Phyllis's Blog

One of the most difficult parts of Christmas for many people is the reality that, culturally, it has become a family time of celebration. For those who live in broken families, who endure fractured, fragile relationships, this only accentuates their pain and aloneness.

For too many, Christmas celebrations are largely lonely affairs. Even those who have many friends can find themselves feeling alone as those friends go off to spend the holidays with their own families. And those who are invited to participate and are welcomed into these gatherings often feel they "do not belong". They are on the outside looking in and that is a painful place to be. Christmas, with all its attendant parties and get-togethers, often accentuate our loneliness, our frustration and longing.

In such situations, the Christmas spirit can seem beyond our grasp. But if the real Christmas spirit is connected to something God has done for us, then we can still enter into it, even when family ties are weak or severed. For unlike fractured family  relationships, Immanuel - GOD WITH US - is not isolated from us.

Immanuel goes looking for us. He looks in the tenements, the mud huts, the tents, the back alleys, the apartments and condos, the suburbs, the mansions, and everywhere in between.

The true celebration of Christmas, then, is the understanding the because Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, He is the answer to our deepest loneliness. Whatever we may be feeling, the truth is that we are never alone. That is God's promise. Th last earthly words of Jesus, Immanuel were, "and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" Matthew 28:20

This writing has been taken from an excerpt from the book entitled Discover the Spirit of Christmas by Dan Schaeffer.

JESUS STILL IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

God Bless you all, Phyllis 

For most of us, there are always special memories that are associated with this special time of year and no matter how stressed or busy we get, that memory comes back and fills our hearts with joy....here is mine!

 Who is old enough to remember this movie?? If your children (or you) grew up with the "older" Sesame Street characters, then I am sure you remembered this episode.

Here is why this has become not only a special memory but a family tradition. Years ago when my children were only 5 and 7, they are now 30 and 32, they were sick and we were home alone on Christmas Eve. I could not take them out and so we were not able to get together with the rest of our family. We were watching this movie on TV when my neighbor called to see if we were okay because she noticed we were home. I told her the children were sick and that we could not spend Christmas Eve with our family.

She told me to put one gift for each child on my front door and then hung up. A few minutes later our doorbell rang and we heard bells....Ahhh, you guessed it.. Santa made a special visit to both my children that night. To see the joy on their faces was something a mom does not forget.

It was so thoughtful of my neighbor and I felt so blessed! This video is from a time when TV was able to talk about Christmas and actually say the word without worry of offending anyone. Afterall, Jesus is the Reason for the Season, without the birth of Christ there would be NO Christmas.

At the end of the movie they sing a special song that goes like this..."Keep Christmas with you, all through the year, when Christmas is over, spread some Christmas cheer, these special moments, hold them very near, and keep Christmas with you...all through the year".

I am crying just writing this...so how did this become a family tradition? About 10 years or so ago I was Christmas shopping and found this video. I got so excited and thought I have to buy this for my kids, but they are in their 20's now, how silly, but I did it anyway. They got so excited and ever since, every year we have to watch this together. My son has brought his girlfriend to watch it and now I have my grandson to enjoy this with. Even the year I was dying with pain from a kidney stone, we were all watching it, and I plan on getting the popcorn ready real soon for our next viewing.

Have a wonderful Christmas and treasure the good times together. So what's your favorite Christmas memory?

I know that this has been a tough real estate market and for many there has been some trying times...BUT HANG IN THERE, Houses are STILL SELLING. In the past 4 weeks I have destaged 6 houses because they SOLD!!

STAGING, PRICING and MARKETING your home will help it to sell. When you are ready to list your home, also be ready to GIVE UP your home. What do I mean by that? It is time to move on so don't be so rigid when your realtor or home stager suggest you remove your teapot collection or paint your purple walls. I know you love them and it may look quite lovely, but your home needs to appeal to a much broader number of people.

Will a young bachelor feel like he has found his home if it looks like his grandmother is about to entertain her friends? I don't think so! On the same token would a young woman who is buying her first house feel that she has found her home if she walks into a living room or den covered in posters and paraphernalia about the Giants or Jets? NOT!!

