MRoseSellsNJHomes

Dear Mr. Seller,

You contacted my company 3 months ago and requested a staging proposal for your home.  It's in a premier Portland neighborhood but you said you knew it needed some help before listing. You'd already bought another home and were packing up your things to move out in a few days.

When I arrived to view your home, it was surprising to see a huge pool table in your dining room!  We laughed together about that and  the long heavy dark velvet drapes!  Your home needed major cleaning and packing up of many small items.  I knew we could help you!

We'd be able to work with most of your furniture and would provide the necessary missing pieces as well as accessories, art, trees & plants, etc. as needed.  We discussed that if we were going to work together, I'd give you a detailed list that would include which furniture pieces to leave behind as well as some easy cosmetic improvements that you could do yourself. 

You told me that your listing agent did not believe in home staging.  I was surprised to hear this, because I thought that your home was one of the better candidates I've seen this year, but I kept my opinion to myself.  I told you that our company keeps track of our staging statistics, and we're proud of them.  I knew we could help you!

Later that day I emailed you a cost-effective proposal that included staging your home using your items and providing quality furniture & accessories from our inventory.  We would stage your entire home to make it appealing to your target buyer.  Our proposal also included quality digital photos for the online listing ... critical in today's challenging market.  I knew we could help you!

Later, I was disappointed that you decided not to stage your home.  Looking at the online listing, it was a shock to see the photos of your home!  They are dark, out of focus, crooked, and don't show the best features of your home.  I won't show them here because that would not be discreet, but I noticed the heavy velvet drapes are still there, and your furniture is not in the right position to showcase the space.   I knew we could have helped you!

After 6 weeks on the market I noticed that you took a $30,000 price reduction!  After another 6 weeks, I saw that your price had now dropped $50,000!   Hmmm ... your agent discouraged you from staging (even though you would have paid for it) but has no problem recommending that you drop your price by $50K?

Wow! Staging your home with a professional staging company would have cost a tiny fraction of your first price reduction -- but you decided to drop your price by $50,000 instead.   How does that make sense from a financial viewpoint?

The sad thing is, today I drove by your home again on my way to staging one of your neighbor's homes, and saw the new addition now hanging from your For Sale Sign ... 

We really did try to help you!

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For help making sure your home shines for potential buyers, contact Room Solutions Staging in Portland OR to learn more about our home staging services.  We work with Homeowners, Banks, Realtors, and Investors to prepare homes to SELL.  Give us a call at 503-246-1800 for more information.  Room Solutions ~ Staging that Sells Portland Homes.

       Staging that sells Portland homes!

Kathy Alexander, a local staging colleague and A/R member, invited me to a Grand Finale party hosted by Dan Vickery, HGTV's Season 4 Design Star finalist.  The big bash was held at Kell's Irish Pub in downtown Portland this evening, where they had large screens set up to play the actual HGTV Season 4 Finale show.

We arrived early to get a good table (and had a cocktail before ordering a delicious Irish dinner) and soon a big white limo pulled up outside and out popped Dan Vickery with some of his family & friends ... when Dan walked into the pub, everyone cheered and he happily posed for photos with his "fans" and even signed autographs.  Dan was accompanied by a gorgeous, tall brunette who he later introduced as his girlfriend, Rose.  Dan is extremely gracious and about the nicest, most humble person you could meet.  Not to mention what a talented designer he is!

There were multiple huge screens set up in the pub, and once the actual HGTV Season 4 finale started, during the intermissions Dan stood at the mic and took questions from the audience.  We learned some interesting things about the show, some of which may surprise you:

• The "Elimination Rounds" actually take 10 to 12 hours!  There is a lot of editing done to whittle them down to just a few minutes on each weekly episode.  Dan said the atmosphere during these rounds is quite tense.

• None of the Design Star contestants are paid for their time on the show.  Their accommodation and meals are provided, but nothing more.  They work an average of 14-16 hours each day for 6 weeks and exist on about 6 hours of sleep each night.  Dan said his Oregon family was hugely supportive of his entering the competition and that he couldn't have done it without their help.
  

• There is no interaction between the contestants and the judges (Vern Yip, Candice Olson, and Genevieve Gorder) during the filming of the show -- only at the Elimination Rounds.   
  

• Where do the "Helper carpenters" come from for the Grand Finale?  The producers run an ad on Craigslist!

• How do the families and their homes get on the show?  The producers figure out which neighborhoods are relatively easy to get permits in, and go knocking on doors.  Anyone who participates gets all the work done for free.  After the designers do their work, a professional construction crew follows up to correct any deficiencies and to make sure everything is done according to local code.

Kathy & I put this sign on our table so there was no doubt who we thought the winner was!

Although Dan was the Runner-Up we think he did a fantastic job ... and we hope he'll win the "on line show" on HGTV.  There's still time to go to their website and vote for him!  That competition ends on Tuesday Sept. 15th @ 5pm EST.

Here's a few photos of Dan tonight during the Grand Finale Party held in his honor ... he was a superb host!

Did you see the show?  Did you agree with the judges' outcome? Looking forward to hearing what others thought of it.

       Staging that sells Portland homes!