Phyllis's Blog

Over the past 2 years I have had many contacts with sellers where upon entering their home you can see that you will immediately be met with some resistance. WHY?? Because the way a homeowner lives and the way a homeowner needs to STAGE their home to sell are two entirely different things.

This morning I had to drop car keys off at a clients mom's home and this woman lived in a Senior Housing Development. Upon entering the parking lot, something caught my eye almost instaneous. What was it you might ask? It was the look of LACE EVERYWHERE. Honestly, just about every window had lace curtains hanging in them. I said to myself, yep, this is a senior housing center alright, then I thought Hmmmm??

Now at one time I must admit, I too loved the Victorian lace curtain, doily look. No wonder my kids kept telling me it looked like Grandma's house. IT DID, although I enjoyed it, many young potential buyers WILL NOT. We need to keep that in mind when Staging a home to sell.

The way you live and the way you sell will be very different. I spoke with a client yesterday that began to describe her home to me on the phone. It has not sold for 9 months and yes I know it has paneling in every room and I know the rug in the upper bedroom is disgusting, but......on and on and on. So I asked this question...If you were a young buyer and entering this home would you say that this house looks like Grandma's house or fit and ready for a young couple to move in. She answered Grandma's house and started to laugh. I see now...

Some paint, some new curtains, some decluttering and furniture rearrangement can just be the things that take your home from SALE to SOLD!!

ReStyled to Sell NJ...changing the way buyers view homes.     

FEAR, when it grips you, it can paralyze you. When you let it control you, you could be missing out on many blessings. So why do we give into it and let it keep us from truly living and experiencing all that life has to offer. FEAR is nothing but FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL!!

Have you ever heard that acronynm before? False evidence appearing real, hmmm, makes sense right? Isn't it the unknown that we fear? I share this post with you because of an incident I experienced this weekend. My best friend was getting married on Saturday and of course I was invited to the wedding. The only problem was that she lives in Florida so in order to get to the wedding, I HAD TO FLY THERE!!. Well, I could have driven, but my schedule would not allow for that luxury of taking off more than 2 days. SO I HAD TO FACE MY FEAR!!

I was doing well until I looked out the window of the airport and noticed that the plane that was in my gate was AWFULLY SMALL. I referred to it as a large MRI tube. Seriously, it was not much bigger. Joking around I called my sister to say Gee thanks, what are you trying to do KILL ME..(she's my travel agent). I boarded, no problem, I was actually looking forward to the 2 hr rest that I was going to be able to get..NO PHONES, NO EMAILS, NO REPORTS TO WRITE, ahhh, just blissful sleep. HA!

As I was watching everyone board this young guy stood up and said to his wife, "hey honey, look my head touches the ceiling and if I stretch my arms out I can touch the sides. THAT'S IT I'M OUT OF HERE I thought, my heart started racing and I started to break out in a sweat. I got up out of my seat and went up to the steward and whispered..."excuse me, I think I am having a panic attack or a claustrophobic attack, is there anything you can give me?" He laughed and said "do you want a drink?", no thanks I don't drink, can you give me a pill to calm me down or some oxygen, I feel like I cannot breathe and I am really starting to panic", was my response. This plane is so small, I said....then he said "small it's not that bad" and then I responded, "are you crazy, it's like being in a freaking MRI tube" at that point he told me to step outside to get some air.

I got off the plane (remember, we had not left the ground yet) and called my sister. I was in a panic, she laughed and said get on that plane now, Marlene will kill you if you don't show for her wedding. But I could not move, FEAR had totally gripped me and the thought of getting on that plane was killing me. The next thing I know the pilot got off the plane to talk with me and brought me upfront to see if they could get me on a bigger plane, but they could not. The only other plane that was available was the same size plane as this one.

I told my sister to call my friend and that I had to leave, I could not do it. My nieces and sister began to pray for me and then encourage me with scripture...I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and so on and so on. Now the pilot had to make a call...Miss are you getting on or not...He then told them to give my seat away to standby and when they picked up the phone and asked to send a passenger in my place, my sister screamed...GET ON THAT PLANE NOW!! Okay I said..I'm going in, but stay on the phone with me until we take off. I entered that TUBE and held my hand over my eyes (what a fool) and kept them shut once I got in my seat. My sister stayed on the phone until we were cut off and by the grace of God I got through it.

