Tia Spaulding ASPM, IAHSP Indianapolis, IN

Creative Staging Company will be a participating vendor in the 1st Annual Real Estate Vendor Fair and we would love for you to come visit us at this event.

Date: March 8, 2011

Time: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Location: Ritz Charles Carmel

12156 N Meridian St
Carmel, IN 46032-4578

Event Details:

Over $2500 in Prizes!

Win Every Hour on the Hour

Grand Prize given out to one agent who visited every booth!

Complete Auto Detailing!

2 Ipad 3Gs!

And More!

Open House Forum

you want, and stay as long as you need.

Prizes

given away every hour on the hour - you do not need to be present to win.

Grand Prize

The office with the most Agents in Attendance will win a $1000 donation to their charity of choice! So bring your friends!!

See you there!

Happy Selling, Happy Staging!

There is no doubt that Home Staging works! Home Staging helps homeowners sale their homes faster and for more money. Don't believe me take a look at this information provided by Keller Williams.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF5OzkmRTTk&feature=player_embedded

Happy Selling Happy Staging!

Prepare it Before You List It (Part One)

As the owner of a Home Staging company I am often faced with the task of educating my client's on the things that need to be done to prepare their home for the market. Even with the countless television shows on networks such as HGTV, I still find myself meeting clients who don't really know how to prepare their home for sale. I can look through countless MLS photos and find many things that would send a potential buyer running for the hills. Gone are the days where you could just put a sign in the yard and that meant your home was for sell. Today's buyers are savvier than yesteryear's and require more out of a listing then just a sign in the yard. The fact is there is a lot of inventory on the market buyers have to choose from. What this means for a seller is that you have to do certain things to be able to fairly compete with your competition. You will either upstage or be upstaged. You have to give buyers a reason to pick your property over the other 20,000 (or more) homes that they have to choose from. The goal of this series is to provide home sellers with valuable information to help them prepare their home for the market BEFORE they list it. In part one of this series let's focus on some questions sellers should ask themselves before they decide to sell their home.

What is your motivation?

The first thing you may want to consider is your motivation for selling your home. Are you selling because you have to relocate? Are you selling to move into your dream home? Are you selling because you are now an empty nester and need to down size? What is your real motivation for selling your home? It is important to think about this because your level of motivation will determine how committed you are to doing what is necessary to sell your home.

What are you selling?

Seems obvious, you are selling a home right? Actually you are selling more than just a home, you are selling a lifestyle. When you decide to place your home on the market it goes from being the place you live in, eat in and sleep in to becoming a product for sale. A product that must be presented in a manner that will captivate buyer's interest. This is where Staging comes in. Home Staging sets the scene throughout the home by creating a lifestyle that buyers can envision themselves living in. Today's buyers don't just fall in love with a home; they also fall in love with how that home will fit their lifestyle.

Is your home on clearance?

Are you selling your home for top dollar or is it on clearance? Are there a number of items in your home that need repaired? Are the walls painted the wrong colors? Is there wallpaper everywhere? Is your home dirty? Is your home full of clutter? Is the curb appeal less than appealing? If the answer is yes to any of these questions then you can't expect top dollar for your property, it should be clearance priced. This goes back to your home being a product for sale, if you want a buyer to dig deep down in their pockets to give you a top dollar offer, then your home should be in pristine condition. People will only pay top dollar for quality.

Your level of commitment and motivation will help determine if your home sells or lingers on the market. Sellers you have control over two things when selling your home. The first being price, an experienced Real Estate Professional can help you price your property right. The second, being the condition of your home. You the seller have complete control over how you present your property when it is on the market. When selling a home presentation is EVERYTHING! In part two of this series I will discuss the steps to take to prepare your home for a quick sale. Stay tuned!

Not too long ago I was contacted by a client who was in desperate need of help organizing some spaces in her home. She explained to me that the clutter and stuff had gotten so bad that she hated coming home. That she didn't feel comfortable inviting her family and friends over for dinner. It had come to the point where she was completely overwhelmed. Clutter brings chaos to our lives. It has a way of piling up and piling up until we feel it closing in on us. The tough part is once it gets so bad most people don't know how to begin the process of purging. I set off to help my client organize her family room, dining room and her daughter's bedroom.

When I arrived at my client's home, I had no clue how bad it really was. As I started to look around her home it came to me that there was an underlying issue here. Besides the fact that the clutter had just gotten out of hand, there was something else going on. As she and I begin the process of organizing and purging we also began to talk. I asked her questions and I listened as she answered them. Her home was full of stuff for a couple of reasons. One was that she had trouble letting things go as most people with hoarding issues do. The second reason was that she couldn't resist shopping for her two daughters. If she saw something on sale she bought it no questions asked. Because of this there were clothes and toys everywhere. She and I joked about how many clothes really can a child wear in one season? We begin to talk more and I wanted to get down to why she felt the need to hold on to so many things and buy so much stuff. This was not your typical case of "confessions of a shopaholic." She explained to me that when she was younger that her mother never bought her toys or nice things. She said she wasn't sure if her mother didn't know how to raise a little girl since she had sons also, but she never bought her toys or nice things. Could you imagine growing up with no toys? I know I couldn't. Well her way of making up for this was to buy her daughter's toys and clothes whenever she had the chance. She wanted to go out of her way to give them what she didn't have. Don't most of us do that as parents? The toys and clothes made up most of the clutter in her home. Now of course she had the normal clutter of papers, books and all the things that most of us accumulate over time.

