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February 2008 Newsletter
February 2008 - Issue 17 < >
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Greetings!

2008 CandlesThank God for this extra day in February to allow us to send out February newsletter in February. We have started off 2008 with a bang - actually an explosion of home sales! Eight of the houses we had staged before the first of the year were sold in the first 45 days of the New Year. It was exciting for us as well as the sellers and Realtors involved. That says to me and I hope to you that when a house is priced right and is staged, it will sell! In getting sellers and their Realtors ready for the spring market, we have been very productive and we're seeing a surge of inquiries and interest. We at Staged Interior are ready with the teams needed to help you prepare and stage homes to really stand out from the others on the market.

Please call us now to prepare your house for sale for the spring market. Friends don't let friends sell the house without staging.

Trish

Staged Living Room
One of the 8 staged homes that went under contract since the beginning of the year is this beautiful home in Leesburg. Sitting on almost an acre and backing to acres and acres of open land, this home had all the luxury appointments most of buyers wish for such as granite counter tops. Even with all these features, the sellers knew that putting the house on the market in the winter will be a challenging task. Well, Rob and Melanie called us, we came, they painted some rooms to Trish's color specs, we staged, and their house went under contract in a little over 2 months. Melanie already had a great knack for staging and working with her beautiful accessories was fun and it also reduced their accessory rental investment. Rob and Melanie say:
"Just a quick note to let you know that we received a contract on our property last weekend. So, a little more than 2 months and we are on our way. Thank you so much again for all your efforts in making our house stand out from the crowd. In this market, I don't think we would have stood a chance of selling without all the attention to detail that you and your team put into making our house feel warm and inviting. The staging experience was wonderful and we will do it again on our next house."
Trish giving presentation at Drees
With the downturn in real estate market you hear stories about buyers of new construction homes walking away from the contract and forfeiting tens of thousands of dollars in earnest money deposits because they cannot sell their houses. This certainly is a lose-lose-lose deal for all who are involved - the new home builders, buyers and agents who listed the buyers' house.

To mitigate this problem, some builders are paying for professional stagers like us to stage their buyers' houses that are listed for sale. Builders do not sell vacant homes, but decorated model homes - so they value professional staging. One of these builders is Drees, and Trish and our team member Deb Harshman gave a presentation to Drees buyers on the benefits of home staging and Drees' program. If you are a new home buyer or you have a new home buyer client who has a house to sell, check with the builder and ask if they provide such a program. Something tells us this may be part of the standard package from new home builders in the very near future.

Before Picture of Exterior After Picture of Exterior
(This house was staged by Trish's team and sold)

Try looking at your house "THROUGH THE BUYER'S EYES" as though you've never seen it or been there before. Any time or money invested on the following will bring back more money in return, and hopefully a faster sale.
  1. Go around the perimeter of the house and move all garbage cans, discarded wood scraps, extra building materials, etc., into the garage.
  2. Check gutters and roof moss and dry rot. Make sure they are swept and cleaned.
  3. Look at all plants... prune bushes and trees. Keep plants from blocking windows. "YOU CAN'T SELL A HOUSE IF YOU CAN'T SEE IT." Plants are like children - they grow so fast!!
  4. Weed and then mulch all planting areas. Keep lawn freshly cut and fertilized. Remove and dead plants or shrubs.
  5. Clear patios or decks of all small items. such as small planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues, toys. etc.. (Put them in the garage or a storage unit.)
  6. Check paint condition of the house - especially the front door and trim. "CURB APPEAL REALLY WORKS!"

* This article was printed from StagedHomes.com with permission

Trish KimAbout Trish Kim

Accredited Staging Professional Master
2007 Barb Schwarz Staging Excellence Award Nominee
President, DC Chapter of
     International Association of Home Staging Professionals

Trish Kim has been bringing her clients unique interior design experiences in Washington DC Metropolitan area since 1988. She is the owner and design consultant of Pendleton & Young, Inc., doing business as StagedInterior.com, and is an Accredited Staging Professional Master - ASPM, the only staging professional with a Master designation in Northern Virginia as accredited by StagedHomes. StagedHomes is recognized as the leading international training organization, teaching staging professionals the skills to effectively stage homes for their clients and give them the Staged Home advantage. Trish was personally trained and mentored by Barb Schwarz, the creator of the staging home concept, and is a member of International Association of Home Staging Professionals, IASHP. Trish's strengths are in creative spatial arrangement, color coordination and composition, which create the "WOW!" factor so essential in giving sellers the needed edge in this market. Her talents are evidenced by the Before and After presentations. Trish is married to her husband Young Kim, an ASP and the business manager for Staged Interior, and has two grown children and a daughter-in-law in Fairfax. She also has mastered the art of spoiling two precious grandchildren, Jake and Tasha.

Staged Interior TeamStaged Interior Staging Team

All of the successful staging projects are not accomplished by one person but by many. With Trish's leadership and creativity, we work with a team of Accredited Staging Professionals (ASP's) and ASP's only. With ASP's Code of Ethics and Standards as the foundation, each member brings her experience, talent, creativity and, yes, muscle power to the team. The joy of successful staging and the quick sale thereof is shared by all team members.

We are looking forward to working with you so that your miracle stories can be featured in our next newsletters. Until next time have a great holiday season!

Member of:

  • Northern Virginia Association of Realtors
  • Dulles Area Association of Realtors
  • International Association of Home Staging professionals
  • Staged Homes

Sincerely,

 Trish Kim
Accredited Staging Professional (ASP™) Master

phone: 703-261-7026

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Staged Interior | Pendleton & Young, Inc. | Centreville | VA | 20121