I did not open my eyes until I heard them say we are entering Jacksonville, buckle up and prepare for descent. WHEN I OPENED MY EYES I SAW BEAUTY ALL AROUND ME and I thought, how foolish I was, look at what I would have missed. Then I thought how many things DO WE MISS because of FEAR.

Where are you today in your business? Are you where you want to be? Are you hiding behind emails and computer messages because you are too afraid to GETTING OUT and actually meeting clients? Are you so afraid of failing that you make up excuses as to why you are not putting all your efforts into starting your business? don't let FEAR stop you from living up to your full potential.

I was SO BLESSED to be at my friends wedding, she has been a major part of my life since I was 17!! God I love her very much and for years she always flew to see me. When I told her what happened she said you're right I would have killed you. Needless to say that when I left they all prayed for me and by God's beautiful grace I made it home safely (I won't even get into the part about the fuel spilling out of the wing, that I was witnessing from my seat and the part about the fact that my return flight was on the same darn plane. YEP I thought Lord we are not meant to be flying around up here and maybe this will be my last plane ride, who knows.

BUT don't let your FEARS keep you from FLYING HIGH!!! Go in the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus and let HIM guide you and your business. Watch the blessings flow!!

Today was suppose to be an early morning run to a house that I staged on Saturday to tweak before the Brokers Open House which was to be held this morning at 10.

I got up early, typed a contract, made breakfast and starting to iron my clothes when my phone rang. It was my client, she said plans have changed.....Oh, I wondered what could have happened? She said the HOUSE SOLD yesterday!!...WOO HOO, we were thrilled!!

Okay REALTORS AND SELLERS, if you have not been a believer in Staging your home for sale, PLEASE LISTEN UP!! This is not the first time this has happened. STAGED, LISTED, SOLD in less than 3 days!! 

I ASKED IF SHE WAS HAPPY WITH THE PRICE THEY GOT AND SHE SAID THRILLED, THEY GOT $10K over asking....Here is a picture of the LR that was staged with some of the clients belongings. This LR went from College Dorm to All Grown Up. The last picture is the before picture and as you can see, there was a futon that was being used as their couch. A simple cover was purchased and the clients sectional in the FR was taken apart which gave us the "loveseat". Hey it worked.

 I love staging vacant properties because you can come up with the design plan, color scheme and then of course, you choose all the new wonderful amazing furniture. An occupied home does present some challenges but, ANY HOME, can be transformed with a few creative touches and some furniture rearrangment.

DON'T WAIT ANOTHER DAY TO HAVE YOUR HOME STAGED!! Realtors you can choose to spend your Sundays sitting at that SAME OPEN HOUSE, or you could be spending it on the beach.

ReStyled to Sell Home Staging, changing the way buyers view homes!! 

Just a few days ago I posted a blog "Realtors, Let's Talk". I was upset with some realtors as you did read simply because not only are they NOT believers in Staging but they are losing commissions, unneccesarily...If you recall the seller contacted me via AR, (thanks AR) and asked if I could stage her home. I was glad to do so, but her realtor was never returning my calls.

This listing was on the market for 6 months and the client's mom had passed away. This client did all the work herself and was really in dire straights to sell her house. She found me on AR and we emailed each other for about 2 weeks prior to meeting.   

The listing expired June 11th, a new realtor took over the listing June 12th, we staged the house on June 15th and GUESS WHAT??? YEP IT SOLD, 3 days later!! Here is the email I just received from one happy client:

Phyllis,,,, oh Phyllis,,, you are my lucky charm,,, I wanted to be the first to tell you ,,, the house is in contract. for $400,000 and if all goes right,,,will close in 30 days.  So,, as long as the appraisal goes right,, you will be getting your furniture back sooner than later.............  and if this doesn't get you more business well,   realtors down there just don't know what they are doing..  I think you made a believer out of a few just by this house alone.   One realtor according to Gina saw the house before empty and couldn't believe the difference staging made,  Gina is out of your cards already.    So, call me ,,, and again,, thank you, thank you, thank you,,, Katie,  

Now if you were that realtor who lost the listing because you did not think the property should be staged and that the house should have been reduced to $385K, what would you be thinking about now?? Hmmm, should of had it staged!!

ReStyled to Sell Home Staging....changing the way buyers view homes 

We all heard the saying that a buyer makes up their mind in 15 seconds upon entering your home. So you know that if that is true, you need to WOW the buyer the minute they step onto the property. Starting with improving the curb appeal of your home. Let the buyers be so impressed with what they see on the outside that they will be curious to see more on the inside. BUT WHEN THEY OPEN THAT FRONT DOOR, DON'T DISAPPOINT THEM!!

