Sheron Cardin's Input...: December 2006

As I am cruising around AR this morning before my house guests wake up, I stumble upon a group with a post about my mentor, Mark Victor Hansen, (co-author of all the Chicken Soup for the Soul books) and Blanca brought up a key point MVH makes in his teaching...ask, ask, ask, and ask, and my life passes in front of me, all the good stuff that has happened to me because of his teachings.

I met Mark Victor Hansen 22 years ago when he had only traveled 5 years on his current path. His claim to fame then was his involvement on the board of UPS and his motivational seminars. He was younger and had some hair then (I wonder if he Google Alerts his own name?) and spent a week at my church helping us celebrate our 25th anniversary. He put on a 3 day seminar that just blew us all away.

1. Ask, ask, ask, and ask! He told the story of his home in Newport Beach CA and it went something like this...actually, it went exactly like this: There was this house in Newport Beach that he wanted to buy but it wasn't for sale. He would pull up to that house every day and CLAIM IT. He would knock on the door and ask the owners if he could buy their house and they would say "No, it is not for sale". He did this repeatedly until they sold him their house. He was living in it at the time I had met him. This one story changed my life. One year later I wandered into a beautiful little beach town called Dana Point in southern CA and claimed it that day even though I could no way afford to live there. Within 6 weeks, I had found a beautiful condo with 180 degree views of the ocean and the work to support it. I lived there for 5 years and felt honored to do so.
   
2. Years had passed and in my junk email is see this...'Mark Victor Hansen has a message for you!' I thought to myself that he had found me and wanted to tell me something. Through mass email marketing he reached out to me again, not directly, but the message was that he was backing this marketing guru named Robert Allen and I should check it out. Well I did and that was the beginning of my new ecommerce business how2homestage.com. I began a whole new direction in my career via the Internet because of the high esteem and value I have for him.
3. "Super size everything you do in your life" MVH says every week with his inspirational newsletters. The 3rd greatest thing MVH has done for me was to show me how to approach a New Year. He says look back and not forward! Uhuh, that is right...look back at all the great things you accomplished in the past year and write those things down and this act will be the boost into the new year that will do more for you than any resolution. Resolutions come from beating yourself up for things that you haven't accomplished and that is why they fail...they make you feel bad in the get go.

Now here I am, reading a post from an associate in AR and it all comes back to me...thank you Blanca!

Thank you Mark Victor Hansen and thank you AR! 

Happy New Year, New Day, New Hour, New Minute, New Second, New Split Second!

Home Staging can often times be the ENEMY to children. They think that we want to throw away all their stuff.

One way to get them involved in the process and ease their tension is give them some special baskets of their own. This way, children can sort through their own stuff and create their own gift basket for children that don't have as many toys. This also teaches them early on how to declutter and the value in decluttering. If a child can understand that their unwanted toys will bring the joy they once had to a child who has never had that toy, they will be able to sort through their toys with nice warm fuzzy feelings instead of the dreaded "Fear of loss!" sssociated with it.

Each child should have 3 baskets;

1. For their 'must keep with me at all times' basket,
   
2. A basket for 'okay, we can pack this one up but I still want everything in there basket
   
3. The special basket you give them to pass on those good feelings to other children.

Then let the children take the basket to your local charity of choice and watch their faces light up. Then let them have that special basket as a reminder to pass it on all year long. Priceless!

Stage It Forward! 

After years of decorating and home staging for other people, I have picked up some really great habits like decluttering. I de-clutter all year long in little bits but the week between Christmas and New Years is the best time of year to address the areas that cause me stress. Either the towels in the linen closet have to be shoved in to fit, or I trip on a pair of shoes because they are rolling off each other in their stacks, or I pass by a stack of magazines that I have collected and have become a table accessory instead of a stack of interesting reads. 

I too gather a few layers of stuff throughout the year that need addressing! One of the major solutions to resolve clutter is having a place for everything and I have a place for everything. But what happens throughout the year is they fill up and begin to overflow like...

