Phyllis's Blog

Taking my cue from Maureen Henry about her Press Release, I wanted to also send you the Press Release that I was sending out last May. I wanted to do this because after you read Maureen's and then read mine, you will see that the one I sent last year IS WAAAY TOOOO WORDY and NOT SPECIFIC..do you all agree? See even you don't want to read it, right?

Maureen's is great! As stagers we must remember, LESS IS MORE!! Thanks Maureen! Here was mine...

CONTACT:

Phyllis Pafumi, Home Staging Expert

Restyled to Sell- www.Restyledtosell.com

(732) 995-3425

ReStyled to Sell Home Staging Company Boasts First of It's Kind Services in Central NJ In Time for Competitive Real Estate Home Market.

Matawan, NJ - May 17, 2006 - ReStyled to Sell has the distinction of becoming the first company in Central NJ dedicated to In-Home Consulting and Staging, for the specific purpose of preparing homes for market. A task that has typically been left to the Real Estate Agent and Home Owner's discretion has now become the sole endeavor of ReStyled to Sell Home Staging. The attempt has resulted in providing focused effort on a home's aesthetic qualities, consequently impacting potential re-sale value.

Taking its cue from the Real Estate industries ongoing "first impressions" campaign, ReStyled to Sell Home Staging Company has turned that idea into a significant prospect for today's real estate market. As well known promoters of the worth of a skillfully presented home, the benefits of using ReStyled to Sell Home Staging Company has influenced the Real Estate Agent as well. A Staged Home results in the potential of faster offers, multi-bids, and higher commissions earned.

ReStyled to Sell's Consulting Service begins with a thorough evaluation of the home. Once assessed, easy remedies are offered that will enhance the interior and exterior of the home's aesthetics. A computerized print-out of this information, in prioritized order, is provided to both owner and agent. Simple and to the point, a consultation is an inexpensive tool offering direction to ensure a home will show at it's prospective best before listing.

Staging Service's offered are a "hands-on" approach to preparing a home for re-sale. From eliminating clutter, to organizing, to furniture arrangement, the time saving assistance provided by ReStyled to Sell Home Staging Company of Middlesex County, NJ guarantees a home will be ready for today's competitive real estate market.

ReStyled to Sell's Staging Services  is available throughout New Jersey. For further information on this innovative company, please visit their website at http://www.restyledtosell.com/ or contact Phyllis Pafumi at 732-995-3425.

Okay I have been memed...again. I probably have bored everyone with certain details about my life, but to come up with an additional five things that no one knows...hmmm!

1. Learn not to Doubt Your Talents!. Years ago I would spend hours helping friends redesign their homes. I love wallpapering, I find it very relaxing believe it or not. After the wallpaper went up, I would proceed to "shop" in the closets, pantries, linen closets, drawers, garage and basements for items that can be used throughout the home. Someone once told me years ago that I should start my own business, and we were trying to come up with a name and thought ahhh, Creative Room Redesigns....use what you already have to create a totally new space. I said...nah! who will buy it?? HELLO! Home Staging and Creative Room Redesigns 15 years later..BIG!

2. I actually had a big opportunity also about 20 years ago to work for an interior designer as her assistant, but turned the job down for 1. I was a single mom and raising 2 children at the time and needed to work and make money, and 2. When I was told I had to take some design courses like History and math I opted out...oh well, who knows where that would have led

3. In 1987, I had my own exercise TV show that aired on Public Cable in Old Bridge, NJ. The show was called Let's Get Physical, original, huh, Olivia Newton John was big back then. The show ran for about six weeks and reruns were run very late at night. It was fun and quite an experience. 

4. In 1992 I was hit with Lyme's disease and was not able to do anything. I could barely walk, let alone teach aerobics so I sadly resigned from my position as Aerobics director and gave away some of my best tapes to the next director. I kind of gave up on life. Thankfully I began taking nutritional products and started to get well, with an amazing recovery. I did go back to teaching dance about 3 years after that. I have learned to embrace life.

5. I went on a Missions Trip with my church Calvary Chapel Old Bridge to Hungary in 1997 around the time of the war with Yugoslavia. That was an amazing, amazing experience for me and it really made me value what we have at home. Budapest is just a beautiful, beautiful place to see. The culture is so different from ours and after a few days I learned to embrace that way of living. People really take the time to enjoy one another and the beauty around them. It seems that we are always rushing about missing out on the daily joy of being with one another. 

So that is another 5 things you did not know about this Home Stager in Old Bridge, NJ. Don't doubt your talents, just think maybe if I listened to my friends 20 years ago I could have retired today. I might have invented Home Staging and how it can sell your home...Oh didn't someone else do that, now what's her name?

Christmas time was and is always an exciting time of year for me and my family. I come from a large italian family and needless to say when we get together we can eat. But Christmas time is more than that for us.

This is a time when we remember the birth of Jesus, the love we have for one another, but most importantly the gift of giving. Yes the presents are fun and always appreciated, but it is more than that. It is about taking the time to reach out to someone who may not have a home to go to on Christmas day. Or picking up the telephone to say hello to an old friend that you have not spoken to in a while.