The first impression that a buyer may see in this entry foyer is way too much furniture and not enough space. Do you notice the french doors that are leading to the living room? Not at first, right? Did you notice the hardwood floors? Probably not because the first thing that grabbed your attention is the red rug. So what impression has this room left you with? Do you want to see more?

Here is a picture of the same entry foyer after being staged by ReStyled to Sell. Now what do you see? Do you want to see more?

Let's enter into the living room which is directly to the left. Here is what I saw when I arrived for my consultation. What do you see??

Here is the Living Room after being staged by ReStyled to Sell NJ. Which do you think will impress buyers more? Please note that my colors are a bit off. The walls and wall unit were not as YELLOW as they appear here. The sellers really had some beautiful pieces, but these were NOT being showcased along with the large rooms.

Lasting impressions are just as important as first impressions. In this house the sellers had an enclosed porch off their large kitchen. I also have a porch off my dining room and I have to admit this is my favorite spot. Well, the way this porch was being shown was definitely NOT GOING TO APPEAL to a buyer. But with a little paint, alot of decluttering and minor staging.....WOW can you picture yourself relaxing with a cup of tea??

ReStyled to Sell....changing the way buyers view homes!! Call for your consultation today @ 732-995-3425.

Everytime your home is shown is an opportunity to sell your home and every opportunity is a one time shot. Once a prospective buyer has seen your home, they have seen it! If they are not initially excited by what they see, the opportunity has passed you by. 

Thanks Carole for pointing that out to me. I made it to 100, no silly not my age, my post, my 100th post! I cannot believe that. It seems like just yesterday that I wrote my first blog.

I was new to the blogging world and not really sure at first what a blog was. Let's face it, I am kind of in the stone age. Until I started my own business I never thought it necessary to even own a computer. Don't laugh, my parents still don't own a microwave.

I thought that it was interesting, that 100 posts later, I am still asking realtors WHY DON'T YOU USE HOME STAGERS ON ALL OF YOUR LISTINGS??

In answer to many of you who responded to my 100th post regarding the issue of staging homes for sale, it seems that the SAME TOPIC keeps coming up....THE COST TO STAGE! I need to remind all of 2 things:

First, Staging is NOT AN EXPENSE, BUT AN INVESTMENT. An investment I might add that can have a HUGE RETURN for your money. When sellers initially purchased their home, did they think that putting in a new kitchen was an expense? Well sure, while the cost can be high, I am sure that all would agree that a homeowner would consider that to be "adding value" to their property should they decide to sell one day.

Second, and more importantly, is the topic of concern about the cost of staging to a seller, even in the range of $500.00 for staging, yet it was never mentioned that if a home does not sell, the first price reduction will FAR EXCEED THE $500.00 COST TO STAGE. I would ask a seller which would you rather do, pay $500.00 minimum to stage or reduce your price by $5,000.00 or much more?

This has never made sense to me. The cost to stage a home is ALWAYS less than your first price reduction!! 

STAGING PAYS....the Home Stager, the Realtor and most important...THE SELLERS 

Thanks to AR for a wonderful year of allowing us to freely express our thoughts, ideas, struggles, and passions. To new friends and many more to come looking forward to another 100 posts.  

I have seen an upsetting trend lately in this real estate market. It seems that, still, after all the education on Home Staging, after all the positive results on Home Staging and after all the HOUSES THAT SOLD ONCE STAGED, some realtors are STILL NOT USING A HOME STAGER on their listings, WHY?? 

In the past week, I have received two phone calls from the sellers themselves, inquiring about my services. Each complained about the fact that their home has been on the market for the past 9 months with no offers. Another thing each seller complained about was the fact that from the time the listing agreement was signed they asked the realtor "Should we call in a Home Stager?", Not necessary was the response.

So why now are theses sellers calling me? Simple, the listing expired, the sellers are taking positive action, and now a NEW REALTOR has gotten their listing. I just finished staging one property and will be staging the second next week. The sellers cannot believe the transformation and are so excited that this motivated them to do other repairs around the house that will surely MAKE THIS LISTING SHINE!! 

Realtors, why are you still being so resistant? Think about this...a professional Home Stager MAKES YOUR LISTING LOOK GREAT!! You sell your house quicker, your sellers are happy and YOU GET PAID instead of giving your commission to another agent. 

