The Home Staging Show

Hey guys, welcome back to season 4 episode 4! Today’s the second episode of our 3-part money series, with Mariana Wagner. Mariana has been in the real estate industry since 2001, running a full-time, successful listing and sales team with her husband, Derek. Together, they have been the top 1% of producing real estate agents in Colorado Springs every year. On today’s show, you’ll hear about how they are able achieve such success through teamwork, communication and leveraging technology to achieve their success. I think whether you’re a real estate agent, a homeowner or a home stager, you’ll get a lot of out of today’s conversations. If you’re interested in the Cash in the Cushions mini course & bootcamp, sign up to be notified by going to today's show notes! On today’s show, we discussed: The motivations behind this podcast GRI training for realtors Local real estate market for Colorado Springs, Colorado The pace of changing market The danger of overpricing, even in a seller’s market Staging as part of their business model and the differences it made Time on the market DOUBLED and showings CUT IN HALF when they didn’t have stagers for 3 months People are more receptive to staging now How important pricing and conditions are for your listings Why Mariana doesn’t like HGTV and how it can mislead consumers How open house is a different marketing strategy in Colorado Springs Setting the right expectations for your clients How TV real estate differs from real life real estate Talking about pricing with you seller clients Pricing + Conditions + Marketing >> A Successful Sale It’s how these 3 things work together, not individual element What makes a successful listing agent Technology tools Mariana and Derek use to manage their clients, market and increase their productivity and sales What a powerful tool following up is selling real estate successfully How maintaining relationships and communication correlate to homes don’t sell A typical work day for Mariana and Derek Your first day - first week on the market is crucial and how that can differentiate your listing in the market place Real estate is a people business and how you can boost your business How Mariana and Derek prepare and put homes on the market and their workflow When you should put the home on the market Apps that Mariana and Derek use all the time in their real estate business Using Pinterest for real estate Using video for real estate Social media marketing for real estate Leveraging website like Pinterest, Zillow Digs, Houzz for free marketing opportunities How to become a successful listing agent When to co-list a real estate listing Do you need to be well liked to be a successful real estate agent How to know which real estate agent is credible and trustworthy to hire Why sellers fail to sell their house Awkward conversations we stagers don’t want to tell you but have to Where sellers usually run into roadblocks when it comes to selling their homes Real estate appraisals How a great real estate agent can make your sale smoother and much more likely to succeed Signs that show if the listings will sell quickly Mariana’s best advices to get your house on the market and sell quickly Setting the right mindset for your sale What potential buyers cannot see past when they’re touring your listings How you can be guaranteed a loan as a buyers Common financial mistakes buyers and sellers make What dings your credit What sellers need to watch out for financially when they put the home on the market What to look out for if you’re re-financing your home The two types of basic re-finances What sellers should be aware of when you’re looking at a bunch of offers for your sale Scams to look out for Mariana’s biggest tip on getting your house ready for the market If you enjoy the show, please leave a review & rating on iTunes! <3

Hey guys, welcome back to season 4 episode 3! We are kicking off a 3-part money series, which is something we really haven’t talked a lot about. I know we talked about budget on some of the show, but I also want to talk about the overall money picture for you. So to kick off, we have Catherine Hawley, a certified financial planner based in California on the show today to talk about how to plan your finances when it comes to real estate. I really love her sensible approach toward investing and planning for a rainy day. I'll be launching Cash in the Cushions mini course at the end of the month, written specifically for those of you who want to start a home staging business and don't know where to start yet. You can sign up for the early bird notification email on our show notes. On today’s show, we discussed: What’s CFP? Financial planning for everyone How much money do you need to start investing Being debt averse How can you plan to buy a home on your current 5-figure salary? The American dream of owning a home What would a financial planner advise on selling a house Common bias of selling a home Advice for sellers Is real estate a great investment? Common pitfalls when it comes to managing expenses of owning a fall How to put money away to anticipate large expenses that may come with selling your home How to create a reserve to make sure you’re covered during a rainy day How to track your expenses effectively to observe your money patterns How to observe your money patterns How to save money for big expenses Mindful approach to your money Strategies to save money Investment strategies for different age groups How to categorize your expenses properly How to aggregate data on your finances How can you achieve your financial goals, big and small How to create motivations to achieve your financial goals How to break down the process of achieving your financial goals How much risk is too much risk for investment? How can we learn more about investing? Money attitude amongst different generations Retirement saving strategies If you enjoy the show, please leave a review & rating on iTunes! <3

