Terry Haugen STAGE it RIGHT! 321-956-2495

If the answer is "indefinitely" read no further. If you're not willing to wait, or can't afford to wait, you need the services of a certified "home stager." STAGE it RIGHT! is a local home staging company located in Brevard County Florida. We have served savvy homeowners and real estate agents since 2006, and prepared both occupied and vacant homes for sale. When the market is soft, owners and agents need to pull out all the stops in order to get that much needed sale. STAGE it RIGHT! is here to help. For more information about our services and to get a "ballpark" price, please call us at (321) 956-2495.

STAGE it RIGHT! is licensed, insured, and certified, and we were nominated for the prestigious honor of "rookie stager of the year 2007" by the nationally respected Real Estate Staging Association (RESA).

Hurricane season starts today and it promises to be an active one. Here are some things you need to do now to prepare:

1. Photograph everything you own. Open drawers, closets, storage containers, you name it and take pictures. Make sure to include all furniture, electronics, appliances etc. On the back of each picture write the approximate cost of the major items and when purchased. It will save you hours and hours and hours of time should you have a claim, trying to recreate what you own and what it cost.

2. Have at least two sets of photographs. Keep at home sealed in triple zip lock bags in the fridge. The fridge is waterproof and pretty much fire proof. Or put them in a fireproof safe. The second set should be in the safe deposit box at the bank.

3. Have duplicate copies of all important papers such as insurance policies, bank account information, wills, deeds, birth certificates, marriage certificates, whatever you have that you may either need immediate information from or would take weeks to replace through government agencies. One copy of each goes in the fridge or fireproof safe.

4. Should you have to evacuate take one copy of photographs and documents with you and lock the other copy in the dishwasher! Yes the diswasher. Its fireproof, waterproof, is under the counter and protected from falling debris. A fireproof safe is not usually waterproof. If you don't evacuate still put your documents in the dishwasher. And make sure you run the dishwasher in plenty of time for it to dry out.

5. Make sure to have lots of water, batteries, candles, non-perishable food, pet food, medications, personal care items, anything you can think you might need to survive several days without electricity. Have a full propane tank or extra charcoal for grill cooking. Store everything that can be damaged by water, in tight storage containers. Freeze half gallon bottles of water now for use when the electricity goes out.

6. If you have pets make sure you have carriers handy. Animals tend to freak out in a hurricane. Putting everyone in a carrier keeps them safe and secure.

7. Make sure you have adequate insurance coverage and a replacement cost rider on your personal possessions. If you have a 5 year old fridge that cost $1000, without replacement cost that amount will be depreciated by 5 years, not enough to replace it.

8. Make your house as hurricane proof as possible. Shutters, garage door braces, a roof less than 10 years old. Most of the damage done by two hurricanes in 2004 was water damage due to roof shingles that were worn out. If you are considering a new roof, consider spending the extra money and have a hurricane proof metal roof put on. No worries about shingles blowing off!

9. Consider an alternative power source, other than a noisey polluting generator. Portable solar panel systems which recharge 12v batteries are an inexpensive alternative. Add to that a power inverter and you can run regular appliances using only the power of the sun.

Good luck to us all!

As March fades into April, the official beginning of hurricane season is just around the corner. Now is the time to begin planning our escape! Well if not our escape, at least the means to make life a bit easier when the lights go out for extended periods of time, without having to run a polluting, noisy generator.

I purchased a portable array of three solar panels, which can be used to charge a 12v car or marine battery. The panels come with a "plug in box" with which you can plug in small appliances from 6v to 12v, a cell phone plug in, and a cigarette lighter plug in for 12v appliances. In addition we purchased a 12v coffee maker, and a 12v stove, used by boaters and RV owners. Because marine batteries are "deep cell" batteries, they draw less electricity and will last longer without recharging, we chose those as our battery power. The entire setup works great! The coffee maker brews great coffee, and the stove boils and fries, all on 12v of electricity. In addition, a small power inverter can be added to allow the use of regular plug in appliances, including computers!

So if you haven't started making plans for the possible event this year, time to get those shutters, have your roof inspected, stock up on supplies, and decide how you are going to survive without power.

The downturn in the housing market has prompted not only home sellers and real estate agents to get creative with their marketing, but also home stagers. We are now offering a wide variety of services, not thought of before when home staging became a viable tool for selling a home. In addition to the consultation process, which points sellers in the direction of DIY staging, the hands-on staging services, and the staging and furnishing of vacant properties, home stagers have branched out and now offer services such as:

~ "concierge service" whereby vacant properties are regularly tended to, making sure curb appeal is maintained and the interior is kept pristine

~ shopping for inventory items the home seller may need to spruce up their occupied dwelling

~ doing "walk throughs" and providing clients with a punch list of things that need to be repaired

~ consulting with homeowners who merely want a new fresh look to their homes

~ color and paint consultations

~ providing "lifestyle changes" consulting after a divorce, when the kids leave the nest, or other life altering events

These services are just a few that are bundled under the heading of "home staging."

If your listing has been on the market too long, if your lifestyle has changed, or if you simply want a new look to your dwelling, home stagers can help!

Dont' wait! Call today for a free "ball park" estimate. Our services may just change your life!

STAGE it RIGHT! (321) 956-2495

So here we are in the middle of a real estate recession. Investors are left sitting on their investment properties. Home owners, who would like to move up, down, or elsewhere are stuck where they are. Flash back to 2004. Investors were buying houses by the tens, homeowners had lines at their doors waiting for an open house to start. It didn't make any difference what condition or what price range the house was in. Old, new, derelict, clean, dirty, upgraded or not, everything on the market had a buyer. What makes the mind-set of the "hot" market buyer, different from the mind-set of the "cold" market buyer?

It appears, that buyers in a hot market, buy into the "feeding" frenzy mentality. Investors want to buy and sell as quickly as they can, home buyers are willing to settle for less, in order to just get into their own home. It can be equated to the "frenzy" that transpires when a new computer operating system first hits the stores. Ya just gotta have it, even if you don't need it.

Human nature has programmed us to listen to the "survival" instinct within. Blame it on the media, the industry, and our inate inability to recognize that we are allowing ourselves to be caught up in a manufactured frenzy, if you will. A frenzy that during other times would have us sit back and make more thoughtful decisions.

And now that time for thoughtful decisions has come. Buyers are being more selective in their decisions. For that reason, the home seller, and their realtors should be embracing the concept of home staging. Garnering an edge in a cold market, for most, is going to be the only way they will make a sale. For more information on how we "homestage to sell" here in Brevard County Florida, please call us anytime. STAGE it RIGHT! 321-956-2495.