About McMinn County, TN

In a previous post Cookie Cutter House--Staged for a quick sale! we were unsure of the success of doing a "Photo-Staging"--adding some of our accessories for good photos and then removing them. So I wanted to update everyone of the status of the "Cookie Cutter House." It is sold!! Within 3 days, the Realtor showed the house 6 times (all calls from seeing the pics), received an offer, and closed within 26 days of staging.

Well, here we go again! The same Realtor has called for another small house that just needs a bit of help. Next week we are scheduled to do the same thing, and we are hoping for the same result. Check out the "Before" pics below and I will post an update next week.

Thanks for all your comments and encouragement!

It takes a smart home seller to realize that putting their home on the market is more than just popping a "For Sale" sign in the yard. It takes lots of work and preparation to put your property in it's best shape for showing.

It's a proven fact that once you have lived in a house for a few years--you can no longer see it objectively. There needs to be fresh "buyer's eyes" to show you how to present and emotionally connect with those coming to view your house. Most people think that surely anyone can see past my clutter and see how pretty my house really is! That is definitely NOT true. Clutter and too much furniture is very distracting to most people who enter, and statistics show that only 10% of home buyers can visualize and see past the clutter.

Here are some examples: This is a beautiful kitchen--anyone can see that, but there are things that distract you from seeing the real beauty. There are knives hanging on the backsplash, tons of spice jars on the hood, a breadbox, and other kitchen utensils, spices and too much distraction on display. There are also too many books in the island book nook. De-cluttering and turning on all the beautiful lights were a surefire way to get a great photo for this seller to advertise their most valuable asset--a spacious well appointed kitchen, with plenty of storage space.

#1 on your list of important things to do before putting your home on the market is: DE-CLUTTERING!!

Be smart and hire a professional to guide you in preparation to sell.

Call Ready 2 Stage Home Staging & Redesign--serving Southeast Tennessee--Athens, Cleveland, Sweetwater, Dayton, and all surrounding areas.

BEFORE AFTER

Well, it happens every time! I try my best to take a photo of a beautifully staged bathroom, but I keep showing up in the picture myself.

This bathroom was especially challenging! Almost every wall was sporting a mirror. As it ends up, I found myself lying on the floor shooting upward--probably a good idea--you can get the beautiful light fixtures that way!!

I am finding bathroom photography to be the most challenging. Most of the bathrooms are so small that a decent picture of it is nearly impossible. You don't really want a picture of a toilet--all bathrooms have those.....you can't really stand in front of the vanity to take your picture because you will get a huge flash and your wonderful reflection.

Not a very attractive photo, but that's just about the best that you can do with a bathroom this size. Let's just face it small bathrooms are just that-- small bathrooms. Should you show them on the listing website? Everyone knows what a toilet looks like. I have decided that unless there is something spectacular about a small bathroom, that I should just leave it out of the photo line-up. What's your opinion?

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of setting up an information booth at our local "Pumpkintown Festival." The set-up fee for an information only booth was $25, so I thought--WHY NOT?? I have had a difficult time educating and getting the word out about staging in our little city, so I decided that this would be a great way to introduce Athens, Tennessee to READY 2 STAGE HOME STAGING & REDESIGN.

The early morning hours of set-up day were quite rainy. When we arrived at 9:00 a.m. to prepare, the streets were still a bit wet. October being a very unpredictable month weather-wise, I wasn't sure whether the day would require cold drinks or warm drinks--so I provided both. Bottles of water and cups of hot apple cider (both labeled with the R2S name--of course!) attracted many to help themselves to a drink, and watch the slide show of Before & After pics while they were there.

I also offered a FREE kid craft--bookmarks with a nice poem and a pumpkin to color were placed on a table at the side of our booth. This gave me a chance to talk to the parents while the kids were busy working! And I didn't forget the drawing for a FREE consultation--which provided me with names and e-mail addresses to add to my contact list!

Being at Pumpkintown was a lot of fun and I feel like I made some good contacts for my business. But, most of all I saw so many friends, family and acquaintances that I haven't visited with in a while. I encourage you to get out in your community and get yourself known, by participating in festivals and other community events.

Oh by the way, as we were loading up at the end, a lady walked by and offered me $20 for one of my pumpkin flower arrangements. So, there was nearly all of what I paid for my set-up fee! Go figure!!