I asked my client for her permission to allow me to help her in any way that I could. She said she was willing but that it was going to be hard. I told her that we would take it one step at a time and that I was not there to judge but to help her. As we begin to sort and purge we were able to discuss items that had a sentimental value to her. A wise woman (Barb Schwarz) taught me that it is our job as professionals to ALWAYS honor our client's belongings. Step by step we begin to purge more and more of my client's things and I made sure to honor her things and her memories as she shared them with me. When this project was completed I was so proud of the progress my client made. It was not easy for her and there were times when she was almost overcome with tears. In the end she did such a great job even donating so much of the items she purged to charity. We purged, cleaned and organized and now she has a place that she is proud of.

I am sure that you can understand how touched I am when you read the thank you letter that she sent to me. This is the reason why I love this business. Having the opportunity to help people is such a blessing from God. It is a blessing that I don't take lightly and I will always honor my clients and their things. This experience helped remind me that you should never judge someone because you never know what they have been through. Please see the beautiful thank you that my client sent to me!

Tia,

I just wanted to sit down and write you a thank you note!
I know it was pretty small for you but I just wanted to know that my life has changed more than words can explain. I knew that I needed help but didn't know how to go about doing it, you know the action part was killing me. I know God places people in your life for a reason and I'm so thankful for it. My heart is so overwhelmed everyday with Joy because of a simple change. My life & days were so scattered and unorganized; I was loosing my mind and a sense of being.
From the bottom of my heart, I really do THANK YOU! I appreciate your time and words of encouragement. I hear your voice every time I'm in the stores overbuying things, "do I need this or is this a want?" And I don't want to go back to the place where I was out! I have a sense of relief everyday especially when I'm in the dining room. I believe the girls room is the icing on the cake which I love the whole organization of things; I always wanted a pretty girls room.
Okay, I'm tearing up so I'm cutting it short!

Again thank you sooooooooooo much! You are GREAT at what you do and I'm looking forward to seeing you on HGTV or somewhere!

R. Gates

P.S. I know I'm not where I want to be....BUT thank GOD I'm not where I use to be!
Thanks Tia

Helpful Tips for Staging the Bathroom

When you decide to put your home on the market you have to change the way that you view your home. You see your home is no longer a home at all; it is now a product for sell. Knowing that you are now selling a product you must put your home on display in sort of the same way that a department store displays their items for sell. Your focus should be on making sure that your home is clutter free, painted the right colors that all necessary repairs have been made and that the home is q-tip clean. Buyers have many choices and options in today's market that means that you have to make sure that you set yourself apart for all of the other homes for sale in your area. You also want to have a fair chance against your Staged competition. When buyers tour homes they look everywhere and I do mean everywhere and why shouldn't they? Buying a home is a big step and an even bigger investment. One room in a home that buyers pay special attention to is bathrooms, kitchens and bathrooms tend to sale homes. Below are some tips for staging the bathrooms in your home. Following these simple tips can help you CAPTIVATE buyers rather than sending them off running scared. Remember you only get one chance to make a fabulous first impression!

• When showing your bathrooms be sure that all toilet lids are down.
• If necessary replace the caulking around your tub, shower and sink.
• Make any and all necessary repairs.
• Clean your bathroom thoroughly. Tip: Clorox wipes work great for quick clean ups in between showings.
• Keep counters free and clear of clutter and toiletries. Tip: store toiletries in a basket nice and neatly. The basket can be stored in a drawer, under the sink or in a linen closet. If the budget is tight search garage sales, the Goodwill or Dollar Stores for inexpensive storage options.
• Be sure plunger and toilet bowl brush are stored under sink or in the garage during showings and open houses.
• Store bathroom trash can out of sight during showings such as in the garage or under sink.
• Do not use your bathroom as a place to hide the family pet during showings.
• Be sure that you have a fresh roll of toilet tissue on the holder.
• Remove all rugs by toilet and toilet seat covers it is not stylish or sanitary.
• If necessary purchase a fresh shower curtain.
• Make sure you have the right paint color on the wall. Try choosing serene soft colors such as a soft blue. This is very important for the master bathroom as today's buyers are looking for a place to take a long relaxing bubble bath after a long day at the office.
• Purchase new hand towels to hang from towel bar. You may want to consider tying them with a ribbon or raffia to discourage buyers from drying their hands on them. A more sanitary option would be to have some paper hand napkins displayed on the sink or somewhere close to the sink.
• Keep linen closet clean and clutter free. Make sure all bath, face towels and sheets are folded neatly. Tip: Store all linen closet necessities neatly in decorative baskets.
• Keep all drawers and under cabinets neat and organized.
• If you have out dated faucets, hardware and lighting fixtures consider replacing them.

Happy Selling, Happy Staging!!!!!