Janie's Blog Clarksville,TN Real Estate Marketing Expert

If you have ever moved before or are in the process of moving, you know what a headache it can be. Packing and moving boxes is tiring and frustrating. Unpacking in your new place can lead to anxiety and disorganization. While moving may never truly be stress free, you can follow these helpful tips to ‘lighten the load’.

1. Make a List

If you write everything down you will thank yourself for it later. Create a record keeping system before you pack your boxes so you can keep track of what items you put where. Place a number on every box you pack and list its contents in your notebook/ record system. Also designate a safe place for all your key moving supplies- including this recording notebook, packing tape, labels and marking pens.

2. Have Plenty Of Supplies

You will need LOTS of boxes, probably more than you think you will need. If you stock up in the beginning, it will be quicker and easier to start packing. Keep 5-10 boxes on hand for you last day so that you can pack last minute goods such as bedding, toiletries and cleaning supplies. Also make sure you have strong plastic packing tape and bubble wrap to secure delicate items.

3. Utilize Wardrobe Boxes

These tall, lightweight boxes are perfect for bulky comforters, pillows, blankets and clothes. Call your mover to ask the width of the wardrobe boxes that they will be bringing. Then measure the clothes in all your closets to see how many wardrobe boxes you will need. You can also use these for closet storage boxes, shoe boxes, and baskets. Just beware not to stuff these boxes until they are too heavy to lift, or fill them with heavy items that can break through the bottom.

4. Strategize Wardrobe Box Use

Moving companies will gladly deliver boxes before your moving day, but if you’re doing things yourself, try to stay as organized as possible. A few days before your move, fill some sturdy shopping bags with bulky yet durable closet items like shoes, bags and belts. On moving day fill the bottom of your wardrobe boxes with some of these shopping bags and then add your hanging clothing. Pack your clothes that are on hangars tightly so that they don’t shift and fall off during the move.  Then, cover the shoulders of your clothing with dry cleaning bags for protection and fill any empty space with any leftover purses or bags. By packing the wardrobe boxes this way you will save space and remain organized.

5. Color Coordinate

Make unpacking easier by designating a color for each room in your new home or condo. For example, yellow for the kitchen, blue for the living room etc. Next, apply the colored stickers on each box near its number and a corresponding colored sticker on each room of your new place. When the movers are unloading the boxes they will know where to put everything to make it easiest for you. It is also helpful to put a big sign on the wall in the rooms where you want boxes stacked, (“Boxes here please”), so that you can keep them out of furniture and traffic areas.

6. Keep Things Together

When you are packing, keep similar items together. Keep bookends with books, light bulbs with lamps, and extension cords with appliances. Attach small loose parts to the item they belong too with tape or in small envelopes. Keep larger corresponding items such as TV cords in Ziploc bags and tape them to the backside of the item. Also start a “Parts Box” that you can fill with parts, pieces, brackets and anything that is removed from furniture or is needed to reassemble items.

7. Pack Ahead

Anything you can pack ahead of time, no matter how small it is, will save you time on moving day. You do not need 5 radios or 3 TVs hanging around until the last minute. The more things you save to pack, the less organized you will be when you get to your new place. Box up your toiletries and keep only what you need for the last week in a traveling cosmetic case. Pare down cooking supplies and utensils to the bare minimum, and wash and pack the rest. Clean and use wastebaskets to store items, you can use plastic bags for garbage while you’re moving.

8. Consolidate Cleaning Supplies

If you must clean your old place before moving out, put together a kit of basic cleaning supplies you will need on moving day. Clean anything you are not using before hand such as kitchen appliances, blinds and window sills. If possible, vacuum each room as the movers empty it so you can leave once the last box is gone.

9. Use Your Luggage

Pack luggage and duffel bags with clothing, sheets, towels and paper goods. It is also a good idea to put important items, or ones you will need right away in your suitcases because they will be easier to spot than ‘Box #87’.

10. Safeguard Valued Items

Keep valuable possessions such as silverware, antiques and collectibles with you in your car. If there is no room, or you have a long distance move, bury the items in a box discretely titled. Either way, check your homeowners insurance to see how you are covered during the move or if you need additional insurance from the mover. Also, find out what paperwork you might need to file a claim in case of loss.

11. Keep Important Papers With You

Keep birth certificates, school records, new job contracts, utility company numbers, bank records, bills, closing papers, titles, deeds etc. in a folder that you will keep with you. Don’t put them in a box and leave them with the mover!

