Michael Fontana

The Stage Coach is excited to announce

the formation of a new partnership!

We are Teaming up with Professional Photographer, Thomas Meredith, adding yet another top shelf offering to our list of services: The Prime Photography Package.

The idea came about while viewing some actual listing photos on the MLS. For some reason, photos are being used that would compel a buyer NOT to visit the property and other photos are in such poor quality that buyers can not see the features of the home. The solution: by teaming a professional photographer with all of the best equipment and the experience to take top-notch photos with an obsessive-compulsive Home Stager, we will make every photo count!

Our goal is to make the listing photos more reminiscent of Pottery Barn than Craig's List!

No more random photos of bathroom fixtures! No more odd photos of plants! No more kittens staring at you from the top of the book shelf! No more laundry piled up on top of the dryer! Most home buyers are looking on the Internet before they contact a REALTOR. If you want your listings to stand out from the crowd, then you need to have high quality photographs available for potential buyers to view! Here's how it works: The Stage Coach will come out to the house when it is ready to list and spend an hour tweaking the home to prepare it for the listing photos by "sweating the small stuff". We will go into primary rooms and examine the space from several angles, then remove the little things that create distractions in photos. We will fluff up the pillows on the beds. Hide the daily clutter that is necessary in life. Arrange the chairs and tables appropriately. All Photos are then reviewed by the Photographer and Home Stager to make sure they meet both of our Professional Standards. The photos are then hosted online for your use - at no extra charge! The entry level option will cover photos of each living space and panoramic photos of primary living spaces, plus the exterior front and back. For an additional fee, an interactive floor plan can be provided allowing users to click on a particular room and see the panoramic photos providing the full virtual tour experience.

Contact The Stage Coach for more information.

We have all been hearing a lot lately about Twitter, Facebook and numerous other Online Social Media Tools, and I have been experimenting with them for just about a year now. It is my conclusion, that for what I do, Facebook is the tool for me.

First and Foremost:
Many will argue that the beauty of Twitter is the limitation of 140 characters. This may be great for scouring the Interwebs for people looking for answers to questions. But as a Home Stager, I believe Twitter lacks the visual element that Facebook offers, which is extremely important to me. I can post actual pictures and videos - not just a link to them. And when I want to send a post announcing an upcoming property, the Facebook post is much more visually pleasing than the Twitter post.

Next, if I am to be totally honest, I just don't get Twitter. As many articles as I have read about it, the light does not go on for me. Then again, most articles I see are aimed at REA's obtaining Referrals, and selling $9.99 Widgets. [Oh, yeah - and Free Laptops... Can't forget that you can always find people giving away Laptops on Twitter...] As a Home Stager, again, I am selling a visual product, and feel that I need to have a visual element. I update my status regularly... I play with RT's.... I respond to other Twitterers... It just seems like Twitter is 10% Content - 40% Useless Banter unless you're part of the conversation - 40% RSS feeds being sent up - and 10% Porn.

Another reason that I like Facebook: as I mentioned above, for me it is hard to understand what is going on unless you are part of the conversation. On FB, if you are gone for two days, you can come back, check status updates, and still be a part of the conversation by reading the thread of what others have posted.

One of my biggest gripes about Twitter, is when I click on a link to try to read an article some one has posted of interest to me. No matter how many browsers I have open, the new page seizes priority, and I am unable to change tabs/browsers while the new page loads. As a serious multi-tasker, this is unacceptable! I should be able to jump over to another web page while Bit.ly processes the shortened link. But instead, I am stuck staring at a white browser window, and can not navigate away. Worst part is, having tried to change applications or browser windows almost always results in the browser crashing. And I have the same experience with Seesmic.

Lastly, despite my feelings about the shortcomings of Twitter, I am not writing it off completely. There are a number of tools that can be used to increase Online Social Media efficiency, but that's another Blog. For the time being though, my focus will be on The Stage Coach's Fan Page.

Stop by and become a Fan!

It is fairly common from my experience to enter a Master Bed Room and find that the children's belongings have spilled over into the parents' room. I suppose some people would find it convenient to let the little ones play whilst they dress for the work day. Others believe in "co-sleeping". What ever the reason, when it comes time to put the house on the market, one of the most important things you will hear me stress is: The Master Bedroom (suite) must be cleaned of ALL evidence of children. You are selling Sanctuary!

