Carol S Snyder

So let’s talk personal safety and security…

As you are aware, I am a professional home stager that deals with clients on a daily basis. What you don’t know is that I am also a former police lieutenant and a current federal aviation security specialist. I thought it might be helpful to some of you if I related some of the skills and techniques that I have learned in these positions to the field of real estate and home staging...

Do you ever get the feeling that maybe you shouldn’t check out this client’s home or do this showing? Pay attention to your intuition, it’s almost always right! It is your most important and basic safety mechanism.

Here’s a brief explain of how this works. Have you ever been standing on a street corner waiting for the light to change and as you get the signal that you can cross the street you take a step off the curb and all the sudden you jump back onto the curb and right at that moment a car speeds past you? Your heart begins to race and you realize you almost got run over! Just a split second later in jumping back and you probably would not be alive. Well, that was your subconscious mind working to protect you. The sole purpose of your subconscious mind is to protect you and it is always working to protect you from harm.

When you get that instinct to turn and run, to not get out of your vehicle, or you can’t shake a bad feeling about the individual you are about to meet, your subconscious mind is trying to protect you. Please, please, please take heed; it could save your life!

But, isn’t that stereotyping? It is true that we tend to stereotype a person by society’s logic. The bad guy has long hair, is unkempt and has a lot of tattoos. Or, he’s a business man, he works for XYZ Corporation, and I deal with their corporate executives all the time. Neither is accurate, nor a reason for feeling safe or unsafe …..bad guys come in all shapes, sizes and financial status. At the heart of the issue is simply this….if you don’t feel completely comfortable and safe, don’t proceed as though you are. When you get that feeling of unease, the most common response to this feeling is to mentally talk ourselves out of it by saying something like “this is ridiculous, “quit being a baby,” and “toughen up.” Don’t.

There is more: You can improve your sense of security beyond intuition. Let me ask you a question. Do you ever check out your client’s information? That answer in most cases is “No” and that is typical. The answer is to be proactive by getting in the habit of asking your client general questions. Where do you work, where do you currently live, are you renting or a current home owner, etc. Check out your client’s information! This will take on average ten to fifteen minutes of your time, which can save your life. Bottom line, if it doesn’t feel right then it probably isn’t. No commission is worth losing your life and I don’t say this lightly. We are in a competitive field, a slow market and we need every bit of money we can make. It is still not worth losing your life and our criminals are getting better and smarter at getting their victims where they want them.

Here are some personal safety tips:

• If you have a bad feeling about a client and you plan to go to the appointment anyway, go early and park a short distance away. Check out the surroundings. Is someone already there waiting for you to show up? If so drive past and write down the license plate number, and a vehicle description. Look at the individual inside the vehicle and determine if you still feel unsettled, if you do call another agent to go to the appointment with you or take someone else along.

• When showing a home try not to turn your back on a client. Have them enter each room ahead of you. If you do have to turn from the client, turn slightly, and keep your strong side towards him. This will give you the opportunity to move away quickly if needed and give you the opportunity to move away quickly and run.
  

• By always keeping an eye on the client you are giving the person unspoken body signals that you will be harder to deal with and probably deter him for doing anything.

These tips are for personal safety; however the best way to protect you is to not put yourself in harm’s way if you have a feeling of unease and by being proactive in your own personal safety.

Want to know how to furnish “two homes” for $4983.00 and have a high end brand new look?

Craigslist and a Home Stager!

Saving money for our clients can be a real challenge. One of our most recent clients said “I need to have my home staged and I don’t want to pay for rental furniture. I don’t have a lot of money. My goal is to furnish my new home with the staging furniture to be added to my existing furnishings. ” What a great idea! This client gets a three bed one bath home furnished for “Home Staging” and an “Interior Redesign” for her new home all for one price! This home had a few pieces of furniture left behind when they moved out.

Here’s my “Solution!” I “shopped” her home and found:

* A purple dresser.

