About Calhoun County, MI

Sometimes I see photographs on the MLS and I am not certain what is for sale. I see counters, shelves, display cases, table tops, closets and rooms that are filled with stuff. It's impossible to look beyond all the stuff and see the property. I think to myself "look at all that stuff". If I am having trouble viewing the property can you imagine what the potential home buyer is thinking? We are all in love with our stuff and we love it when others love our stuff, but when preparing to sell a property why, why, why would all the stuff remain everywhere?

When personal items become the focal point, the message being given is that the homeowner has to move because there isn't enough space. To top that off, when the stuff is disorganized not having enough space is amplified. Stuff is wonderful, but to the unattached, potential buyer it's clutter and clutter says "NO STORAGE." Staging solves that dilemma.

80% of the clutter in most homes is a result of disorganization, not lack of space. To sell a property, show the potential home buyer the space through staging. The first thing staging will do is evaluate what should be kept out and what should be packed away. Homeowners are typically not objective enough to make that decision and agents are sometimes hesitant to make that assessment for fear of offending their client. Professional stagers (www.stagerightstaging.com) will implement a plan that prepares a property for market. Staging helps turn a dweller into a seller. Staging can help turn a property into a much sought after commodity that will garner offers and place all the focus on the square footage, amenities, character and possibilities of the property.

Looking into having a professional stager review/assess a property is typically a very small investment and in some cases the assessment comes with a proposal which might be at no cost at all. Consultations are less expensive than an actual stage. What is there to lose? Reducing the days-on-market, increasing inventory turns is good business. Reducing the cost of doing business for the agent makes sense. Quicker sales through staging benefits everyone.

Please visit our website at www.stagerightstaging.com. You can email us at Stageright@jasnetworks.net or call at 269.207.9632. We are here to help.

Carole Morgan ASP, RESA (owner/president StageRight Home Staging)

STAGING FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

The holidays are right around the corner and it's time to drag all the boxes, bows, ornaments, the tree, the lights and the rest of the annual stuff we bring out for the holidays. WHAT IF YOUR PROPERTY IS ON THE MARKET FOR THE HOLIDAYS? What are you going to do with all this extra stuff? You just finished decluttering. Not to worry StageRight Home Staging (www.stagerightstaging.com) has a few hints that will make this holiday season a little less stressful if your property is on the market. Maybe it will be an advantage-anyone looking at homes this time of year has got to be serious. Get ahead of the competition and take advantage of the buyer traffic by staging for the holidays.

You can make your property a staging onderland and make buyers fall in love with what they see. Build your holiday decor a bit at a time. First, clear the room you are decorating of all the accessories and box them up in the boxes that housed the holiday decor. Now you are ready to being decorating/staging.

Keep small items (collectibles such as Santa, Angels, kids Christmas projects, whatever you have been collecting over the years) together in one area, make it look like a display, but whatever you do don't just put them everywhere. Have your display make sense. If placed on a table, shelving or mantle that is close to a feature of your property it's another reason for the prospective buyer to stop and take in the view. Display these items in odd number, 3, 5, 7 and at high, medium and low heights.

Get a book of holiday decorating and use their ideas to decorate your mantle(if you have one) as close to the ones featured in the book as you can, get creative and step outside the box. Dress your table for a holiday family dinner with matching table linens and dishes. If you don't have any, go to the nearest Salvation Army or Goodwill, they are bound to have some of these items, if they don't there is some very nice plastic ware out there that is inexpensive and will look fabulous on a formal table. Or use plain white and top it off with a few gold, red or whatever color you decorate in for the holidays, bulbs. If you have any apothecary jars fill them with pine cones, small colored bulbs or holiday potpourri. You can also purchase chargers at Big Lots or one of the dollar stores for next to nothing and they really set the look off. Remember, you don't have to use them again, these are just to stage the property and set the scene.

The Christmas tree should be in a spot that does not block a view, feature or amenity of your property and make certain you have the lights on the tree on as well as all the other lights in the property when it is being shown.

A couple of small pine trees in pots with a few lights on them will look amazing at the front door and a complementary wreath on the front door will top the picture off. A plate of holiday cookies strategically placed will again, give the eye of the buyer a cause to pause and take in your lovely property. They will feel like they want to stay-that is exactly what staging does.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but you are decorating for the holidays anyway, why not stage for the holidays and stay ahead of the competition so you can be a seller and not a dweller?

Please visit our website at www.stagerightstaging.com or email us with questions at stageright@jasnetworks.net we would love to hear from you.

