You bet it is. Buyers do not even have to leave home - they can just surf over to MLS. With the price of gas they may not even show up for open house. So what does one do? You better make sure that your listings look GREAT IN PHOTOS. When buyers are on line looking, you have to give them a reason to drive to those open houses.
Who is going to waste their time, energy and gas to come and look at a home that looks less then ok. This is no secret - bad pictures and bad looking homes will not fetch the attention of buyers. As a Realtor, you know what tools are available to you, and you know what Staging can do for your listings. There are Agents that offer consultations with a Stager to their clients. This is not out of the norm. Sometimes this is all it takes for a seller to open their eyes and see how they can improve the marketability of their home. The seller may choose to do the staging themselves following the advice given during the consultation, or they may choose to have the house professional Staged.
Either way, it's a win-win situation.
This home had a lot of action at Broker's Open House. Not only did Agents show up, but so did their clients. It was wonderful to see so much energy and interest in this home on that day. This home was in need of a lot TLC and it got it. The homeowner took the advice of the listing agent and had it painted, cleaned and staged. After the house sold I spoke to the owner and he was just thrilled about the results. They had their closing this past week and they are moving on. A special thanks to Active Rain member and listing agent Maria Rini of Re/Max Real Estate Limited for encouraging the homeowner to stage his property.
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This home has a very nice open floor plan and is very well maintained. The homeowner contacted me to Stage the entire home to complete the marketing plan for their home. They realize how important it is to make a great first impression with buyers. As the owner of BCM Home Staging, LLC I am committed to serving my customers with the most up-to-date knowledge and techniques for selling their homes. My background in on site home decorating and retail visual merchandise designing, enables me to focus on my clients, plan the procedure and execute the steps necessary to bring about the most successful home-selling experience. |
Active Rain Member Susan Laskin is the listing agent for this property. |
As you know in my previous post, "Having a Senior Moment", I was asked to speak with a top-notch panel of relocation experts at a three-hour seminar on April 9th in Teaneck, NJ at the Heritage Pointe of Teaneck an active adult community.
They invited seniors contemplating a future move to a free symposium for a step-by-step guide through the complete relocation process. I talked about how important it is that their home looks better then the other competing homes on the market, addressing their clutter issues, downsizing, and how staging will help them sell faster in a sluggish market.
Well, it turned out to be a great event. There was standing room only during some of my sessions. Many of the people that I met and spoke to really understand how important it is to have their home staged to look its best.
However, the big question was what to do with their possessions and furniture that could not go with them when downsizing. I offered many suggestions from donations to passing it on to family members, to privately selling it.
(Left) AciveRain member Maria Rini of ReMax Real Estate Limited in Oradell, NJ also spoke at the symposium. She talked to seniors about the market and how important it is to make sure their houses are priced right and staged to look right to insure a faster sell at the best price. Way to go Maria!
I look forward to hearing from and working with some of the people who attended the symposium. I think that our staging services will become more in demand for seniors as time goes on. In the years to come there are going to be many of them in our population more then ever
Barbara Cluck-Miksits
Owner
BCM Home Staging, LLC
201.247.1198
They have invited seniors contemplating a future move to a free symposium for a step-by-step guide through the complete relocation process.
Entitled: Clues to Getting the Most Out of Selling One's Home.
As you know I have written about the needs that seniors face when they are selling their home in When It's Time To Move On.
In the next 15 years we are going to have many homeowners becoming seniors. Many are going to be selling their homes and moving in to Active Adult Communities or in to Assistant Living. In order for them to make these moves they have to sell their homes.
My breakout session topic will be: "Preparing Your Home for Sale in Today's Market". I will be talking about how important it is that their home looks better then the other competing homes on the market. I will be addressing their clutter issues, downsizing and how staging will help them sell faster in a sluggish market.
I will be providing them with many referrals, from Realtors to Movers and everything in between to make their transition a smooth one.
I will be bringing more information on the outcome of this event in April.
Barbara Cluck-Miksits
Owner
BCM Home Staging, LLC
201.247.1198
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As the owner of BCM Home Staging, I am committed to serving my clients with the most up-to-date knowledge and techniques in preparing their homes for sale. Serving Bergen County & Northern NJ
With 25 years of experience as a Visual Merchandise Designer and Design Manager of a large Retail Floral Enterprise, Barbara understands how important it is to showcase and present a product. For her, it was a very easy decision to become a Professional Home Stager.
Barbara has successfully completed a detailed Accredited Staging® ProfessionalTM course and has passed a required thorough examination on preparing homes for sale.
She is committed to serving her clients with the most up-to-date knowledge and techniques for selling their homes. Barbara brings attention to detail to a new height. With her background in design she is able to focus on her client's needs, plan the procedure and execute the steps necessary to bring about the most successful home-selling experience.