In my professional opinion, here is what I see happening:

1. Many realtors today are taking a Home Staging course and thinking that they can "STAGE" their own listing. My question to you is WHY? Why the heck would you want to Stage your own listing, this is hard work. When done correctly I am talking about a major investment of time and energy. Staging is NOT AN EASY WAY TO MAKE LOTS OF MONEY. Even the homeowners say on the day of staging. WOW I did not realize how much went into this..

YES, I know that some realtors have their "certification", but I have also heard that they are not making a go of it. One weekend class DOES NOT MAKE YOU A HOME STAGER...YOU ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL HOME STAGER. LET US DO THE STAGING and WE WILL LET YOU SELL THE PROPERTY. How would you feel if STAGERS started getting their real estate licenses in order to "SELL" their staged listings. I am sorry to say this but it is IMPOSSIBLE TO DO BOTH CORRECTLY!!

I had a broker tell me that he sent some girls in his office for the Staging Course because things are slow and they have to do something, but he also admitted to me that they have had very little success. He asked if I could come in and "HELP THEM". Sure I will stage it and NOW they have a better property to MARKET.

What does Kentucky Fried Chicken say "We do one thing and we do it right" WE STAGE YOUR SELL!!  

2. Many realtors are now calling Furniture Rental Companies on their own and trying to get furniture put into the property....NOT!! I just had a situation where this happened and MY REP that I deal with at the furniture rental company was called in by the realtor. Upon entering the property, she immediately told the realtor, this house needs much more than furniture. The funny thing is she recommended my company. By the time my rep emailed me what had happened, I had already gotten the job, had the furniture picked out and the clients booked the staging.

REALTORS....plopping down furniture and placing a few accessories around DOES NOT SELL A HOUSE if the walls are painted PURPLE and GREEN STRIPES. Again professional Home Stagers sit with these companies and we "DESIGN" the space accordingly. The plan involves furniture that will suit the house as well as appeal to many buyers. We then proceed to add the "bling" that makes the property shine. BLING TAKES TIME TO SHOP FOR and COSTS LOTS OF MONEY IN INVENTORY.

3. Realtors, you do not have to pay for Staging, REALLY!! This is your clients INVESTMENT!!

4. You still may not know much about the Staging process. That's okay, call us and we will do all the work from setting up the consult with your clients to completing the staging of YOUR LISTING just in time for your Open House.

Let us be the "bad guys".  A professional Home Stager can evaluate your client's property and give them an honest, caring overview of what work needs to be addressed in order to sell this house. THEY LISTEN TO US FOR SOME REASON MORE THAN THEY DO YOU. I have heard this time and time again. The realtors I work with cannot believe it when I tell them the client has agreed to do this or that...but they do. 

I just picked up my furniture and accessories from a home I staged a month ago. This property was on the market for (1) year with no offers. The seller got upset and went with a new realtor. This new realtor called me (I blogged about this house), we staged the house and it SOLD at the FIRST OPEN HOUSE. Hmmmm, wonder what the other realtor is thinking?? MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE CALLED A HOME STAGER!!

Don't let that happen to you. Call ReStyled to Sell Home Staging NJ @ 732-995-3425 and SELL YOUR LISTINGS 

When I first started my business, my son Ron, whom I adore, sat up until 3 one morning designing a brochure that would appeal to sellers. I absolutely loved it used it ALL THE TIME, until...

I started looking at other flyers and decided mine needed to be a bit fancier. Well, while I did design a more "professional" flyer that everyone compliments me on, I have to admit, that when I look at that first flyer my son made, it is GREAT!!

Simple, colorful and it really speaks to the sellers about some basic things. The front of the flyer says:

WOW! Is that what potential buyers say when they see your home for the first time?? FREE TIPS INSIDE FOR SELLERS COMPLIMENTS OF RESTYLED TO SELL. He outlined some words in RED and has a really great font as well. 

He has some pretty neat graphics on the inside, but he continues with the WOW by stating:

W...Welcome People In (he proceeded to explain curb appeal)

O...Open up Floor Plan (Talks of furniture arrangement, decluttering and such

W..Windows (Talks of cleaning and letting in light, making sure they are operational)

He repeated the WOW 3x throughout the brochure...