What is special to you may hinder the sale of your house. Remove these items, neutralize the paint colors and decor and relinquish your home to the professionals. Don't take it so personally when we ask or recommend that something should be removed.

If you remember my blog.....The Staging From Hell...The Occupied Home, you will note that as I was staging, the clients were putting everything back. The realtor told them that this was unacceptable and they MUST listen to me. While her husband was resistant and thinking this was NOT going to work, the wife thankfully listened.

Hmmmm, now guess what happened? Yep, the house sold and the closing is scheduled for January 15th. I cannot stress this enough that while the market is tough, houses are still selling, but the best looking ones will sell first.

LISTEN TO THE PROFESSIONALS, LET US DO OUR JOB...Call ReStyled to Sell Home Staging today for an in home consultation @ 732-995-3425, and get ready to MOVE ON!   

Let's face it this is a tough time to sell a house, no matter how you look at it...

Buyers are listening to the media reports and hearing the prices are down as much as 7.6% in the West Coast and 1.3% on the East Coast, so with that in mind, they are waiting. Waiting for what??

It seems that with prices dropping continually, buyers are hoping to sit and play the waiting game for more dramatic price reductions in hope of getting their dream home for a price that our parents paid. NOT!! That will never happen, yet buyers are playing the waiting game. So what's a seller to do??

1. Listen to your realtor and price accordingly. Many sellers today are living in a fantasy world, hoping to price and recoup from their home what the average home sold for over 2 years ago. Dealing in reality and today's market trend is the first step to help you accomplish your goal.

2. Stage your home to sell. I mean STAGE, don't just rearrange furniture. That won't cut it in today's market. If your kitchen is outdated, update it! If you have wallpaper from the 80's, remove it! Invest something into your home to make it stand out from the competition. Face it, buyers have a ton of inventory to choose from and if they could buy a home with all these updated features for the same price or a bit higher than what you are asking, guess which house they are going to buy?

3. Listen to your Stager and Realtor..too many times people think that once they have staged their house to sell, they could up the asking price. WELLLL, maybe in a better market but not today. So why stage? Most times staging will help elevate your home to the price that you are asking for it. What do I mean by this? If an average home in your area is going for $500K and the house is updated and freshly painted, etc., how can you expect to compete with that if your home needs a ton of work? Staging will warrant the price you are asking in most cases. But I have staged homes in the past that did get over asking. Be wise and price according the market in your area 

I have seen this problem over and over again. I staged a home for clients a few months back and within the first 2 weeks they received 2 offers. Their original asking price was $549K, they received one offer for $510K and the other for $500K...Ouch you might think BUT....they had a very outdated kitchen and somewhat of an 80's decor. While I updated some features, like the removal of the treacherous wallpaper, they were not willing to update anything else. They refused both offers and found out that one client bought a house right across the street and paid $30K more because the kitchen was completely remodeled.

Since those two offers, the market has dropped dramatically and that house is only going for about $489K now. Now that hurts! So guess what my clients are doing NOW? yep......UPDATING THE KITCHEN, BUT they think they could now still get  in the $500's, THAT IS NOT REALITY!! An investment in the kitchen back then might have gotten them their asking price! SO STAGING YOUR HOUSE AND DOING ALL UPDATES BEFORE YOU LIST IS THE SMARTEST THING TO DO.

Sellers you need to listen to the experts, both your realtor and stager FROM THE BEGINNING! I have been speaking with many realtors and they are feeling that it may be wise for sellers to rent with an option to buy. This will help sellers carry the monthly expenses and hopefully if the market picks up they can sell for their original asking price.

These are confusing times for the real estate industry BUT HOUSES ARE STILL SELLING...

STAGE IT, PRICE IT ACCORDINGLY, BE REALISTIC IN YOUR PRICING, DO THE NECESSARY UPDATES IN THE HOME and please, please, please listen to the experts.