When she is not working, Barbara is a real family person. She is married 10 years to her husband and business partner Steve and loves spending time with her mom. She has a sister, brother and 18 nephews and nieces that keep her very busy.
But her passion is her profession; bringing quality and service to her clients. When she is not Staging homes for Sale for Realtors and Homeowners, she still does retail visual merchandising for store owners and decorates client's homes for the holidays.
I invite you to view my newest book click on link below
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0McuWbZs2YuLA
We are now providing services and resorces for "Senior Moving"
Barbara Cluck-Miksits
Owner of BCM Home Staging
Speaks to Seniors on Preparing Their Homes for Sale
NEWS Heritage Pointe of Teaneck, an American Heritage Community
600 Frank W. Burr Boulevard, Teaneck, NJ
Tel: 201-836-9260 Fax. 201-836-9261
E-Mail: lmessmer@am-heritage.com
http://www.heritagepointeofteaneck.com/
Clues to Getting the Most Out of Selling One's Home
To be Explored at Three-Hour Seminar
At Heritage Pointe of Teaneck April 9th
TEANECK, NJ, March 9, 2008 - A top-notch panel of relocation experts will provide vital information on selling one's home at a three-hour seminar scheduled from 1 to 4 pm on April 9 at Heritage Pointe of Teaneck, it was announced today by Kathryn Herrington, executive director.
"We invite seniors contemplating a future move to the free symposium for a step-by-step guide through the complete relocation process - from initial planning and selling stages through moving and organizing one's self in a new environment," Herrington explained. "Qualified industry specialists will be on hand to answer questions and offer valuable advice on how to make the most out of selling a cherished home."
Expert breakout session topics include:
"How to sell Your Home in Today's Real Estate Market" with Maria Rini of ReMax Real Estate
"Preparing Your Home for Sale in Today's Market" with Barbara R. Cluck-Miksits of BCM Home Staging, LLC
"A Basic Recipe for Organizing and Downsizing Your Possessions" with Jean Marie Herron of POSSE Partners LLC
"Packing Dos and Don'ts and Other Moving Tips of the Trade: with Cindy Myer of Ridgewood Moving Services Company.
Seating is limited and reservations are required. For reservations, directions or additional information, please call 201.836.9260 or visit Heritage Pointe's website at http://www.heritagepointeofteaneck.com
Barbara - Thank you for the wonderful job you did on my house. I can not believe it is the same house. Why was I not living like this before? The house has sold and I have you to thank for it. What a pleasure it has been meeting you.
Barbara Kerns - North Arlington, NJ
Barbara, before I meet you I did not even know what staging was. You did things in my home that I would have never thought of doing. You really made the house look bigger and more open. My thanks to you and Steve, we would have never got that big furniture out of the house. Now my house is sold and I can move into my new one.
Thank you,
Grace Edwards - Wayne, NJ
Wow Barbara,
You decorated and staged my home so incredibly. Absoluuuutly BREATHTAKING, BEAUTIFUL GORGIOUS. I FEEL SOO LUCKY I FOUND YOU. YOU ARE INCREDIBLE. The colors you choose are fabulous. I don't know how to thank you enough!!!
I am so impressed. I LOVE IT!! You are very talented. The drapes with the flowers, the towels. everything so exquisitely done. Your choices on the furniture with such taste, and you took care of me so professionally from beginning to end. What you did in one day was incredible. Bravo! Thank you so much!!! Please feel free to use me as a reference.
Shelley St. Clair - Clifton, NJ
Hi Barbara, you really did magic there at Riverwalk! My daughter went to see and she says it looks like a palace. A home of Romeo and Juliet. The bedroom for a princess. She especially likes the paintings, everything looks spectacular.
Thank-you again. Shelley
Barbara,
Your talents amaze me every year when you decorate my store for the Christmas season. Each year you come up with such creative and eye catching window and store displays. My customers give me so many compliments and my sales keep going up every year.
All I can say is Thank You, Thank You, Thank you and I can't wait to see what you come up with next year.
Bruce Ferda
Owner of
Bruce's Florist - Carlstadt, NJ
Laurell Albanese of Gateway Realtors in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ was just excellent to work
with. She really had the insight and vision to see how this house could be transformed by
having it Staged. This home has been getting a lot of traffic, if you are interested give
Laurell a call.
The owner of this condo really had some great accessories to work with. When she
called me she was not sure if Staging was what she needed, but after we got done
we new it was going to be a winner. She was going to be moving out of the state in 3
weeks and really wanted to sell fast, and she did.
These 2 homes were back to back winners, they did not even make it to open house.
Last year turned out to be quite a good year, we Staged over 10 million dollars worth
of homes that sold.That does not even include the consultations that we provided
to homeowners that also sold in a short time.
Vacant homes are a real problem. They just do not have style or warmth. Every room looks
the same, buyers need to see how they can live in these homes. Staging can create a life style
that a buyer can connect with, and this can help them visualize living there.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
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