SHOES, COFFEE CUPS, TOWELS, MEDICINE BOTTLES, PLASTIC STORAGE CONTAINERS, BOOKS AND MAGAZINES, PHOTOS, ELECTRONICS, MOVIES, MUSIC CD'S, CLOTHES THAT DIDN'T FIT RIGHT, GIFT BAGS, FOOD AND SPICES THAT I THOUGHT I WOULD USE IN A NEW RECIPE BUT NEVER GOT THERE, HAND LOTIONS AND GROOMING PRODUCTS, CLEANING PRODUCTS, "NEED TO REPAIR" CATEGORIES LAID IN SHOE BOXES AND DRAWERS, HATS I WILL NEVER WEAR AGAIN, PHONE NUMBERS LYING AROUND ON BITS OF PAPER, TOOL BOXES AND SHELVES THAT GOT PUT BACK IN A HURRY, GARDEN SEEDS THAT DIDN'T GET PLANTED, CORK BOARDS FULL OF TO-DO NOTES THAT ARE COMPLETED. SNARLED JEWELRY, BEDDING THAT I DIDN'T USE DURING THE YEAR, COATS THAT DIDN'T GET WORN, AND THAT BAG OF IRONING I NEVER GET TOO (WHAT'S IN THERE ANYWAY?).

Well, this is my to-do list that I will be working on all this week. What is yours? There are plenty of charities and organizations that will find a use for everything that I am not using, (except the medicine bottles of course) and I will be creating a vacuum for the new while helping others along the way. Decluttering is a good thing. Pass it forward!

Have a great New Year!

Stage It Forward! 

I have been asked this question a lot lately so I thought I would shed some light on the subject - briefly of course.

An interior designer is anyone who has a degree in interior design or has a minimum of 11 years in the field as an interior decorator. They are qualified to work with architects and contractors in manipulating blue prints, floor plans, electrical, plumbing, etc.

An interior decorator is anyone who decorates interiors. They are qualified to design and execute window coverings, furnishings, wall treatments, and all surfaces. They usually purchase wholesale and sell at retail or work in departments stores or for design firms.

A home stager is anyone who arranges or rearranges the interior/exterior of a residential property to present that property as a marketable product.

What did you dream about when you were a child...was it a dream home with a white picket fence?

What did you want as a teenager as soon as you could afford it...your own place with room to entertain all your friends?

What is the first thing that you think about if you won the lottery...buy that big house that you've been driving by for years with the pool and spa or the 500 acre ranch or the beach house?

What do newlyweds want for themselves...a big backyard for the children to play in?

2007 shows signs of Hope in the residential real estate resale market, and hope conjures up images of one's dreams and dreams filled with hope is, I believe, what will be motivating the home buyers and sellers of 2007.

If the house that you are selling is not pulling at the heart strings of potential buyers, then you need to stage it.

Stage It Forward! 

One of my all time favorite shows was Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach. I even have all the cookbooks and many of the shows on VHS and even started a spa pillow business based on what he said in a hot tub once.

Now...there is a new show I tivo on VH1 called Really Rich Real Estate and I love it. It is about high end real estate in Los Angeles with high end real estate agents and the rich and famous and making the deal. I like to keep up with the buzz words for home staging purposes and this show lets me know what is important to high end buyers. What is fun is the Realtors. It is worth the half hour a week to sit and watch all that goes on with the movie stars too.  It plays many times throughout the week so try to catch it. It is mesmerizing!

Stage It Forward! 

I have been working very hard the last couple of years promoting the Benefits of Home Staging to real estate agents, for sale by owners, and homeowners in general via the Internet.

Thanks to television the world of redesign, updating, and makeovers for the do-it-yourselfers is big. But home staging is developing a stigma that I am becoming concerned about. Since I have joined Active Rain and am reading gazoodles of posts from every arena, I am starting to see a pattern.

There are still areas of the country where Home Staging is barely a whisper, and where it is a whisper, a little back draft follows with "Ooh, watch out, they are going to take over and stage it their way!", or "I have been selling houses for years and I have done just fine without them!", or "Maybe I can use them occasionally if a new listing is really bad!", and so on. Maybe real estate agents and home sellers don't know what our intent is?