12. Personal Boxes

Let each person in the house get a brightly colored storage tote box. Each family member can fill theirs with personal items they’ll want right away in the new home. Don’t forget to include the essentials such as keys, a set of sheets, phone chargers, and travel cosmetic case. The bright colors will be easy to find amongst the cardboard boxes and you will know where your necessities are.

Moving can be stressful and time consuming, but planning ahead will make all the difference. The more organized you are while packing, the more organized you will be unpacking. Happy Moving!

For years, the Real Estate mantra "The three most important things to consider when selling or buying a home" has been "Location. Location. Location". In recent months, when the real estate and mortgage industries began to implode, it had changed to "Low Price. Low Price. Low Price." Ultimately, in this very volatile market, this mantra is bound to change again to "Location. Price. Staging." and here is why:

The market is being flooded with hundreds of homes in good locations with realistic listing prices (we will exclude those homes with prices that have not been adjusted for current market realities). The competition to sell a home is fierce. With so many homes to choose from, qualified buyers, who are fewer and farther between, are faced with a plethora of homes that may fit their criteria of price, amenities and location. Of these homes, the listings that will capture the buyers' attention, and are more likely to sell, are the homes that meet all other criteria and have been staged to show the home at it's most appealing.

 

 

 

 

How interested would a buyer be to see this condo, after viewing this photo on the MLS? 

Once in the condo (if you could even get them to take a look), how likely is it that they would make an offer?

 

 

 

 

                      Versus this condo?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well executed staging by a Professional Home Stager will accentuate a home's most positive features, minimize it's least desirable features, and make the home look, smell and feel like a place anyone would want to call home.

More and more savvy homeowners are having their properties staged. And the on-top-of-their-game Listing Agents are suggesting staging by a Professional Home Stager to their clients to promote a faster sale and higher selling price. This is your competition, if you have a listing or are putting your home on the market.

Given similar locations, amenities and listing prices, which homes do you think are going to get offers first?

Copyright 2007 Moving Mountains Design. All rights reserved.

Moving Mountains Design is the premiere full service home staging company for Pasadena, Arcadia, San Marino and the San Gabriel & San Fernando Valleys of California. From $500,000 condos to $5.8 million castles, we know how to prepare your home so it sells. Contact us today for a free estimate (626)441-8975.

 

I am honored to have been nominated as RESA Professional Stager of the Year. To vote for me, click here. Thank you!

 

 

 

 

You may as well ask "Should I wait to have my home staged until after the listing is stale and I am forced to make a price reduction?" Huh?

As a Professional Home Stager, I am often asked if it is wise to list a home on the MLS, unstaged, for a few weeks to see if it sells, before having it staged. That is like asking if you should wait to bathe and put on your nicest clothes before going out on a first date. The answer, in both instances, depends upon what kind of first impression you want to make! If you are getting a lot of first dates, but not a lot of second dates, you might want to rethink how much effort you put into preparing and presenting yourself. It is the same with selling houses. If you are getting a lot of "lookers" but no "takers" there may be something wrong with your presentation. You must present your home in a way that, makes it desireable and shows off the homes good points while minimizing its challenging points. And you have very little time to make that all important great first impression.



Craftsman home before staging. If this was the photo you saw on the internet, would you be interested in spending your precious time to see this home?



Craftsman Home After Staging. Same home  after staging by Moving Mountains Design. The home sold in less than 2 weeks for full asking price.


It has been estimated that over 80% of home buyers are researching homes on the Internet before going to look at them in person. If your home is not staged prior to listing on the MLS, then the photos home buyers are seeing when they do their research is of a home that just doesn't look that appealing. It has not been properly prepared to make them want to hop in the car to take a look. Photos of staged homes look much better and, lets face it, buyers are attracted to better looking houses. Most buyers want a house that looks as good as the homes they see in magazines and on HGTV shows. They want it, they have come to expect it and by Golly, they are going to hold out until they get it. Your home will be dismissed with the click of a mouse.

The first few weeks that the home is fresh on the MLS is premium time to get potential buyers interested in coming to see your home, and once in your home, interested in making an offer. After a home has been on the MLS for more than a month or so, the listing becomes stale. Potential buyers may wonder if there is something wrong with your home since no one else has seen fit to make an offer to buy. They may wonder if the price is too high, or if the street is too busy, or if there is something wrong with the foundation. They may not bother to come look at it. We are all busy and no one wants to waste time going to look at a home that has problems.