On the show today, I have the good fortune to interview Felicia Bender, who’s a real estate investor, broker in Colorado, a numerologist, and a published author. We met last fall in Palm Springs through the Astro Twins. They are the astrologers who write the horoscopes for Elle and Refinery29. We were all on a women’s astrology retreat together, hanging out in Palm Springs last fall. You’ll hear us mentioning some of it on the later parts of the show. Anyway, Felicia is a very knowledgeable and experienced real estate investor. I also love how analytical and articulate she is. She really broke down the ideas into bite-size chunks that are easy to understand. I think you’ll get a lot out of our conversation today. So let’s start the show! If you enjoy the show, please leave a review & rating on iTunes! <3 On today’s show, we discussed: Real estate market in Colorado Seller’s Market v. Buyer’s Market Building in Boulder, Colorado Home staging in Colorado Believe it or not, majority of buyers are not visual, so they cannot visualize how their furniture fit into the home. How home staging helps to sell investment properties 4 major & common blocks home sellers face during the selling process How to work with sellers who are emotional about their homes Why it’s important to learn how to read people better when you’re the real estate professional How to communicate with clients as a real estate professionals Working with foreclosure homes Working with hoarders Working with curveballs in real estate Opportunities that agents see for sales price negotiations How to avoid the emotional back and forth between sellers and buyers during the sales transactions Why inspections is so important The house flipping process How to appeal to buyers Felicia’s go-to finishes and color scheme picks Why you don’t want to do a trendy house Felicia’s rule for ROI on her investment properties How important smell is in selling real estate Common mistakes that home sellers make Some of the current trends in homes Why details are so important in real estate sales What are some of the consistent feedback that Felicia gets back from open houses and why you should pay attention to those things What is Numerology Life path number in Numerology The chart & numerology of a house Redesign your life with numerology If you enjoy the show, please leave a review & rating on iTunes! <3

Hi guys, welcome back to SEASON 4!!! I cannot believe that we're FOUR seasons in and I'm thrilled to be able to come back after 2 months hiatus. It really took a lot to come back this time, so I'm just super excited to be able to come back and keep the Home Staging Show going. Believe it or not, I've moved 32 times in the last 6 months. It's been an incredible journey traveling so far and I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to do so and meeting all sorts of interesting people and exploring different creative opportunities. Things have shifted for me quite a bit in the last 6 months as well. The travels have reaffirmed my beliefs in doing the work that I feel passionate about and putting myself in the first place to create work and life that feels fulfilling and meaningful. On today's show, I'm going to share the top lessons learned through my travels and looking through countless Airbnb listings, and how that apply to you when it comes to staging your home for sale or living in your home while selling. Our show is brought to you by our in-house product, EcoJoe®, the eco-friendly St Joseph statue home selling kit. In real estate, there’s a tradition to bury St Joseph statues for good luck. But because the existing products on the market were made with plastic, we made an eco-friendly named EcoJoe®. He’s all natural, won’t harm the earth! For more information, visit www.ecojoekits.com

On the show today, I want to talk about doing updates to your home and choosing finishes. When you’re updating the home for the purpose of selling, instead of doing full remodels, think about doing the middle of the road upgrades. I often joke that staging is a bit like botox for the house, and when you tear down walls and do big remodels, that’s the nose job. For getting the home ready, consider doing face lifts type of projects, meaning that you’re not moving any structures and can be done in a much shorter time frame. Stuff like changing out your hardware to current ones, painting, changing out sink, toilets, countertops, etc. These are cost effective updates without the risk of serious delays to your marketing timelines or turning into really expensive and costly projects.

