Last month I had the pleasure of speaking with Tim O’Keefe of Houseblogger.com, and our interview was taped on
podcast. During our half-hour conversation we discussed the importance of Home Staging for Realtors®, the ASP® business model, and the available education programs and designations provided by Stagedhomes.com. We further spoke about how Realtors® benefit from adding Home Staging to the services they provide sellers.
As if he were a seller, Tim asked: “why should I Stage® my house?” I shared my mantra of “Less is more,” walking through a typical conversation I would have with a seller to convey how important it is to prepare their home for a sale.
We further spoke about the differences and similarities between traditional and distressed sales. I shared with Tim how banks previously had been slow to realize the benefits of Staging but how we over time have seen them recognize how crucial it is to Stage given the new market realities. We talked about my recent book
Staging To Sell: The Secret To Selling Homes In A Down Market, and discussed how Home Staging can help Realtors® get listings and sell more homes for top dollar.
We spoke about the roles and different responsibilities of the Home Stager and Realtor®, and that Home Staging truly is teamwork where the Realtor® is the director and the ASP® the set director. I also shared the seven steps of Home Staging.
- Stand in the doorway of each room, and even outside the home, as if you were a home buyer and assess whether every area of the home best conveys what it would be like to live in the home for visitors to an open house.
- Make a plan, and be open to change. We look at what the purpose of each room is, and what scene we need to set.
- De-accessorize. Decide on what to pack and what to keep in each room and select which accessories you may use in different rooms.
- Remove unnecessary furniture. Again, less is more as I also share.
- Arrange the remaining furniture in the best way and re-distribute those you may be able to use in other rooms.
- Re-accessorize each room.
- Fine-tune each area of the home.
Tim asked about the designations offered by Stagedhomes.com and I gave an outline of our
ASP® Real Estate Agent designation, a 2-day course that prepares agents to best communicate Home Staging with sellers, and the
ASP® Stager 3-day course where students not only become Accredited Staging Professionals®, but also how to run their own Home Staging businesses. We also spoke about how
International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) is THE Staging Association of and for the Home Staging Industry.
Please
click here for a brief introduction of the interview at Houseblogger.com You can either listen live, or download the interview to your computer or iPOD.
Live in Joy, ASP® Stage® with Joy and Enjoy the Wonder and Magic of it all!
Barb
Barb Schwarz, ASP®, ASPM®, AB, IAHSP®
The Creator of Home Staging®
President & Founder, StagedHomes.com
President & Founder, IAHSP and the IAHSP Foundation®, IAHSP.com
