Wanda Richards Shows Great Home Staging

Several months ago I was inspired by a blog post written by Michelle Minch about her first staging experience http://activerain.com/blogsview/1923538/my-first-home-staging-job-2001 . So today when I am trying to decide what to write about, I decided the best place to start was at the beginning of my staging career.

I started selling real estate after we purchased our first home and the agent that worked with us made it seem so simple and so much fun. I enjoyed looking at homes. I had a brand new credit card with a zero balance, a little money in my savings account, and a new baby that I wanted to spend more time. It seemed like the perfect time to get started. Little did I know that interest rates would hit 18% later that year. I was getting into real estate when others were leaving the industry
(not unlike the past few years). The good thing about getting into real estate when times are hard, is that you develop really good skills to survive. My real estate teacher told us that less than 2% of us would still be in real estate within 5 years of getting our license. I was not a quitter and was determined to be in at 2%. Somehow I survived and actually did very well. I raised 4 children while maintaining a successful real estate business. I learned early on, that with small children at home, it was easier for me to work with listings because it gave me more control of my time. As a listing agent, I helped sellers prepare their homes for the market and was "staging" homes before staging was a term we used in real estate. As the market began to change in 2007, I started advertising my staging services to my sellers and the local newspaper featured several local REALTORS that offered home staging services to their clients. I received a call from a lady living in Maryland. Her son had a home in Roanoke that "needed help" and she wanted to know if I was interested in working with him to prepare the home for the market.

Below are a few of the before photos:







After Staging

I had no furniture and accessories for this project so I pulled things from my own home and the moving company that moved the excess stuff out for the sellers had a red sofa and chair that he let me borrow. This home sold in less than a week and I was convinced that there was a need for staging services and rental furniture for vacant houses.

Do you know what your home could be telling potential buyers behind your back? Our homes speak to home buyers in many ways.

Before I was a home stager, I was a REALTOR for many years. When I first started selling real estate, long before Buyer Agency was available in our area, we were allowed to post in the mls why a home was being offered for sale. It clearly stated in the listing "death", "divorce", "relocation", just to name a few. When Buyer Agency became available, this information was removed from the listings yet buyers continued to ask the question... "Why are they selling"? It became sort of a game tor me to go through a home and try to figure out why it was being sold.

Below are just a few things your home could be saying to potential buyers:

• "My owners are getting a divorce" - are there empty closets and empty rooms?
  
  
• "My owners are having financial problems" - home is in disrepair and lacking routine maintenance. There may be stacks of bills laying around. I always recommend that homeowners make sure to keep their mail and bills locked away while their homes are on the market. This is especially important with identity thief being such a huge problem these days.
  
  
• "I am too small" - closets are overflowing, too much furniture, too much stuff everywhere.
  

• "My owner died"- home is in the process of being packed up. There may be a few things still in the house, just enough to let a potential buyer know that the owner "has moved on" and did not need to take their stuff where they were going.

• "My owner is in a nursing home" - home has been left just the way it was. Older furniture and accessories indicating an older person may have lived there. Calendar pages have not been turned for months.
  

• "My owner is having medical problems" - refrigerators may have doctor's appointment reminder cards posted on the front, medicine is sitting on kitchen counters, other medical apparatus may be sitting around.

A professional stager can help you prepare your home for the market to make sure that it does not give away too much informations as to why you are selling. Homes that project a warm and inviting feeling when home buyers enter are much more likely to sell than homes that are giving off negative vibes.

Wanda Richards

Shows Great Home Staging and Web Solutions
Web Site www.showsgreat.biz
Become our fan on facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/showsgreat2
Follow us on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/showsgreat
We are a full service staging and virtual tour company serving Southwest and Central Virginia since 2008.
Proud nominee for RESA'S Rookie Stager of the Year in 2009.

In April 22, 2010 the EPA's new rule on lead paint practices went into effect. For some reason I had not heard about this until about a month ago, while in Sherwin Williams, I overheard some of the painters talking about it. I immediately signed up for the Certification class but was told there was a waiting list and it could be a couple of months before I can get in a class. As we all know, common renovation activities like sanding, cutting, and demolition can create hazardous lead dust and chips by disturbing lead-based paint, which can be harmful to adults and children. Although we don't usually do any cutting or demolition, we do on occasion, remove wallpaper (which sometimes requires patching and sanding) and we do a lot of painting and switching out light fixtures. We are a full service staging company and that is part of the services that we offer. Under the new EPA rule, beginning in April 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination. You can read the requires on the EPA's web site @ http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm#requirements You can also download the EPA Brochure - (PDF) Small Entity Compliance Guide to Renovate Right EPA’s Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program

What Is the Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting Program (RRP)?

• The Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting Program is a federal regulatory program affecting contractors, property managers, and others who disturb painted surfaces.

• It applies to residential houses, apartments, and child-occupied facilities such as schools and day-care centers built before 1978.

• It includes pre-renovation education requirements as well as training, certification, and work practice requirements.

• Renovation is broadly defined as any activity that disturbs painted surfaces and includes most repair, remodeling, and maintenance activities, including window replacement.
  
  
• There could be a huge fine if you violate this rule. (Up to $32,000 per day).

So how is this new rule going to effect my staging business?

• Effective immediately - any staging consults that we do on homes built prior to 1978 will now include the EPA Pamplet http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf. I will also have the home owner sign a document that says they have recieved a copy of the pamplet.
  
  
• Any staging consults that recommend painting or maintenance work will also include the following link where the homeowner can search for approved renovation or painting companies http://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/searchrrp_firm.htm
  
  
• We will no longer offer any type of painting, light fixture replacement, or wallpaper removal on any homes built prior to 1978. We will refer this work out. At some point I may decide to become certified, but at this time, I am not willing to invest the time and money required to offer this service.

I would love to hear how other Stagers will be addressing this new rule in their business practices.

Wanda Richards

Shows Great Home Staging and Web Solutions
Web Site www.showsgreat.biz
Become our fan on facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/showsgreat2
Follow us on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/showsgreat
We are a full service staging and virtual tour company serving Southwest and Central Virginia since 2008.
Proud nominee for RESA'S Rookie Stager of the Year in 2009.

We recently completely an "extreme" staging project. It took almost 4 weeks from start to finish but the results speak for themselves. Below are before and after photos with staging details.

Shows Great Home Staging and Web Solutions - we provide the tools and services to help make any home show great!

I will be the first to admit that I like vanilla ice cream...but nothing makes vanilla better than a few sprinkles, some hot fudge or some other decatant topping. This week we staged a plain vanilla townhome and turned it in to a yummy ice cream sunday. We added a few sprinkles of color here and there and now it pops with color and personality.

Below are a few of the mls photos before we staged and then the new photos we took after staging:

When selling your vacant home call a professional stager and turn your plain vanilla listing into a tempting sundae!