On the show today, I’m interviewing Maria Killiam, the founder and trainer for True Color Expert. She is an internationally sought after color expert, design blogger, author of 2 eBooks, trainer, decorator and stylist. I love her energy. She’s funny, charming and very no-nonsense, which I really love. She gave a lot of information about choosing colors and styling on this episode and I hope you’ll take away some great information to work on your home. At the end of the episode, I’ll be making couple special announcements, including a giveaway! What we talked about today: How Maria got started What’s undertone The 9 most important undertones to know Colors can help you get the look and feel right for your home Easy place to start working in colors in your home Finding the right white Bathroom renovations How to create the look of your house Where to start when you pick colors for your home How to work with colors if they’re clashing You should never have more than ____ undertones in the same room Earthy side of undertones Grays Some rules when it comes to choose colors The reason for the gray trend Common mistakes with trends What colors are in right now How greige become popular How long a color trend lasts Every bathroom should be ______ How to use colors to make the home feel cohesive How to create flow and where to start Some of the biggest mistake a homeowner makes when they choose colors Why sofas in the store may look really different than in your home and how to avoid it How light affects colors Why colors should relate to each other Why is white so complicated? White falls under 4 categories Biggest challenge with choosing colors New trends in 2016 How Pantone got their new colors this year Maria’s go to colors What makes a room feel finished and styled How Maria improved her styling Some of Maria’s tricks to update and style homes

On today’s show, I’m interviewing buyer's agent Coco Gingrass. I think it’s important to bring a buyer’s agent on and listen to how buyers buy and go through the real estate process. Because as sellers, it’s important to understand how buyers think. Coco is extremely knowledgeable about her market and helping buyers finding the right home. She's also internet savvy, which is a great help when it comes to listing her client's homes. What we discussed on the show today: What real estate agents do The importance of networking in real estate industry Why it’s important to have a real estate agent Risk of FSBO (For Sale by Owner) What additional advantages that you can tap into real estate agents vs. selling the home yourself Local market in the Milwaukee areas How to work with buyers and how to help them find their dream homes Working with first time home buyers How to work with buyers who may not really know what they want The process of buyers purchasing the homes How technology affects today’s real estate purchase How many homes buyers typically see How technology has changed buyer’s buying behaviors Why professional real estate photography is crucial for today’s listings It only takes ___ seconds for a buyers to lose interest in the home How can a home stands out for buyers How today’s buyers find the homes they want to buy How online photos can impact your sales How real estate agents find buyers Zillow’s impact in real estate What today’s buyers are looking for Kitchen & bath remodels’ ROI for first time home buyers What are the areas the sellers should pay attention to when putting their home on the market Common things that can distract buyers How you can lose buyers immediately How turn key your house needs to be when it goes on the market Paint colors that work well for selling real estate How to eliminate distractions, and distractions are what deter buyers Home decor trends today How to appeal to buyers Some simple & effective ways for sellers to add more values to their home You only get ___% of ROI back on remodels when you sell your home Why white & light grays work very well How technology impact the real estate buying process Price needs to meet the value How rooms can feel smaller and how you can change it to make it more appealing to buyers What makes buyers become dis-interest in a home immediately How to get buyers into the property How to do listing photos right for buyers How technology affects working with sellers How Zestimate works How Coco stages her listings The benefits of home staging and how it helps buyers to visualize the space to determine if that home’s really what they’re looking for If the sellers are strapped for budget, here are the things they should really do Common mistakes sellers make Triggers that make buyers buy Small changes to kitchen or baths instead of a full remodel that can make a world a difference DIY vs. hiring professionals The #1 reason home doesn’t sell What makes a home overpriced Why you shouldn’t be the nicest house on the block The life of a real estate agent