Carole Morgan ASP, RESA 269.207.9632

When you are ready to market your property it is important to remember that shabby is not chic. Old paint, outdated fixtures, taste specific patterns, tattered and worn furniture and window coverings do not present a home that is ready for market.

93% of properties that are staged and properly priced sell, on an average, in one month or less. Top that off with only 10% of the house shopping public having vision for a property's potential and you have a recipe for home staging to the rescue. www.stagerightstaging.com

A home staging professional will walk you through what you need to do to properly prepare your commodity for the competitive housing market. This market is over in inventory, so making your property stand out against the competition is the only way to garner offers.

A few coats of appropriately colored paint, a thorough cleaning, proper placement of furniture and accessories and replacement of worn furnishings (or slip covers) is but a small investment to make to get your properly staged property sold. These investments are going to cost less than you first price reduction and will tell the potential buyer as well as the agent, that you are a seller not a dweller.

Maximize the potential of your property by making a small investment in professional home staging, the odds are in your favor if you do.

Finally staged properties are typically considered move in ready.

Call StageRight Home Staging 269.207.9632 or email us at stageright@jasnetworks.net.

Visit our gallery at www.stagerightstaging.com.

Maybe it's time for a little TLC regarding staging your property for market. Is every room and space "market ready?" Even the garage? If you are not selling the garage with the property then you can probably skip all the advice, but home staging goes beyond the impact rooms and the curb appeal. All too often when we review a property at StageRight Home Staging (www.stagerightstaging.com) we see garages, basements and out buildings that are not "staged" and ready for market.

If your garage is dry walled a fresh coat of inexpensive paint really cleans it up. Packing up those seasonal items that are "out of season" and organizing what is left is a little bit of work that can go along way in differentiating you property from all the others. Clean garage windows and sills, cob webs that are swept down and a clean garage floor will set the scene for the potential home buyer to "remember" your property in a good way.

If the first impression is not a good one, it only goes down hill from there. Messes, dirt and clutter are distractions that are not easily overcome. Remember only 10% of the people have vision to see beyond the mess, why take a chance. Properly prepare and stage your home and tell the potential buyer you are a seller not a dweller.

Visit us at www.StageRightStaging.com or email us at stageright@jasnetworks.net, we would love to hear from you.

Carole Morgan ASP RESA

What to do with vacant properties! Have ever really watched a potential home purchaser "look" at a vacant property? They give each room the "head bob", they duck in, bob their heads and walk on. They may stop a few times, typically the kitchen, at a window but they don't pause and reflect. Home staging with a few strategically placed pieces of furniture, art and accessories gives the viewer a cause to pause. Every room doesn't have to be staged. Just the impact rooms. At the very least the first rooms to be seen should be staged. You will want the viewer to go WOW orouuuuu, just like a kid seeing fireworks. It takes a home staging professional to determine what rooms need to be staged, how much furniture is needed to do the home staging properly and where to place the pieces of furniture, art and accessories. It is not necessary to furnish these properties like you would live in them, it is only necessary to stage them to sell possibilities. It is not necessary to stage them with extremely high end furnishings (unless the property is very high end). The furniture, art and accessories used must reflect the period, style and price of the home. Besides no one should be focusing on the furniture, only the square footage, amenities, character and possibilities of the property.

Home staging can make the difference. It makes sense in any market to show a property's best side. When a property is vacant, it is empty. Would you buy empty?

You can visit our before and after gallery at www.stagerightstaging.com. Please email us at stageright@jasnetworks.net with questions regarding our services, we have service levels to fit every need and have various pricing plans.

Services: Consultations (verbal and written), staging, organizing, staging to live (not moving but want a change using your own stuff?) and move in decorating. We will assess the interior and exterior of your vacant or occupied home including color, lighting, landscaping, furniture and accessory placement and make suggestions for minor repairs and upgrades. We will, upon request, provide project management for repairs and upgrades.

Carole Morgan ASP, RESA t 269.207.9632

www.stagerightstaging.com stageright@jasnetworks.net

TESTIMONIAL:

Carole is a delight to work with, full of energy and creative ideas that helped an empty house come alive and more appealing to any eye. She has a lot of knowledge about the real estate industry having worked in several aspects of it before becoming a professional home stager. She really knows her stuff! She was easy to work with and absolutely dedicated to getting the job done when she said she would, no matter what. And the results were amazing! I would highly recommend Carole Morgan to anyone that may be thinking about having their house staged. Texas Corners