THREE REASONS TO SELL YOUR HOUSE NOW IN ABILENE, TX! #1.  Real Estate Sales follow a predictable sales cycle each year in that the number of sales peak in the summer months, usually either June or July.  The reasons sales peak are because of job transfers and school schedules.        #2.  Interest Rates are still at historically low rates.  It is is one of those crystal ball muses as to when the interest rates will no longer be this low, but what are you waiting for, the rates to rise???  Low interest rates benefit sellers and buyers!  Buyers can buy more house and sellers have an easier sale.      3.  Your home always looks better in the SPRING with green grass and blooming plants.  In any market, the house that shows the best gets more showings, more offers, and more money.    These... 03/21/2013

Happy Spring!   My rose bush in front of the house as if on cue has a bloom this morning!   The sky is blue.  The sun is shining.  The morning is warm.  Okay, it is still a little windy, but it wouldn't be west Texas without some wind. Interest rates are still low.  Nothing better to get you in the mood for spring is to start thinking of putting your house on the market before the mad rush to get on     the market for               May and June for summer moving. Whether selling or buying in Abilene,  I can help you with staging to sell or staging to stay.       Hope to hear from you soon!     Beverly 03/21/2013

When your home is on the market, the photos need to showcase your home at it's best.  Prospective buyers are zipping through your online photos as if a mean dog is chasing them. Dark and dreary photos are not going to stop the buyer.  Fuzzy photos don't stop them either.  Sideways photos don't either.  I just saw some sideways photos on a FSBO site.  Now, I'm sure it may have been a computer glitch and I'm all for blaming the computer but regardless, bad photos are unforgiving with prospective buyers.   poor photo #1  Empty rooms are very boring and don't give the buyer any information other than paint color.  And puhlease, no more alleging that your every room a different color are decorator colors.  If you do, I don't want to know who your decorator is!      poor Photo #2         What... 03/20/2013

1.  Prepare your home for sale completely prior to placing a "FOR SALE" sign in the yard.  Prepare your home as if the most important person you know is going to view your home.  Your first showing is going to be to that MOST important person!  2.  Take the very best photos possible of your home for online viewing.  This is so important because virtually everybody is going online and routinely making decisions on what house to look at based on a photo.  Absolutely, do not allow dark photos, fuzzy photos, or messy photos to go online. 3.  Price your home on day one at the price you will take.  Testing the market at a higher price is a no win strategy.  If a house is overpriced, buyers will look at houses that they think are not overpriced.  Allowing wiggle room for negotiation is anothe... 03/19/2013

What can a $150 staging consultation do for me?         Think of your  staging consultation as a recipe for a sale.  When I decide to bake chocolate chip cookies, I still check the recipe on the back of the chocolate chips package to get the ingredients and the right amount of ingredients to put in the mixing bowl. A staging consultation is like a recipe.  It will give you the ingredients, such as furniture pieces and decor items to use with specific recommendations for the furniture arrangement, art and decor placement and color selection.   The goal of a professional staging consultation is to result in a sale, just like the recipe for chocolate chip cookies is developed to result in delicious cookies.    A staging consultation will give you recommendations that will enhance buyer app... 03/18/2013

SHOULD I STAGE MY HOME FOR SALE IN ABILENE, TEXAS?   Another way to ask this question is should I market my home for sale in Abilene, Texas?  Asked that way, it might seem a little silly.  Who is going to say no, I don't need to market my home in order to sell it.  To be clear, home staging is a marketing strategy that does work.    Home staging statistics provided by www.stagedhomes.com state that 95 percent of staged homes on average sell in about a month compared to over 130 days for unstaged homes.     Home staging when well done helps to show off a house at its best.  The house that shows the best wins.  The house that shows the best  out shines the competition. The house that shows the best wins the beauty pageant.   No matter what the statistics say about the value of showcasing ... 03/17/2013

Have you ever went to check out an address and as you approach the block, you get that sinking feeling as the neighborhood gets  rougher and tougher with taller grass and torn screens and another beatup junk  car parked in the drive?  Every city has these neighborhoods and some nice people may actually live there, but you simply aren't going to sell  a house in these areas very fast. The first step if you find yourself in this situation is to make sure that your home is not part of the problem!  Next, take a photo of your front yard and then grit your teeth and actually look at it like a buyer  might.  Now make a list of things you would like to see look differently in the photo. When this list is made, then you can decide what is a self help project and what you need help to get accomp... 03/16/2013