W..Wallpaper - When buyers see wallpaper, they think of the work involved iwth taking it down. A fresh coat of paint goes a long way

O...Overcrowding - Minimize Accessories

W...Window coverings - Remove heavy draperies, let in light

Then ended with Watch Odors, Omit Clutter, Win Them Over..Neat how he ended with WIN THEM OVER, right?

Hey after revisiting these brochures, I have been won over. It's back to basics for me. Remember, as in Staging, Less is more.

Revisit some of your first marketing materials, I am sure you will find some jewels. Thanks Ron, you're the best!!

These are just some basic tips that apply to every home. For services and pricing specific to your home, contact a Home Staging Professional @ ReStyled to Sell 732-995-3425

Happy Staging.

I want to give a SHOUT OUT to Active Rain. I am so thankful for this site and I wonder if you really realize how this is helping our business to move forward.

Today, alone I got 2 consultations scheduled from clients who found me on AR. I have been an active member of AR for about one year now. I was originally invited by Sherri Bauer, a realtor that I spoke with a few times.

When I joined, I really never imagined how helpful this site would be for my business. I believe when I joined we had less than 100 stagers, now we have close to 900. I remember Marci's welcome or was it Val's, for the 200th stager. That seemed like a milestone back then.

It is exciting to see how this site is growing and I want to say thanks to all my fellow stagers for helping with creative ideas, marketing materials, shoulders to cry on, jokes to laugh at and let's not forget pictures to ooo and ahhh over.

Think back, who invited you to AR and aren't you glad you joined?

Happy Staging

Phyllis pafumi

Okay this may not be the kind of blog that we are used to tuning into, but I got to thinking yesterday. What do realtors and sellers smell when they are in your presence? DO THEY SMELL FEAR OR CONFIDENCE AND KNOWLEDGE?

In today's competitive real estate market, where lately, there seems to be just as many Home Stagers as there are houses on the market, what do clients sense when they meet you? Are you truly an expert in your field?

I have written many blogs about being prepared before you meet with a client. Get a feel for the scope of work that will be needed in order to make this listing shine. Do you have your referral sources in order? The other evening I was speaking with a fellow stager and she mentioned that eventhough the builder interviewed two other stagers and their bids WERE LOWER, she got the job because she seemed more qualified. HMMM, more qualifed, stand out from the competition, higher price, better quality...sounds familiar??

Isn't that exactly how we have been trained to Stage our Houses? What sets YOU APART FROM THE COMPETITION?  BE PREPARED to anwer a lot of questions. Homeowners today are already losing money and before they "INVEST" in home staging they have to BELIEVE in your product.

Be sensitive to their needs, be honest with them. I had a house I looked at the other day and honestly, from what I could see....the only reason this house was not selling was because it was SO SMALL...After a complete walk through I sat with the sellers and told them that. Now I cannot knock down walls or put on an addition, so with that being said...here is what we need to concentrate on.

It was their backyard and property. The owner was a landscaper and the property was phenomenal, large corner lot, every odd flower, bush, rock was in place. There was a firepit on the deck that just welcomed you to sit back, relax and enjoy. Heck I wanted to hang out.

WELL NOT REALLY!!..there were about 10 garbage pails piled along the bushes, the chairs were all overturned and mismatched, there was debris everywhere, the firepit was sitting in the middle of the deck with no nice seating group around it..DO YOU GET THE PICTURE?

We need to recognize the problems that houses encounter. If this backyard is played UP TO THE HILT, believe me this will SELL THIS HOUSE! My recommendations to them was obviously remove as much furniture as possible to make rooms appear larger, there really wasn't much left inside anyway and not only make that yard SHINE but because this home had no DR, I also suggested that they show this space outdoors for entertaining large crowds. This was simple enough for them to do since they owned a landscaping business.

So what email did I receive that evening from the realtor....thanks Phyllis you are excellent at what you do! I did not move one piece of furniture, this house really did not warrant it. What did they smell.....FEAR OR CONFIDENCE?

As always BE PREPARED. I also spoke with another fellow stager on AR and she called me and said she looked at a house the other evening that needed so much work she could not begin to STAGE it. What should she have done? Do you have a list of painters, contractors, cleaning companies, etc. that you could recommend? This is what will set you apart from the competition. Develop a team you can trust. My clients are always asking me do you have a floor guy, tile guy, appliance store, etc.   YES I DO is always my response and the phone numbers are given to them at the time of the consult report.

People will be looking at you as THE EXPERT...prove to them that you are!

Happy Staging