Cheri Dueker -Transitional Designs, LLC Home Staging St Louis

Ever wondered what it would be like to live in a loft in downtown St Louis? This is the weekend to take a peek inside some of the city's premier lofts and apartments. The loft at 1619 Washington, #603, was professionally staged by Transitional Designs, LLC and will be a featured loft on the tour.

Here is the information on the tour:

Fall Downtown Living Tour
October 13 -14, 2007
Noon to 5 pm
Registration at: 9th St. and Olive
Cost: $7

Hopefully everyone will have the opportunity to visit these unique spaces. Shuttle service will be provided to move from neighborhood to neighborhood and the weather will be spectacular. Come see what city living has to offer.

Sellers thinking of selling their home or with a home that has been on the market for awhile (longer than 30 days) should consider the services of a Professional Home Stager. Here are some reasons why:

1. The cost of a consultation is usually less than $500 (depending on your region) and the cost of a stage is usually much less than your first price decrease. This service is also less than the cost to carry your house for months on the market.
2. Traffic is increased in staged homes as agents tell other agents that your home is move in ready. People are also curious about staging so may bring a buyer to your home to see what "staging" really looks like.
3. Home stagers become part of the professional team to assist in selling your house quickly and usually for more profit!
4. The current Real Estate market is very competitive and your home needs to stand out in the mind of the buyer. Do you have a plan to make that happen? We do.
5. If your property is vacant, only about 10% of buyers can envision themselves living in the home with their furnishings. Do you want the other 90% to choose another house?

When selling property-use all the tools available to you so your family can move on!

Here is a document to assist home sellers to get a realistic idea of the timeline and work involved in working with a professional stager.

So your Agent hired a Home Stager-Now what????

Congratulations! Your agent/realtor has recommended that a Home Staging consultation take place to highlight the best features of your house. You now have another member on your team of professionals dedicated to selling your home as quickly as possible with the highest profit possible. Here are the three time elements of staging:

The Pre-Stage

• A Design Consultant will contact you to schedule an in-home consultation. This appointment will consist of a tour of your home and will take between 1 and 3 hours. After the initial tour with you, the Design Consultants will need some time to inspect your property so that they can complete the Home Staging Inventory and take photographs. The Design Consultants will briefly discuss their findings at the conclusion of the meeting. Your agent may or may not be present for the entire consultation.
• An Action Plan will be created. This consists of a room-by room strategy with photos to identify the changes and challenges in each room and also the exterior. The plan will be delivered to the homeowners and a copy will be delivered to the agent. After everyone has had time to review the Action Plan, the team will decide what will be completed, who will complete the tasks, and the timelines involved.
• The Stagers are available to complete all or none of the identified items. After the items to be completed by the Staging Company are identified, a quote will be presented that will outline the services to be performed, items to be rented, painting, lighting or other items to be addressed. A contract will also be presented at this time. ALL STAGING JOBS REQUIRE A SIGNED CONTRACT AND PAYMENT BEFORE SERVICES CAN BEGIN.

The Stage

• Depending on the contract, all preparatory work will be completed before staging day. Please consider having your home professionally cleaned before the date of the stage OR complete a through cleaning yourself-the house should be in "white glove" condition before the actual staging takes place.
• On the date of the Staging, a team will arrive at your property. The actual staging may take one or two days and will consist of a team of consultants and professionals. Delivery personnel from a rental or delivery company may also be present. An average Stage takes two days to complete. Please plan accordingly and remove all pets and children from the property for the duration of the stage.
• At the conclusion of the stage, your Agent or Consultants will provide you with tips for living in a staged home. If the property is vacant, the Staging Company must have full access to the property for the duration of the contract.

The Post-Stage

• Now is the time to open your property to potential buyers and SELL.
• After the property is sold or at the conclusion of the contract, a team will arrive to de-stage the property. If rental furniture is involved, arrangements will be made for the rental company to pick up the furniture. De-staging the property may take 6-8 hours depending on the amount of accessories used so please plan accordingly.

Have additional questions? Call Transitional Designs, LLC at 314-517-5844 or 314-504-6838 or speak to your Agent.

Transitional Designs, LLC is a full service company staging properties in the St Louis Metro Area. Visit us at http://transitionaldesigns.com

Who's on your team when selling your home? Remember that the three critical aspects in real estate are location, condition and price? If it is important that you get the price you desire out of your home with the quickest sale, the trick is to professionally stage your home. Why is this important?

Professional stagers are on your side! Their job is to create a positive emotional reaction with the potential buyers. This will create a buzz about your home and will lead to increased showings. Agents and buyers will be excited about a home that shows well and is "move in ready." This leads to higher offers with less time and carrying costs for sellers.

So when should you have your home staged? You have three choices:

1. Before the property is listed. Get your home in its best shape and prepared to capture the buyer at the first impression. You only get one chance! Let the unstaged homes sell yours....
2. When the house is on the market and not getting the results you desire. A professional will meet with you and create an action plan to correct any issues that are deflecting the buyer's interest.
3. When the property is vacant. If you have "moved on" and need to sell a vacant property-it is critical to stage the home. Vacant properties feel cold and uninviting. Buyers have a difficult time imagining themselves living there. You want them to feel like they can walk in, sit down and stay.

Proactive sellers take control rather than waiting for the market to come to them....Hire a

Special

Talents

Artfully

Generate

Excellent

Results!

http://transitionaldsigns.com/

We attended last year's 9/11 Freedom Walk in the St Louis area and were part of a human yellow ribbon to honor military personnel at home and abroad. Operation Homefront announced information for this year's 2^nd Annual Freedom Walk in the St Louis, Missouri area. These Freedom Walks are held all over the country so the following link can be used to locate walks in other areas. Operation Homefront honors the victims of 9/11. For additional information, to register, to volunteer, or to sponsor the walk, go to www.operationhomefront.net/missouri.

Mark your calendars and plan to attend this FREE special event.

Contact information: Jon Jerome, President, Operation Homefront - M O/SW IL

Metro St Louis 314-799-1475 Nationwide 888-799-1470

Fax 314-315-4834

www.OperationHomefront.net/ Missouri

St. Louis is a mirror to real estate all over the country in that there is an overabundance of inventory and homes must "stand out from the crowd" to attain a speedy sale. While the "show me" state always watches for outcomes before adopting new trends, our time has come. Home Staging companies are being developed and are opening in our area with great results. Many regions in the country have already learned that hiring a professional staging company can speed the sale with an average of 50% less days on market and increase price with offers of 3-13% higher.

Home staging assists agents and sellers to highlight the best features of a home while downplaying the negatives. Selling a home is a stressful and highly emotional task for sellers. Agents and realtors need to use all the tools available to them to assist their sellers. Sellers need to be pro-active in preparing their home to enter a competitive market so they can close the chapter on this house and begin truly living in their new home.

A simple home staging consultation assists both sellers and agents to identify barriers to offers on the house. The consultation takes between 1-3 hours and will generate a detailed report on the strengths and challenges of the listing. An action plan is then developed by the team (seller, agent and stager) to remove as many barriers as possible. Cost of the consultation varies by staging company but is usually under $500 and is offset by avoiding longer time on the market resulting in additional mortgage payments for the seller and marketing costs to the agent.

In the current market, sellers require full service from their agents. Full service now includes a home staging consultation.