* A small black and white desk.

* Modern glass TV stand.

* A wicker kitchen table with a glass top (no chairs.)

* Three round side tables; extremely ugly.

* A queen size bed frame, mattress and box spring.

* A twin bed with an outdated headboard. A mattress, box springs and bedding.

* And three unmatched lamps.

* About 35 gallons of various colors of leftover paint. (This is important because you are about to see the transformation!)

The wall colors in this house were yellow, bright green, hot purple, navy blue, aqua, and ocean blue. The colors actually worked quite well for this young energetic family of four, but not so much for the potential buyer.

Solution #1 – Working with the homeowner to use their existing cans of paint, was fun as we mixed the colors to make an awesome off white color for the living room, kitchen, hall and one of the bedrooms. Another bedroom was painted with an eggshell leftover paint, and paint was purchased for the other bedroom and bathroom $35.00. The homeowners were thrilled with the transformation. We love going green!

Solutions #2 – The homeowner repainted the purple dresser and the small desk to match, again with left over paint. Four new knobs were purchased for the desk to match the knobs already on the dresser $5.00.

Solution #3 – By shopping Craigslist for the client, these items were purchased:

1. Great living room furniture (Italian Leather made in Italy!) This set included a couch, a loveseat, a chair and an ottoman with a glass top $500.00!

2. A matching coffee table, end table, and sofa table; oak with wicker and glass top $100.00. I chose not to use the coffee table for this project.

3. Four wicker chairs to match the kitchen table $80.00 plus $20.00 for spray paint.

4. A beautiful piece of artwork (Oil Canvas) in the bedroom with the bright paisley bedding was the inspiration for the entire room $20.00.

5. An awesome wicker daybed and a (matching wicker coffee table not used for this project) $100.00.

6. Headboard and matching mirror in the master bedroom $15.00.

7. Double/queen bed frame $5.00.

8. Delivery fees: $50.00.

Solution #4

* Accessories: lamps, table covers for the nightstands, mirrors, two side tables, two area rugs, shower curtain, hand towels. Living room and one bedroom curtains, decorative pillows throughout the house, decorative wall accents, miscellaneous materials and artwork were purchased new some at discount stores at a fraction of the original price and some at higher end stores for an additional cost of $1,838.00. * Outdoor Furniture and Accessories: $540.00.

* Home Staging fees: $1675.00

Not bad for furnishing two homes!

Checkout the before and after transformation of this home in our Gallery under Home Staging Before and After Photo . Don’t forget to check out the additional photos of the home here at Patterson Avenue "Currently Listed" and "Home Staging". http://www.thestylestagers.com/gallery.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNfsQywWmbU

Check out our latest advertisement!

In today’s market, home sellers need to compete to sell their home for the best price. Depending on the market price of the home, the potential to increase the value of a staged home can be from $10,000 to $50,000. Keep in mind your home is one of many homes for sale and it must be presented to the buyer in a manner that highlights its benefits and strong points. When placing a home for sale it becomes a product. Corporations compete by correctly “pricing,” “marketing,” and “branding” their product to entice the customer to purchase their product over the competition. Selling your home is no different. Your real estate agent is the expert in pricing and marketing the home. They accomplish this by describing the positive features of the home and by having great photographs on the MLS in order to generate the buyer interest. Your Home Stager is the expert that evaluates all living spaces and stages the home stand out from the competition. The “Wow” factor markets and brands the property for a quick sale. It makes the home stand out from the competition. Hire a home stager to give you the competitive edge to sell the home smarter, faster and for the best price.

Definitions related to Home Staging:

Pricing is the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products. Pricing factors to be considered in home staging are selling costs, competition, market condition, and quality of the product.

Marketing is the process by which the Realtor® determines what features may be of interest to the potential buyer, and the strategy to communicate those features to get the home sold.

Branding in reference to home selling is a design intended to differentiate one home from the other homes in the market area.