Phyllis's Blog

Hey everyone, hope all is well with you. I know that we all love to share our success stories with regard to Staging Homes for Sale and I am happy to be able to share two with you.

ReStyled to Sell Home Staging services of NJ has always been in the business of really trying to help the seller move on. We accomplish that in many ways such as suggesting painting, spackling, pulling out old carpeting, refinishing floors, caulking bathrooms, etc, etc., etc.....

While many sellers are surprised at the extensive list we provide to them, they quickly realize that just decluttering and moving some pieces of furniture is not all the Home Stagers accomplish. While the latter two are important, the other suggestions could be the key that actually sells their home. WHY??? Buyers do not want to have to spend alot of money fixing up and repairing. They want to move right in.

While we make our suggestions to the sellers, do they always listen?? I know for a fact that many, if not all of you, will say NO!! But.... what happens when they DO LISTEN!! I will tell you, THEIR HOUSE SELLS!!

It never fails! Every single home that ReStyled to Sell Home Staging NJ has staged where the sellers did everything we told them to do and that allowed us to do OUR WORK...SOLD IMMEDIATELY!!! Here are two such houses I got word on today.

Do you remember my blog..This One Is for You Maureen?? The house shown there never made it to the MLS. IT SOLD FOR FULL PRICE RIGHT AWAY!! Believe me these sellers were motivated. They had us painting, landscaping, repairing cracks in ceiling, rearranging furniture, hanging draperies, you name it we did it. WHY?? Because they wanted their house to sell for top dollar. Did it pay off??  In this market FULL PRICE offer immediately, what do you think?? Absolutely!

Here is the next success story. This one I am thrilled about. When I got called in to do my consultation on this house I found out it was on the market for about 1 year. Well it had actually sold last year but right before the closing the buyers backed out. My clients had already bought new construction and moved. The house I got called in on was now vacant and lanquishing on the market. Because of that the price was reduced drastically.

Again, motivated sellers. I submitted my Report and Proposal in the evening and they called the next morning and accepted and wanted to start immediately. We completed the property 2 weeks ago and at the first Open House they had 5 offers and sold for $505K. The asking price was $469K. That is $36K over asking price!! They are thrilled!

So to those sellers and realtors that want to know if Staging Homes for Sale works, my answer to you is ABSOLUTELY, WHEN THE SELLERS DO WHAT WE TELL THEM TO DO!! Realtors, sellers, let's work together as a team to get your house sold!! Let us do what we do best!! Stage your Home and SELL!!

Phyllis Pafumi

ReStyled to Sell Home Staging of NJ 732-995-3425

Hey Everyone

Did you ever notice on DeSigned to Sell that they only really "Stage" 3 rooms in the house?? How many times have you been on your consults and you literally want to redo every little nook and cranny and every room? Is it really necessary??

Here is a house I staged that was on the real estate market for about 6 months. I was called in right after that wonderful price reduction. The house was originally listed at $305,000.00 and was just reduced to $284,000. Other houses in the development were going for $324,000.00, same house, 1 extra bedroom. This house showed very poorly. Needless to say when I entered the property I was flawed. It needed lots of work and TLC.

I gave my suggestions, gave my proposal and happily the client accepted. Some paint, lots of decluttering and much needed furniture rearrangement transformed this house. Within 2 weeks my client got 2 offers, one for $289,000.00 the other for $295,000. Yep he took the $295,000.00.

Does Staging work?? Absolutely, just ask my client who has happily retired to SC. ReStyled to Sell Home Staging of NJ has helped many clients move on to their new home by assisting them with the sale of their old home. Whether we stage one room or many the difference is priceless. 

Hey all, do you remember the Wizard of Oz, Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My?? Lately, that is how I have been feeling. A bit overwhelmed to say the least!! How does one keep up with everything that is involved with running a successful staging business?

With the Spring market rapidly approaching, sellers are realizing that they need to make their listing stand out from the competition. Thus...the word is out... STAGE YOUR HOUSE TO SELL!! With that being said, my phone does not stop ringing. While I am thrilled, my life is completely turned upside down.

How do you all keep your own home in order?? We need to hire stagers for our homes, not to mention cleaning ladies, personal shoppers (especially food shopping), and private chefs. I am single handedly contributing to the success of my local Dunkin Donuts!

To those of you that I have spoken with who are still marketing and waiting for the influx of jobs to start rolling in, I have one word of advice to you, PREPARE!!

Be prepared!! Have your contracts, invoices, consult reports, brochures, contractor contacts ready to go! I cannot begin to tell you that the paperwork end of this business will be enough to put you over the edge. Start to shop now, whenever you can, to build your inventory, that way when you get a job, you only need to supplement with accessories that will enhance the home's decor. Go to the paint stores and stock up on color charts. Start to organize your accessories. Rest up, eat well (this is key) and BE READY!!

I have met with several small builders and investors over the last few weeks and they mentioned to me that in order to sell a house this Spring you must STAGE IT!! While many have never used the services of a Home Stager, they could be a little overwhelmed with some costs that may be involved. Have a back-up plan of how you could supplement certain pieces. THINK OUT OF THE BOX!!

If you have a Christmas Tree Shop near you, I would highly recommend visiting it, weekly. I found beautiful console tables and lamps that were marked down to .97 cents, yep you heard right. Okay the lamps had no tops, great I thought, just cut off that piece and now you have a large chunky candle holder. GET IT!! Think out of the box.

While we are all doing something we absolutely love, at times Staging can get very overwhelming. Think about it. We are doing in one day what most people take months to accomplish (thanks to our DD Coffee, ha, ha). Seriously, how long do you take to hang curtains in your own home?? Now do 4 windows and stage and fluff and rearrange and move on to the next property, swoosh...Oh yeah, stock up on curtain rods, especially tension rods to hang valances over those kitchen sinks. Don't forget your greenery and candles, you all!!

Happy Staging, Be Prepared and Be Blessed!

Phyllis Pafumi 

Kudos to Maureen Henry for telling us about her fabulous Chestertown Buff. I had a job that desparately needed warmth added to the walls and I decided to try out Maureen's suggestion. I LOVED IT!!

My clients were very skeptical because they absolutely love white, so needless to say that when a color like this goes on a white wall it can appear very dark at first. I did suggest (3) colors and samples were purchased and put on the walls to study. It took (1) week for them to decide if they should do this or not.

I finally made the decision that this is the way we had to go and that this was no longer their home but a product they were selling and when they move to their new home (which I heard is fabulous) they could keep all the white they want. SOOO, they went upstairs to work and we painted.

When the clients came back downstairs they resounded with a "WOW, that looks great, we should put this in our new home" and the wife happily agreed as long as her new cabinets could be white. Here the befores and afters of this large kitchen/family room. What do you think of Mo's color?? THANKS MO!!

I want to extend a warm welcome to a new, well not so new member, of AR. Mary Jane Devlin of Botanical Accents joined AR from a personal invite from me.

It was not until recently that she and I had the opportunity to work together on a home. My client's want top dollar for their home and they staged every room including new landscaping. I called Mary Jane of Botanical Accents and she presented her bid and just completed the house.

Working together as a team with other professionals to complete the staging of your clients home is something that is invaluable. Finding reliable professional people to refer business to will help your business grow.

Check out Mary Jane's website at www.botanicalaccent.com and extend a warm AR greeting.

Thanks Mary Jane!

Phyllis Pafumi