Homes should be staged prior to listing on the MLS. That way, potential buyers are seeing photos of a home that looks warm, inviting and desirable. It looks ready to move in. It looks like it can support the lifestyle they want to have in their new home. Once in the home, the buyers' expectations that made them want to see the home in the first place can be met, and possibly exceeded by what they see, smell & feel. Many professional real estate stagers are trained in how to make a home look, smell & feel its best. We know how to make a home feel warm and welcoming, while evoking a feeling in the potential buyer that they have found "their" home. We can help the homeowner prepare for moving, while preparing the home for sale. And many of us offer "after" photos of the home after staging to be used by the Listing Agent on the MLS and other marketing materials. Professional Home Stagers don't sell homes, but we know what makes homes sell!

©2008www.MovingMountainsDesign.com.

If you are thinking of selling your home and would like to maximize your sale price while minimizing your time on the market, please call us for a free estimate (626)441-8975. Please visit our Los Angeles home staging website to see more photos of our work and for more information on how to choose the best home stager.

Moving Mountains Design provides cost effective home staging, serving Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley including Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, La Canada/Flintridge, the San Fernando Valley, including Glendale, Burbank, Toluca Lake, Hollywood Hills, Studio City and surrounding areas.

Are you getting a lot of "lookers" but no "takers"? A lot of showings but no offers (or mostly low ball offers)? Your home probably needs the help of a Professional Home Stager.

Preparing a home for sale is a lot like getting ready for a first date. When preparing for a date you may ask yourself "Do I look good?", "Do I smell good?" "Will he/she like me?" "Could this lead to a long term relationship?"

It is the same with putting a home on the market. Ask yourself:

Have I done everything I can possibly do to get a potential buyer to like the home enough to lead to a long term relationship (aka a sale)? Does my home look good? Does it smell good?

 

Santa Monica kitchen after staging by Moving Mountains Design Home Staging

 

 

 

 

 

As with dating, sometimes it takes an objective   observer to tell you if your home is ready for it's first date with buyers. Thats where a professional home stager comes in. Home stagers are trained to inspect your home with "buyer's eyes". They can spot all the small and large items that need to be addressed so that your potential buyers are not turned off by the condition or appearance of your home. For less than $500, in most cases, a professional home stager will prepare a comprehensive staging report that will act as a road map for preparing your home for sale.

Some of the questions that might be addressed in a comprehensive staging consultation are:

Is the home sparkling clean? Really? What about those mineral deposits on the shower door or that pesky mildew stain on the grout?
Does the home smell good? Really? Do you have a cat? Did you make curry for dinner last week? If a home stager can smell it, so can a potential buyer.
Is there a working lightbulb in every lamp and fixture? What about the missing light bulb in the patio light?
Do the hinges squeak? Do all the door knobs work?
Has that leaky faucet been repaired?
Has all the dog poop been picked up in the yard?
Do the walls or trim need to be painted? Does the wall paper need to be stripped and the rooms freshened up?
Are your walls painted a color that will be attractive to most potential buyers, or just buyers that share your particular taste?
Is your furniture arranged in a manner that makes your rooms seem larger than they are?
Is there too much furniture? Too much clutter? Too many personal items?

 

 Pasadena Craftsman before staging

 

 

 

 

 

 A home stager can also help you find a handyman, professional painter, carpet installer, cleaning service and mover. Don't forget, experienced home stage have helped many home owners prepare their homes for sale. They have a lot of tricks up their sleeves that will make your move easier.

Most home stagers offer a full menu of staging services to suit almost every home seller's needs. Once you have your comprehensive staging report in hand, you can then do the suggested work yourself, do some of the work yourself and hire the stager to do the balance or hire the stager to do all of the work.

 

 

Pasadena Craftsman after staging by Moving Mountains Design Home Staging

 

 

 

 

 Professional home stagers are trained to help you take the guess work out of preparing your home. We help you make your home more appealing to the greatest number of potential "lookers" so they become "takers". For a faster sale at the best price, call a Professional Home Stager today.

Moving Mountains Design was recently featured in the Sunday Los Angeles Times Real Estate section in an article about the benefits of staging a home. Don't settle for second best and don't trust the sale of your home to just anyone. Choose the Los Angeles home staging company with the experience and knowledge to help you get your home sold faster and for the best price. Call us today at (626)441-8975 or visit our Los Angeles home staging website.