THE PORCH IS GREEN!    BEFORE REPAIR  & PAINTING OF CONCRETE PORCH         AFTER REPAIR AND PAINTING OF PORCH        The paint is a CONCRETE STAIN SOLID COLOR WATER BASE  from Sherwin Williams and the color is "Isle of Pines"   JUST IN TIME FOR ST. PATRICKS DAY!     The porch used the entire gallon of concrete stain.  I actually wanted a color called Shamrock, a  deeper, more verdant green, but Sherwin Williams couldn't mix it in the concrete stain for some reason.  Isle of Pines was the compromise and is almost green enough for me.   One thing for sure, this porch is going to be greener than my lawn.    03/15/2013

 OLD HOUSES        ABILENE HISTORICAL HOME NEEDS RESTORING - FOR SALE AS IS CALL ME FOR MORE INFORMATION.      YELLOW TULIPS The yellow tulips are adding cheer to my dining table and signal a sure sign that Spring is Springing!   Providing  home staging for builders, sellers, and Realtors.  Call me to add cheer to your listings!        JUST DUCKY!      EVERYTHING IS TURNING UP DUCKY IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD!       SELL FASTER - CALL AN ACCREDITED STAGING PROFESSIONAL.   SELL FOR MORE MONEY - STAGE IT!    SELL IT SOON - STAGE IT NOW!    WRITTEN STAGING CONSULTATIONS - ONLY $150. - THIS IS A ROOM BY ROOM STEP-BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR DO- IT-YOUR SELFERS     NO ONE  HAS EVER BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS INFORMATION.   FULL SERVICE HOME STAGING  SERVICES VACANT OR OCCUPIED COLOR SELECTION CURB APP... 03/13/2013

A friend emailed me a photo of my calico cat she took at my house.   The cat likes to be part of any gathering and seems to be intently listening.            The cat seems to be taking it all in or probably waiting for a chance to help herself to someones leftover food.                         or maybe thinking about the big gold fish by Szechwans.               or maybe thinking these humans shoud stop trying to figure out what a cat thinks.   I've heard that a cat has a very low IQ but they seem to know enough not to let it bother them!   03/12/2013

STINKY MAY SELL BLOGS, BUT NOT HOUSES! Another blogger wrote about which blogs had gotten the most comments and views.  My blog on smelly houses a couple years ago got 80 some comments, and is my personal winner for comments. Just like in Toastmasters, however, you compete with your self.  I have some other posts that are more informative, but the smelly blog titled "If you can smell it, you can't sell it." got the most comments so far.  I regret to inform you that there are still some smelly houses out there with "For Sale" signs in front of them. Kitty litter smells are the worst.  What was surprising about a recent  house shown was that it was vacant!  But it was no secret that a cat litter box had been there.  Next there is that musty old house smell.  This isn't really the house's ... 03/10/2013

This reminds me of when my daughter was little when she would proclaim "me do it."    One of the activities my daughter used the principle of "me do it" was to cut her own hair.  You can imagine how that turned out!   Of course a homeowner can stage their own home just like they can sell their own home.  It's their home and that is the beauty of homeownership the right to do it YOUR WAY. Three reasons to consider hiring a professional stager are to: save time, make money reduce stress. A home stager is familiar with current buyer trends and taste and does not have the emotional connection to the "home" as the owner does.  Third party perspective is valuable.   Getting the right attitude toward the sale is going to save you a boat load of time and stress.   A professionally staged home p... 03/09/2013

Home Staging is preparing your home to sell to create buyer appeal to stand out from the competition and sell  your home quicker.   Home Staging creates buyer appeal by creating an emotional connection to the house.  Master bedrooms are so important in creating connection to a home, because home is where you relax and lay your burdens down.   Home Staging allows the buyer to envision themselves in the home and to mentally move in.     Here is a staged Master bedroom that creates buyer appeal:         It's a bedroom, for sure!                        more bedrooms: 2nd Bedroom or Guest Bedroom   03/08/2013

OF COURSE CUTE SELLS! WHEN YOUR HOME IS ON THE MARKET TO SELL, WHICH DO YOU THINK BUYERS ARE GOING TO PICK? CUTE & CLEAN? CLUTTERED AND SMELLY? CHAOTIC AND MESSY? OF COURSE CUTE SELLS!   DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET TO CUTE? GET A PROFESSIONAL HOME STAGING CONSULTATION! DON'T KNOW WHAT CUTE LOOKS LIKE? HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS OF STAGED AND SOLD ROOMS THAT ARE CUTE! STAGED SUN ROOM CUTE CURB APPEAL BACKYARD CUTE! KNOTTY PINE CUTE! NEW OR OLDER, RUSTIC OR CONTEMPORARY, THERE IS A STAGING SOLD LOOK FOR  YOUR HOME. CALL BEVERLY AT 325-721-2429 FOR YOUR STAGING CONSULTATION! FOR MORE PHOTOS OF TEXAS STAGED HOMES, GO TO WWW.STAGEDHOMES.COM 03/07/2013