It is not uncommon for people to be a little afraid of an interior designer/decorator. They sometimes fear that the interior designer/decorator will come in and take over. They are afraid that the designer is going to fill their house with furnishings not to their liking and spend way too much money. A few bad apples had spoiled the barrel I admit. Maybe that is what is happening to the  "Home Stager"?

Has the Home Stager taken on a similar stigma as the designer/decorator in their minds? I think this could be what is happening.

From my own experience, once an individual has used an interior designer/decorator, they swear by them and don't know how they ever lived without them. They also learn that they save money, time, and many regrets. The same thing will happen when you stage your listings. You will never sell another house without it being staged.

A HOME STAGER IS A POINT-OF-SALE DECORATOR. You can compare a home stager to a Macy's window dresser; they do not own the store, they do not make the clothing, they do not price the clothing. They put the clothing that is for sale on the mannequin in the window in such a way that it sells the clothing.

Selling a house without staging it, even if it has been professionally decorated, is like tacking up a beautiful Jones New York Suit in the window of a store with push-pins and tape. Yes, it is a beautiful suit made of fine wool but it is not going to sell very well because it doesn't show very well!

I hope I have a least clarified the intent and purpose of a home stager and put some myths to rest.

Please visit how2homestage.com to learn more.

Where else can you get in your car and in 2 hours in any direction find

• the ocean lapping at your feet next to Doris Day or Clint Eastwood
• jogging under the Golden Gate Bridge right behind Robin Williams
• or ski down a hill in a destination ski resort or
  
• rafting down a river or
  
• go to a world class movie premier or
  
• gawk at a famous movie star sitting next to you at Spago or
  
• have your air conditioner on in the car in the middle of December or
  
• see vast wind farms with thousands of propellers moving simultainously with heds of cows below or
• sit in a Rolling Stones concert with a glass of fine wine and
  
• eat fresh oysters from a fisherman hand?
  
• sit on a bench while watching surfers in the same scene as high tea and emeralds?
• beautiful rolling hills as far as you can see
• mountains that have snow on them in the summer
  

What is the Point of Sale in any situation?

It is the place where the sale is made.

For a house that is for sale it is first and foremost the star and all that went into the moment of viewing takes a back seat to the emotions that are felt at that moment.

What has gone into it?

• The lives of the home sellers and what has led to the decision to sell
• The real estate agents education, knowledge, and experience
• The condition and marketability of the home
• The person or family that is looking for a that home
• The point of sale presentation for the transaction (transferrence of emotions) to occur

Each element is essential. So why is home staging an option? IT'S NOT!

Stage It Forward!

I have been a member with Active Rain now for 7 days and am into it like a box (big box) of chocolate raisins. To my surprise, I am witnessing an overwhelming amount real estate agents saying "Oh yeah, I've heard something about that". It just takes me back a little bit. I just thought that all real estate agents knew about home staging and was either a stager themselves, had an agent/stager in the office, or hired a stager or decorator when needed. 

Would you mind helping me understand how widespread home staging is right now? I am in the business of teaching the art of home staging to individuals via the Internet so I am not looking for a staging job...I am just so curious!

So may I ask you about your thoughts on home staging...some questions Iare:

• How you heard about home staging or still don't really know that much about it?
• Do you use home stagers for your listings?
• If not...are you thinking about the benefits of home staging?
  
• Have you staged your listings yourself or at least pitched in and helped declutter and spruce up?
  
• Does the name home staging have a stigma or negative connotation to it?
• Do you think you just don't need it?
• Are you interested in knowing more about it before you seek out a home stager?
• Are you interested in becoming and agent/stager?

I appreciated any feedback you are willing to offer and I think other home stagers would find your input very useful too. In California, home staging is a marketing tool and part of the expense of market a home as much as running an ad or taking a marketing class, so I am so curious how far spread the news of residential resale staging has reached.

Thank you in advance!

Sheron Cardin