The benefit that home staging offers is all over the news, internet and television. Savvy real estate agents are enlisting home stagers in the sale of their listings and home sellers are seeking out home stager to get their home into tip top shape before even calling a listing agent.

A common misconception is that staging is expensive - that it costs too much - without taking the very real benefits into account. A home staged by a Professional Home Stager has distinct advantages from both the homeowner's and the Listing Agent's point of view. For the homeowner, staging can result in a faster sale, thereby saving them money on the carrying costs (mortgage, maintentance, insurance, etc.) and allowing them to move on to their next home that much sooner. Staging can help generate a higher sales price, by allowing buyers to see the home's potential instead of seeing it only as someone else's home. Also, the longer a home sits on the market, the more likely a price reduction will be necessary in order to get the home sold.

• To read about how staging can result in a faster sale, click here

• For an example of how staging helped generate a higher sale price, click here.
  

For the listing agent, that faster sale translates into less money outlay for marketing, hosting open houses, etc., and less time spent showing the house. A staged home shows better on the MLS and in collateral marketing materials and gives prospective buyers a sense that the home is move in ready. Buyer's agents are more likely to show a properly prepared home beacuse they know it is more likely to be attractive to their clients.

• To read about how home staging benefits real estate agents, click here
  

At the very least, before you put your home on the market, start with a Comprehensive Home Staging Consultation. For less than $500, depending upon where you live, a professional home stager will do a thorough assessment of your home making note of any items that need to be repaired or cleaned, gauging the level of clutter and making recommendations regarding furniture placement. They will also discuss paint colors that can give new life to a room and make your home warm and inviting. An experienced home stager will have a rolodex full of handymen/women, painters, landscapers, cleaning services, moving and storage companies, etc. to help in preparing your home for sale, if you need them. You will then be presented with a written report of the consultation which you can use as a road map to do the work yourself, hire subcontractors to do some of the work, or hire the home stager to complete you project and make your home picture perfect.

• For an example of how a Comprehensive home staging consultation can save you money, click here
  

If your home will be occupied during the time it is on the market, a home stager can help you arrange your existing furniture and accessories so that the architectural highlights of your home are featured. They will also arrange your furniture to make the rooms feel larger and give improperly furnished rooms purpose. Many home stagers have an inventory of accessories they can stage in your home to further enhance your home's appearance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before and after photos of an occupied home staging in Arcadia, CA.

If your home will be vacant, a home stager can bring in rental furniture from their own inventory or from a furniture rental company. They will over see proper placement of the furniture along with accessories and artwork. The finished product will look like a model home,charming and full of suggestions about what life could be like if they lived there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before and after photos of a vacant home staging in San Marino, CA

As a value added bonus, many home stagers will also provide the listing agent with professional quality photos of the home after staging for use on the MLS and in other marketing materials. Posting photos of your home after staging is one sure way to get more potential buyers through the front door. Photos of staged homes look move in ready and more appealing than other homes on the MLS that have not been staged.

Yes, home staging costs money. All valuable services do. But if a home seller or listing agent wants the best possible outcome, they should consider the cost of home staging as an investment in a faster sale and a better price.

Moving Mountains Design Home Staging is a full service home staging company serving Los Angeles, Pasadena, Arcadia, San Marino, South Pasadena, Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz and Silverlake. We were recently featured in the Sunday Los Angeles Times Real Estate section in an article about the benefits of staging a home. Call the Los Angeles home staging company with the experience and track record to get your home sold faster and for the best price. Call us at (626)441-8975 or visit our Los Angeles home staging web site.

Copyright 2008 Moving Mountains Design Home Staging and Michelle Minch. All rights reserved.

Super Sales Event --

Dale Wayrynen Community Recreation Center will host their third Super Sales Aug. 16 from 8 a.m. until noon. Individuals can bring in unwanted items to sell. For those wishing to shop for a good deal, this may be the perfect time to browse around all the tables for this amazing indoor shopping experience. The items you wish to sell must be clean and in good condition. Please have all your items marked.  An eight-foot space without a table is available for those who desire to exhibit items at a price of $10. If you wish to rent a table, the price is an additional $5. The set up time is from 6 - 8 a.m.  In order to reserve your space, you will need to sign up and make payment by Aug. 14.  For more information call (270) 798-7391.