TO STAGE OR NOT TO STAGE IS THE QUESTION FOR SOME SELLERS.       ACCORDING TO STATISTICS LISTED ON BARB SCHWARZ'S WEBSITE, WWW.STAGEDHOMES.COM 95 PERCENT OF ASP STAGED HOMES SELL IN 23 DAYS OR LESS COMPARED TO 130 DAYS FOR NON STAGED HOMES! That means that the staged home has saved the seller over three months of carrying costs such as home mortgage, insurance, taxes, utilities, yard care and so forth!  This means just in three months, a home seller will have saved several thousand dollars just by staging the home and selling in 23 days instead! According to the National Association of Realtors, (NAR) furnished homes sell faster than unfurnished homes. Typically the first four weeks also get the most buyer traffic and the best offers.  Therefore the staging needs to be completed prior t... 03/06/2013

Here's proof that I've been staging for seven years in Abilene, TX!   The photo is dated  March 18 2007 and the house was Staged and Sold shortly thereafter.  Tulips are a dramatic touch for a dining table and never go out of style Another favorite photo is this staged heating stove. The nostalgic look of yesteryear never goes out of style either. This home was staged and sold right away. SIMPLY TOO CUTE Spring Patio Table YES!  LONG SINCE STAGED AND SOLD! WHEN YOU NEED TO GET TO SOLD, STAGE IT! 03/05/2013

SZECHWANS on S. FIRST IN ABILENE HAS GREAT CURB APPEAL AND GOOD CHINESE FOOD AS WELL.     The restuarant entrance is landscaped with rocks and water and check out the goldfish in this next photo below:         My kitty would probably enjoy this view of these huge goldfish!     As far as food, Szechwans used to be in a cramped (read cozy) space on S First, but now is in a nice new restaurant and may be the best curb appeal for a restaurant in Abilene.  There was a certain charm to the old location.  Bigger is not only better unless you are a cat who likes to dream of bigger goldfish.   Back to food, my pick for an entree would be the "BEEF with VEGETABLES"  The beef is tender and flavorful, and served with a nice variety of vegetables in a savory sauce.  The vegetable mix includes brocco... 03/04/2013

STAGER KITTY WANNABE! TODAY I CAUGHT MY KITTY IN A BASKET I HAD EMPTIED OF STAGING DECOR.  KITTY MUST WANT TO GO ON THE NEXT STAGING JOB.  KITTY'S official name is CALICO, but responds to KITTY better!  Kitty or Calico knows she looks good in containers, She also has been known to settle for a brown paper grocery bag, or a cardboard box.  The rattan basket flatters her the best, I think.   Here is another restful pose on the couch.  Photo shoot - no problem for this cat!     The person that I got Calico from as a kitten brought the kitten over in her satchel style purse.  I didn't think she had the kitten with her and was rather surprised when she pulled the kitten RIGHT OUT OF HER PURSE!  So Calico is a girly girl and likes to pose to best advantage.  Calico is not a big fan of jewelry... 03/03/2013

Aren't you fascinated by before and after pictures?   Before and after pictures are the staple of the success of many shows on the home and garden channel (HGTV)  from Love It or List It, Property Brothers, Curb Appeal and more! From fashion makeovers  to home decor makeover,  magazines also depend on before and after photos to entice readers to buy and read their publications.   Did you know that the Real Estate Staging Association just recently announced their 2013 Home Staging Winners? Treat yourself and look at the ten finalists in several categories both the U.S. and Canada for 2013 at the Real Estate Staging Association web site.  Here is the top U.S. winner for an occupied home staging completed by Kristi Barnett, the "Decorologist." Kristi Barnet demonstrates what  value there i... 03/02/2013

A HOME STAGING CONSULTATION CAN GIVE A HOMEOWNER A STEP-BY-STEP PLAN TO GET THEIR HOME READY FOR SALE OR A PLAN TO "STAGE TO LIVE"   IN THIS CONSULTATION, THE HOMEOWNER DOESN'T PLAN ON MOVING BUT NEEDED SOME QUICK AND EASY FIXES TO UPDATE AND REFRESH THEIR LIVING SPACE.   A $150 STAGING CONSULTATION GAVE THIS HOMEOWNER JUST THE DIRECTION AND MOTIVATION TO GET STARTED TO MAKE EASY, INEXPENSIVE CHANGES TO REFRESH THIS LIVING ROOM.      HERE IS THE LIVING ROOM BEFORE THE STAGING CONSULTATION:            HERE IS THE LIVING ROOM AFTER HOMEOWNER IMPLEMENTED THE THE STAGING RECOMMENDATIONS  New blinds were installed and a new area rug was purchased.  Everything else the owner had and is just rearranged.      AND ANOTHER VIEW BACK TOWARDS THE DOOR OF THE LIVING ROOM.       j 02/28/2013