote location the prospects are great. Your home gets trucked in to the location and put together in much shorter time than if it was a site built. This saves quite a bit on costs and the difficulty of getting workers to come to your mountain hideaway. These homes can be set up with sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar power. They can also be insulated to high “R” factors.

Newer homes, not necessarily “brand new” have value. They are structurally sound and can be remodeled as have some of the homes I have for sale. We have one listed with ceramic tile flooring and another has parquet hardwood floors and beautiful porch additions. Manufactured homes from the late 1990's forward have improved features. The structures are now made from 2x4 framing as opposed to wimpy 1x3's. The outer walls are hardboard siding allowing for better insulation. However our office has only gotten one financed during the past year. It seems to be a struggle even for the most qualified buyers.

Consequently the pricing on these homes is plummeting as sellers are desperate to sell and move on. Most of my sellers are doing seller carry on these homes. They are getting $8000 to $10000 as down-payment. This much down-payment would normally get someone a loan. To make this more of a concern, with plummeting selling prices the appraisals rarely seem to work for traditional financing.

I guess I seem a bit frustrated with the situation of financing. However as always I'm working creatively to solve the issues.

peace without bandaids :)

Margaret Oscilia of Creative Concepts in Salem, Oregon has taken on a very personal staging job for me and my family. She will be staging my brother-in-laws home in Independence, Oregon on Monday.

My older sister went home to be with the Lord unexpectedly in January this year. Her husband needs/wants to sell the home to be closer to his family. His son is currently living with his grandparents about 4hrs away.

He listed the home about six months ago but has had very little to no traffic during this time and was feeling quite helpless and hopeless.

I knew I had to do somthing to help. I also knew, I could not fly up to do the staging for him, I knew he was not in the right state of mind to do the staging by phone or email. I knew he needed help locally and I knew I could find someone who would take good care of him. It is in our nature as stagers to help those who are in need.

I originally went online to Home Staging Resource, where I took my staging certification. I found a few stagers in the Portland area and contacted one of them, but they where unable to go out that far so they referred me to Margaret. I immediately recognized her name from AR, checked out her website, emailed her with some information.

Margaret said, "YES".

I then needed to talk with my brother-in-law to see if he would be on board. We talked and he was very interested. He said, " I have to do something, what I am doing is not working." He had only 3 people in six months see his home.....

I then handed him over to Margaret and she did her homework and found that the homes in his area and price range were selling! He is now listed with a New Agent, Margaret will be staging on Monday and professional photos will be taken on Tuesday.

Thanks to Margaret and the new agent, his hope is restored and he does not feel hopeless anymore. He feels like he has team on board who truly cares and wants to see him reunited with his son and soon.

Margaret and I will keep you posted. God bless.