Vivian Gilbert

How does a Home Stager working in Bethesda, Rockville and Potomac Md become better? I believe education is the way. Sharing experiences and seeing what other Stagers across the country are doing is a sure way to spark ideas. That is exactly what I did.

The week from Oct 7-11 eighty plus ASP and ASPM stagers met and shared ideas on the beautiful Carnival cruise ship Ecstasy. We set sail from Galveston Texas and anchored in Cozumel Mexico.

We were welcomed on opening day by a video- taped message from Barb Schwarz. She unfortunately wasn’t there due to a recent surgery.

We then had great presentations from established stagers on the project lifecycle and how to re-ignite your Business. Later that day we “Met the Pros”.

We broke up into smaller groups and brainstormed with other stagers on various topics. It was akin to speed dating but it was speed staging. The bell rung and we moved to our next chosen table and topic. The room looked like a massive Chinese Fire Drill with one exception. We gathered and shared so much good information including but not limited to; value based selling, reinventing your inventory, and turning no into yes.

The next day we anchored in Cozumel and off we went shopping, sunning sporting and just plain having fun.

Our last day of our symposium was again packed solid with valuable information. We learned the importance of good photography, how to get and keep business, how to run a successful business and the color forecast for 2011 to name a few.

This stager came away with new visions, new friends and tons of information to share with new and existing clients here in Potomac, Rockville and Bethesda Md. Be sure those I work with in Washington DC will benefit too!

This past week I and my fellow Washington DC Staging Chapter (Washington DC IAHSP Chapter) had the honor and privaledge to redesign the Fisher House in Washinton DC. Fisher House is where military personnel and their families stay while getting treated at Walter Reed Military Hospital.

Every year we choose a charitable project to donoate goods, and time and talent to give back to our community of Washington DC and the surrounding area. We spent the week painting ,gardening, replacing appliances, pulls, artwork, and furniture , then staging those areas with accessories. It was amazing how all the pieces came together even when we thought it may have been "too big" a project. Home Depot came through with a HUGE donation and together with all the collected donations we were able to transport the Fisher House from drab and dated to new, clean and modern.

The feeling of giving to such a project is incredible, especially when the gratitude is so apparent on the faces of the current residents.

I and my fellow area Stagers did a "GOOD THING" and I feel so proud to have been a part of it.

Not only does Staging help sell properties it put smiles on the faces of the Fisher House personnel and residents.

I had an epiphany yesterday. If you want to sell your listings just follow these three steps.

1. Get to know a reputable Home Stager. One with an ASP designation usually takes the guesswork out.

2. Have them go with you to evaluate each property.

3. Insist that your clients follow the Home Stager's advice.

If there is problem with cost, help your client out at closing. All my properties have sold extremely quickly. I work in the Washington D.C. area in Bethesda, Potomac and Rockville and even though our market may be better than in other parts of the country, all listings do not sell as fast as staged ones. Do not Overprice. I make my Real Estate very happy. One last thought, a full staging is best but a consultation will also help tremendously.

I was putting together a project to paint, clean house and carpet, do some repairs,some electrical work and change out some carpet. This was all to be done before I could go in and stage. OK, I could handle it, I scheduled it all. The painter, electrician, carpet replacement, and cleaning, housecleaning and finally the rental furniture. It was all timed out perfectly. I was so excited. The house was going to show like a dream. Then it happened. We got three feet of snow. Yes 3 feet. That may not be much for the Northern states but for us here in Washington D.C. it became a nightmare. My nightmare. OK, I could handle it, just a few days and I would reschedule everything...no problem. Well it was not to be. Only 3 days later we get slammed with a blizzard with whiteout conditions. Back to the drawing board. I know it will all work out but right now very frustrating.

The upside is the houses for sale have beautiful curb appeal. All clean and white, like a postcard. The only problem is potential buyers have to ski to see the properties.