Ingredients:

1 16oz package refridgerated sugar cookie dough (if you’re a neurotic perfectionist you can make the cookie dough from scratch; if you’re a extremely pressed for time and not a perfectionist, use vanilla wafers)

l lb. box C&H Pure Cane Powdered Sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
yellow food coloring

OR just buy a can of pre-made vanilla frosting & thin it with a splash of milk

1 package red licorice vines

Gold dragays for cookie decorating

Print full recipe here.

If you are wrining your hands over the condition of the market and longing for the good old days…STOP! Take a deep breath, evaluate your services, and up your game. This letter from my client says it better than I ever could.

 You can read it and weep or make a decision to up your game by teaming up with a stager.

Letter of Reference
Susan Peters/Tim O’Connor
RE/MAX Mutual Realty

Imagine how you would feel if you were shopping for a bridal gown. If you’re having a hard time visualizing a bridal gown, imagine you are buying a car. After looking all over town you find the perfect one. A little more than you wanted to spend but it’s perfect! They you notice a tag attached to the train that says, “Train doesn’t go with the gown: Store will replace it with a cheaper one when you pick up the dress.”

That’s exactly how a buyer feels when they walk into a house and see that note attached to a gorgeous chandelier, window treatments, or even a Wolf Range. It feels like bait and switch, and sets the wrong tone from the get-go.

Even worse is to say nothing and then counter with it when an offer comes in.

Yes, you can take it with you. When you’re preparing your home for sale, just take it down, pack it away and replace it before you list. If the buyer never has a chance to see it, they don’t know what they are missing and you will have a much smoother transaction.

According to Barbara Walters that would be a big mistake. Twenty years ago, Barbara was going to buy an apartment, in teh same building that Jackie Onassis lived in, for about $250,000. NYC was in a slump, kind of like our market now. She asked her then boyfriend Alan Greenspan what he thought. He told her not to do it! It was a bad investment. She listened to him and of course you know the rest. The same unit in now worth over 30 million dollars!

 This story just proves my theory: when single women decide to invest in real estate, every man they’ve ever known, comes out from nowhere and attempts to give them advice. Some of these guys may still be living in their mother’s basement, but they know what’s best. Well, if Alan Greenspan doesn’t know what he’s talking about, then who does? The time to buy is when you find something you can love and afford! It may be a long time beofre you can find a better time to buy.

As we all know, one picture is worth a thousand words but putting a little bit of text to your pictures is a great selling tool, whether you’re a Realtor using them for the Multiple or a Stager using them to market your business. Per request I’m including instructions for adding text with or without a border to photos. It’s a very simple way to get your point across quickly and can pay off big time whether you’re trying to sell a house…or sell yourself!

Click HERE to view instructions & examples.

To make the most of a partial water view and allow more light to come in, while blocking a view of the parking lot, we removed the top down venetian blinds and retro-fitted matchstick blinds from Lowe’s to work from the bottom-up. And of course we staged it with furniture, art work and accessories to complement the style of the condominium.

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For the photos below:

Since the top down shades only served to block the sunlight and expose the view of the street along with the neighbors cardboard window treatments, we decided to replace them with sheers on the lower part of the window. This allowed more light to come through while showing off the mullions and blocking a less than desirable view. To create a focal point we changed out the 90s glass and brass light fixture for a chandelier that is in keeping with the style of the house.

I apologize for the hideous “before” picture but this is exactly why I don’t take my own listing photos.

There’s been a lot of potty talk on Active Rain recently. Should the toilet lid be up? Should it be down? Should you e shoot the bathroom at all? Let’s clear the air.

1. Definitely shoot the bathroom.

2. Make sure it’s tidy with all personal affects put away.

3. Arrange the towels in an attractive manner.

4. Put the lid down!

5. Place a nicely folded stack of towels on the commode. (For the photograph)

6. Angle the camera so the toilet is not the focal point.

This is the story of 3 identical town homes: same floor plan, same square footage, same condition, same price; all on the market during the same three-month period. If this doesn’t convince you that staging works – nothing will!!

Click HERE to view comparison as a printable PDF.

Why would someone want to get under a plastic tarp in freezing rain to paint their front door? … Actually no one in their right mind would want to do that but I can’t tell you how many times my clients have found themselves doing exactly that! Why? Because curb appeal is essential and they didn’t do it the previous summer. Since you never know when the urge to move is going to hit you, take a look at the exterior of your home this weekend. Is your paint job on its last leg? Maybe you just need to touch up the trim of find an eye-popping color for your front door. Whatever it is, it will be much more fun to do it this summer than in the dark cold days of January!

If you would like some free design advice or color consulting give us a call!
“THE BETTER IT LOOKS…THE BETTER IT SELLS!”

This is an example of the monthly email I send out to my clients. It consists of my 3 favorite things for the month. I usually include something relating to home decor/staging tips, food and the 3rd thing can be anything: A great shop, product, artist or just a tip on how to do something. So far it’s been very well received.