Introduction to Home Staging

Or does it mostly fuel hyper nationalism which almost always is a divisive force on the world stage?

Of course there is some of each but where does the preponderance lie? Divide or unite? Why or why not?

Yes, I think every previous world cup helped bring people together. Sadly with this current world cup it’s the South Africans and their vuvuzelas who are alientaing football fans in the rest of the world. This world cup will be remembered for the wrong reasons.

What do you do and how do you do it? I have a list of houses in various stages of foreclosure, now what?

Your first opportunity comes in the "pre-foreclosure" stage, when owners have already defaulted on their mortgage payments but actual foreclosure hasn’t happened yet. To find out about houses in default, visit the local courthouse where defaults are registered. You can then make offers directly to the defaulting homeowner. However, few pre-foreclosure bargains exist among the most desirable homes. Many of those will sell for near their appraised values. Properties that sell at a 20 percent to 40 percent discount usually need repair or are in undesirable communities. At this stage you have about 90 days to act after the default notice is posted and another 21 to 25 days after auction sale date is published. If a property doesn’t sell in pre-foreclosure, and the home owner actually defaults on his mortgage, the home goes to public auction. During this stage you can find the best bargains, but it is fraught with difficulties. Properties are sold "as is," without warranties. Sellers needn’t disclose problems. Buyers may find themselves with unexpected — and expensive repairs. etc. etc.
Hope this helps.

We are buying a model home and the builder asked us to make an offer on any furniture in the house. We have no idea how much (or how little) to offer.

From experience, I can tell you that the builder paid 25% under the going rate for that furniture. He would like to get that back, but would be willing to take a small hit since it is now slightly used for display and he would have to pay for it to be moved and stored. He would be happy to get half of what that identical furniture is going for at a Haverty’s or Rooms to Go in your area of the country. If he needs the money, and they all do right now, he will let it go for less.

Reasonable offer would be 25% of current retail price for identical furniture. Negotiate from there if you really like it.

i know that gifts are very reasonably priced. there is seasonal items and i think they also sell candles.

You might check out Home Interiors.com or Southern Living Home.com. Either should be able to give you the name of a representative in your area.

Im now a second year and thinking of changing the uni next year which is the final year..

what is the circumstances under that ?

yes you can but you may have to do an extra year

I just watched a Flip this House episode and I saw the CEO hire a stager to stage the home. According to the show, this helps the home sell a lot faster and stay on the market by 40% less than average. When they staged the house, they basically put in furniture and different candles to make the home show better. Has anyone tried this before? I live in California, in the high desert and I am thinking of selling my home. I currently own a 2 bed 2 bath 1099 sqaure feet and I am interested in more info on this subject.

I disagree with the previous answers. Just Google home stagers and check out their work and prices (in your area). It’s better to get a local person so you don’t pay for drive time.

These professionals can really give your home the polished look that will help sell it faster. I deal with several home stagers in Illinois and Missouri, and the question you need to answer is this: what is the cost/benefit ratio for you to sell your home quickly, if you decide to put it on the market?

Any ideas on how to get a legitimate Home Staging certification in Pennsylvania? Thank you in advance.

Simply apply for it and pay the fee.

By that, I mean the tackiest paint (hurts-the-eyes pink walls with bright red baseboard trim), wallpaper (read: fuzzy green patterns on gold coloured curlicue somethings), carpets, furnishing or colour combination you have ever seen.
WoW! All of these answers are marvellous! My father had absolutely zero taste in anything even remotely civilized. When we moved into a house we bought (long ago when I was young), the kitchen came already "decorated" with wallpaper featuring huge yellow flowers, lime green leaves and orange squiggly something or others. My father liked it – a lot! The family room came with a low pile dark brown, yellow, green and orange geometric patterns that would make a goat retch! I asked this question because I was having coffee with a friend of mine a little while ago and she was describing how she was planning on dcorating her new place. She described how her last place looked and it sounds a lot like what most of you have written. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who has had to endure ghastly home decor!
WoW! All of these answers are marvellous! My father had absolutely zero taste in anything even remotely civilized. When we moved into a house we bought (long ago when I was young), the kitchen came already "decorated" with wallpaper featuring huge yellow flowers, lime green leaves and orange squiggly something or others. My father liked it – a lot! The family room came with a low pile dark brown, yellow, green and orange geometric patterned carpet that would make a goat retch!
I asked this question because I was having coffee with a friend of mine a little while ago and she was describing how she was planning on dcorating her new place. She described how her last place looked and it sounds a lot like what most of you have written. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who has had to endure ghastly home decor!

Probably the time I got some paint that was suppose to be a mauve color, it turned out to look like pepto bismol…..I painted one wall for a joke so others could see it. LOL everyone said it looked like pepto. Needless to say I took it back and switched color schemes all together.

I go to many small venues where local bands are playing (sort of small bars). Its dark, minus the lights that are cast on stage, and of course the musicians arent going to keep still. How should I set my camera so that I achieve the most clear professional photograph?

any advice on what settings to set my camera to on different locations?

A fast lens a tripod and a class in photography.

How many of you have done this and how much of a difference do you think it makes in making your home have more potential and interest to prospects?

you can pay a person to do this or my recommendation it to watch a few shows of "Sell this house" obviously a personal person would be better for your particular house, but depending on the monies spent, its not rocket science and the show will give you a basic idea of what to do