If you have been anything like me, and I am sure that you all have been, your business has taken up most of your time and we may have neglected loved ones in the interim. I loved Kate Hart's resolution for 2007, to only work 5 days a week and to spend more time with her boys.

As home stagers, realtors, mortgage brokers and such we know our business is based on us getting OUT THERE and meeting and greeting. Marketing can take oodles and oodles of time. Sometimes I am on my computer until 2 or so in the morning. But if you feel like I do, if you are not marketing your staging business to someone, then someone else is.

In 2007 let us reflect on the successes for the past year and pray that we would all find a way to grow this industry without competition or undercutting one another. We have a valuable gift to offer to sellers. The home staging industry is gradually taking off and I am sure that in 2007 not only will the spring market be hot, but each of our businesses will be as well.

To all on AR have a very blessed Christmas Day with your loved ones. Cherish them dearly and take the time to enjoy your life. Remember the joy is in the journey. God bless to all and a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year 

Hi Fellow Rainers...I hope that you are taking time to enjoy some of the festivities in your town besides dodging people at the mall.

I have lived in Old Bridge (Matawan), NJ now for the past 20 years. When I first moved here from Staten Island I felt as if I moved to the country. Life in Old Bridge was lived at a much slower pace and the people seemed kinder and friendlier. One of my first jobs here in Old Bridge was teaching aerobics (remember my former life as an dance/aerobics instructor in my Meme), at a local gym. The friends I met there have remained friends until today. The gym was so small that I was hired to teach dance classes as a way of attracting women to join. That gym today is the New York Sports club on Rte 34...my have we grown!

Some of the sites that I use to love and cherish in Old Bridge around the Holiday Season began in October with the scary pumpkins that are lit by Cottrell Road. A whole field of them lit at once for all to view. This was one of my grandmothers favorite sites to see. The other site began just after Thanksgiving. 

Sayrewoods Baptist Church on Rte 9 actually puts on the Christmas Story "LIVE" in their parking lot every year for about 2 weeks. Oh you will know when they are there because the traffic lines will run clear down Rte 9. It is an actual drive thru nativity depicting the birth and life and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. It is something that families from all over will pile into their cars and wait on line just to see. Here is what happens...As you pull into their driveway, you are handed a tape recorder and tape to play in your car and then you proceed to drive from station to station. The live actors are so still as the narrator tells you which scene this is and describes word for word from the Bible. The people don't move at all, and beleive me they are out there whether it is snowing/raining/freezing weather or bearable weather.

After you visit Sayrewoods Baptist Church, then drive on over to Gaub Rd to see the famous Christmas House all lit up, and on certain nights Santa is there to visit with your children. I now especially love the Christmas Extravaganza that is put on by the recreation department in Old Bridge Township..you go Bo and Lisa. I especially love Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus and their cozy gingerbread house.

My town of Old Bridge is really still a beautiful quaint town, eventhough it has grown tremendously since I moved here 20 years ago. They still take time to decorate the street lanterns on each corner and Santa waves to all from the gazebo on Cottrell Road. People come and go and new homes are being built all the time.

That is why when I began my business I especially wanted to work with my neighbors in Old Bridge to help sellers get the most for their home. That is still my primary goal. To give back to my community. I am happy that as home staging grows in NJ, more and more realtors in Old Bridge have begun working with my company. I love this town and I really do love NJ.

Take time this holiday season to enjoy the sites that your town has to offer. Especially take the time to remember what Christmas is all about and stop and love one another..Blessing to all and Merry Christmas

As the New Year approaches it is a time for us to reflect on our past year to see our failures, triumphs and accomplishments. For myself I am focusing on marketing tools that have worked in the past and letting go of those that have not.

Meet and greet is one way that has proven successful everytime. Mailers are not only costly, but don't you feel a little twang of guilt when you received a flyer advertising yet another product in the mail, and you throw it out?? That is what 3/4 of the recipients have probably done to our mailers.

We, as stagers, have been marketing ourselves to the realtors, and I am not sure that the realtors know how to market us to their sellers. My husband firmly believes that we need to go and meet and greet directly with the homeowners.

So I have prepared a plan, and I am putting it into action. I have teamed up with 5 other professionals that all have something to do with real estate. I have put together an outline on "The Real Estate Transaction, What to expect from beginning to end.

My team includes: myself of course, a real estate attorney, a mortgage broker, a realtor and a moving company. Together we will be giving Free Seminars to Sellers right in their own community. After many months of pitching this idea, I finally got our first seminar booked in January to a Townhome Development where many homes are either on the market or about to be listed (as per the President of the Association).

While I anticipate great things for 2007 for all of us, I will focus more on bringing my marketing to a more personal level by meeting and greeting. I will let you know how the seminar goes and if anyone is interested in an outline I will be happy to share with you, just shoot me an email.

Happy New Year

Phyllis Pafumi