| | | September 2008 | Vol 3, Issue 9 | | | | Staging Works!
for lowcountry agents | | | | | | Greetings! | | Well summer is over and school is back in session. This month we are focusing on the positive, while elimating the negative. With the traditionally slower real estate season approaching, home sellers need every advantage they can get in selling their home. To learn about our services, be sure to visit our booth at the SC Realtor Trade Show the 23-24 at the Gallaird! | | What Agents Are Saying About Us... |  "When my sellers take your advice, we get great results! My most recent success was a sale that occurred after being on the market for only 30 days. First Impressions did a consult and we made some small changes that made a difference. They were on the market previously with another agent for 3 months with no results. Before the listing was over, they referred one of their friends in the same boat."
Michele Reneau, Carolina One Real Estate | |  | | Our Team | | 843.822.2622 843.425.0138 843.609.7000 843.628.8062 843.367.7653
| | | | | Accentuating the positive - Eliminating the negative |  When preparing a home for sale, it is important to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative as much as is possible. It is a careful strategy used to help control the buyers eye and strengthen their connection to the home when they leave for the next showing. This is done by first fixing any problems the home may have, either cosmetic or actual repair work needed. Holes in the wall are patched, leaky faucets fixed, tubs recaulked, etc. Minor repairs left undone can leave buyers thinking that bigger issues may be faced if they buy this home. Getting everything in working order and looking great will go a long way to having the home 'show ready'. Accentuating the positive attributes of a home is a little bit more of an art form. We are able to do this by first asking the questions, 'what's great about this home/floorplan, etc' and 'who will be buying this home'? Knowing the answers to these questions lets us consider what we need to play up. If the buyer is a young family then family space (living room, eat-in kitchen, etc) will be important spaces. If the buyer is going to be a young professional, then we know we will need an office, entertaining space, etc. This means that turning a bedroom into an office in the family centered neighborhood may be a bad idea, whereas in the professionals home it would show them what they need to see. We also are able to accentuate the homes best features by hanging curtains up high to show off tall ceilings, adding furniture to a landing that may otherwise feel like wasted space or using rugs to define spaces in an open floorplan or call attention to beautiful floors. The 'bag of tricks' can be pretty extensive as we work to sell a home, focusing on what the buyer really wants in this home and what it has to offer. With all of this said, it is also important to note that minimizing the negative NEVER means hiding problems. Rugs should not be put over stains, towels should not be placed over broken tiles, etc. We aren't there to hide anything. Changes in the well staged property should always show buyers what they want to see - lifestyle, size and scale of the home. It should help them connect to the life they want to have so they will make an offer. | | Technology you should use! | | Active Rain now brings us Localism! www.ActiveRain.com has been fabulous for being able to bring real estate communities together, but more importantly it has been phenomenal for helping Google rankings for bloggers. Recently, they have launched and refined their website, www.localism.com. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should! What's so special about localism? The great thing is that localism allows you to become the expert on your community - not necessarily just your profession. This website, unlike Active Rain wants information that is actually about your state, community or neighborhood. You can blog about current events, tourist info, or actual neighborhoods. This is great because buyers & sellers will know that you know the demographics and highlights of these communities. This is very helpful when trying farm a specific neighborhood. Being 'the expert' is vital to your business. The best thing about this new site is, just like www.activerain.com, the site pulls amazing stats for Google searches. The 'google spiders' simply like this system. If you aren't utilizing it, then simply put, you are missing out on the cheapest form of internet advertising you have! | | SC Annual Conference |  Come see our booth at the SC Realtors 2008 Annual Conference! Make sure you don't miss the Trimming the Tree educational session presented by Amy Cherew. Learn more about home staging from a marketing expert's perspective! Wed, 9/24: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Education Sesssion Amy Chorew: Trimming the Tree: Home Staging Education Session | | | | | As always, we at First Impressions thank you, our customers, for the continued support and the steady stream of referrals you have provided us. We value our partnership in helping to grow your business and create a new level of service in the Charleston Market! Sincerely, | | Bevin Googer, Melissa Marro & The entire First Impressions Team
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