On the show today, I interview a professional photographer Rich Baum, who has a very diverse background ranging from styling and propping for movies to shooting real estate and wedding photography. He has a lot of knowledge about cameras and how light affects your final product. I also love his approach for composition. I think this is something that especially real estate agents and stagers should pay attention to. Every photograph you show a potential buyer should tell a story. This doesn’t mean that you shoot as wide as possible and show everything in the room. If the photograph is not composed properly, it actually defeats the purpose of the photograph. You want the photograph to show your home in the best light possible. So every photograph should do exactly that. Not jumbling all these super wide photos all together. Rich also gave us a lot of great antidotes about his past experiences working on set. I think staging a lot of times are a lot like set dressing, because you’re styling the home for a very specific, targeted audience, just like dressing a set for a TV show for example. Dressing for a show like Game of Thrones is very different than a show like Seinfeld. You’re targeting completely different demographic. On the show today: Why professional photography is important in real estate or TV shows or movies How staging work hand in hand with professional photography in selling real estate Small fixes can yield major results: remove personal clutter, painting, styling tweaks What it’s like to work on the set for TV shows or movies How Seinfeld and other TV shows are shot What’s blocking in shooting TV shows & movies What’s set dressing & decorating How Seinfeld’s apartment got that bike on the wall Selling the right lifestyle to the right buyers The make or break moment when you show a listing to a new buyer Lifestyle elements in home staging What’s HDR in photography Shortcoming of HDR photography Set up for real estate photography Lighting & props for real estate photography How different light bulbs affect the colors shown in the photography Making photos look realistic and effortless How to compose photographs How to work with real estate photographers Why you don’t want to shoot as wide as possible Why tripod is essential in shooting real estate photography What is post production and why photographers have to do it Digital magic Using photographs to show flow of room, traffic & floor plan More is not necessary more The advantage of including detail shots Tilt shift lens Showcase what you’re really selling by drawing the eye to what really counts in the room Visual storytelling The way camera sees the room vs. the way we see the room Dynamic range Making things vertically correct How your brain affects the way you see Wireless tether Building the room with props Single point or one-point composition Composing the room for cameras vs. for people Styling props for photoshoots Why lighting is so important in photography Resolutions for photography Presets for editing Photo edit softwares like Photoshops or Lightroom Items to look at during post productions Common styling & staging blunders How real estate photography differs from fashion photography and wedding photography How sourcing props worked in the movie and TV industry How legal liabilities, copyright and legal issues changed the way prop master source props Rich’s best tip of shooting listing photos yourself How to pick the right photographer for your listing

On the show today, I interview Andrea Kaba, an in-house home stager from the Maryland metropolitan area. Andrea has worked for the top two brokers in her state. Andrea started as a Home Marketing Consultant. She not only provided staging consultations to homeowners on behalf of her brokers, she also marketed the homes. And don't forget! Below is a graphic/Pinterest-friendly/ downloadable that includes Andrea’s go-to colors. LISTEN, REVIEW & SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES, SOUNDCLOUD & STITCHER GOT QS OR COMMENTS? LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW OR TALK ABOUT IT IN OUR PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP What We Discussed on the Show Today Andrea's experiences working as a Home Marketing Consultant: staging consulting & marketing the home The current trend of how real estate brokerages building their team How top producers construct their team The pros of working with a large real estate team How to adapt the staging to different real estate markets that work for different demographics Working with young families in the suburbs Working with seniors who’re retiring and downsizing their homes Andrea’s process of taking the homeowners through the staging process from beginning to finish Working with sellers after trying various techniques Typical timeline for staging and marketing listings What are some of the tough situations in working with sellers and how to overcome them Setting the mindset for sellers Andrea’s best advice for staging the home yourself How do you know when you’re done with the staging process How to choose finishes for the home for renovation and updating the homes Cost effective vendors and sources for homeowners to get the homes updated, bathroom and kitchen remodel, etc. Ways to search for the finishes that you’re looking for Ways to learn the current trends for updating your home Timeline for the renovations How to update outdated homes with a very limited budget Andrea’s go-to paint colors How to pick paint colors for the home How home staging has changed the real estate brokerage’s business Working with senior home owners Does home staging help homes sell?

On today's show, let's talk about Capsule Wardrobe! Usually, capsule wardrobe is for 3 months, but on the show today, I'll share my experiences of attempting capsule wardrobe for the YEAR, what I've experienced so far and what I've observed.