When buyers see a Master Bedroom that contains your kids' stuff, it sends the message that the house is small, and there's not a lot of storage. In this house, I was brought in for a Basic Stage Coaching (consultation) and made many recommendations. But the owners needed a World Series of Interventions with Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, and the Super Nanny to get their stuff straight. They did get the Master cleaned up for photos, but within a couple of weeks, it was right back to where they started. And, sadly, after six months the house never sold.

I am not trying to say that the house did not sell because of the Master - but I do like to stress to the sellers that I work with: Lots of little things can do you more harm than one or two big things. The Big Things can usually be negotiated. The Little Things will build up in the buyers' minds, and lead them to feel that your house in not the house for them.

When preparing the Master Bedroom/Suite: Think Sanctuary! It sounds bad, but make the room a place where parents can escape the kids, and leave all of their worries behind! You want the room that most adults will spend almost 1/3 of their time in to really tug at the senses. It is pretty common to find the Sanctuary technique used in Master Baths, but it most definitely needs to carry over into the bed room!

So get those toys and children's books out! Replace them with scented candles and a trashy paper back on the night stand. Keep the end tables to the basics: Lamp - Clock - Phone - Remote - Book. But only keep three items on each night stand. Make sure you have lots of pillows on the bed - at least Six, plus decorator pillows. Bedding should be Updated - no floral prints - beds in a bag can be found for less than $100. Have a nice throw available to accent. Heck, if it makes you feel better, do the Cliche Staging Vignette: a tray with champagne bottle and glasses - maybe a silk rose to top it off.

During a Basic Stage Coaching visit to a home, I ran into a wall with the home owner in regards to what I call a "Butt." There's no easier way to say - it's undeniably a painting of a man with his rear end exposed. Never considering myself very artsy, I would still have considered the painting to be in good taste - but it still needs addressing in preparation of the home to sell.

I'm sorry - I'm not a prude, but some buyers might find this kind of artwork offensive. And in today's market, you need every possible buyer to be interested in your home. That's how homes sell quickly!

In addition to the "Butt", there were several suggestive sculptures in the room that may have gone unnoticed had the picture been taken down. Against my recommendation, the owner is refusing to remove any of the sculptures or the painting from the wall.

Artwork is a very personal purchase - beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all! Getting some sellers to understand that their personal taste is not under attack can be difficult. This owner is particullarly difficult and the discussion is not over. Overcoming Seller objections is a major component of being a Good Stager and I learn more every time I am in a home.

If the REALTOR and I are unable to break down this particular wall, I am going to be watching the home very carefully. Odds are, the house will get some cheesy nickname, like, "The Nudie House" or some thing similar. But, every once in a while, even a blind squirrel gets a nut, so maybe it well sell quickly. I plan to post a monthly update to see how the sale is going, and what feedback I'm hearing from the REA.

In the meantime, head over to Facebook by clicking on the link below to take my survey:

and become a fan of The Stage Coach while you're at it!

Happy Friday!

Now that the local MLS system supports up to 25x Photos, it leave me wondering, "Who needs 25 photos?" It is always my recommendation that 10 good quality photos is all that is needed to make potential buyers interested in seeing your listing.

I found this picture today, while looking at some homes for sale near an appointment on Monday. This is what I call the "Junk Room". Many homes have one - it's a catch all for what to do with stuff you don't want to throw away, but have no real place to put. I would have guessed that this home was professionally Staged based upon the other photos. And I may have done some thing similar to this if the sellers' budget could not swing rental furnishings.

But the reason for my Blog: Why include this photo in the MLS? It's one of 17 photos - the majority of which I think are appealing. Then this.

Personally, I would have left this photo out - it does not add to the appeal of the home nor does it provide much in the way of selling points. There were already around 15 good photos. I would always recommend to sellers that they leave out Children's rooms. The listing info tells me there are three bedrooms. I don't need to know if little girls or little boys live there. Knowing that factoid will determine whether this house is for me. Or not.

Quality photos will trump quantity photos any day. Personally, I'd rather flip through 5 or 6 good photos that show great features of the house, rather than sift through 25 photos of the laundry room, the art niche, the view of the front door from the top of the stairs, the doggy-door in the back door, etc...

Applying the KISS principle to online photos is a great way to think about. Another way: use photos that emphasize what you are selling. If you did not include the details of the photo in the description of the house, then the photo is probably not needed.