If getting off a plane is “deplaning,” what do you call emptying a home of all the staging furniture and accessories, prior to closing?
Answer: ‘destaging.’
{ 0 comments }
staging
Here’s one more from the “I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it” department: staging.
Specifically, how do you 
know when a home has been optimally staged?
Unfortunately, there’s no objective test that I’m aware of (like putting a toothpick into a cake to see whether it comes out clean).
Rather, it’s a question of (subjective) feel: is the home welcoming and aesthetically pleasing?
Is each room shown off to maximum effect?
Is there a flow to the home that pulls you through it, and creates a sense of unity?
Put it this way: if creating all those things is elusive (and it is), it’s certainly easy to identify when they’re missing.
P.S.: And no, staging isn’t about new furniture, fresh paint, or other expensive outlays; the best stagers work with what’s already in the home (for the most part).
{ 0 comments }
Translation: ‘Are You Too Busy For Me?’
One of the questions that often comes up in a listing presentation — basically, a Realtor job interview – is some variation of, “how many other clients do you have right now?”
The subtext — at least for a 
veteran agent — is, “do you have time for me?”
(For a novice Realtor, the concern is that they are your first client — or that you have a part-time job doing something besides selling real estate).
That’s certainly a fair question.
Residential real estate is notoriously cyclical, and during busy times — like now — Realtors can easily put in 80 hour-plus weeks.
Which is why a better question to ask is, “how many listings are you currently prepping for market?”
Front-Loaded Process
As I tell my selling clients, selling a home is a very front-loaded process.
The time-intensive part — and not coincidentally the one where a good Realtor can add the most value — is before prospective Buyers ever lay eyes on the home.
Staging, de-cluttering, light (or heavy) repairs, strategic updating, complying with any city inspection requirements — all those steps are the stuff of getting a home in tip-top shape and ultimately fetching top dollar.
Then comes pricing the home, photographing it, writing and proofing marketing and sales literature, showcasing the home properly on MLS, and doing pre-list networking.
That’s what takes up Realtors’ time.
And what would-be clients should hone in on when they interview listing agents.
Practice Tips; Past as Prologue
Want to know how responsive a Realtor will be if you hire them?
How easy was it to reach them initially?
How long did it take for 
them to meet with you to do a listing presentation?
When they met with you, did they come across as well-prepped, thorough, and generous with their time — plus knowledgeable about how “things work?”
If they did those things punctually and professionally, you can expect more of the same if you hire them to be your Realtor.
If those steps were frustrating, sloppy and/or seemed to take forever . . . ditto.
P.S.: And yes, some Realtors have assistants, and others work in teams.
But, getting the essence of a home, then capturing it in words and pictures, isn’t something that you can readily delegate.
{ 0 comments }
One Successful Real Estate Transaction Begets Another
OK, so what I do is not nearly as memorable as what Meg Ryan does (or imitates doing) in her rather dramatic delicatessen scene opposite Billy Crystal in “When Harry Met Sally” (the title of this post is what Ryan’s neighbor tells the waiter she wants after Ryan concludes).
However, the fact is, when you handle a deal smoothly — from pre-market prep and staging, to marketing, to vetting the Buyer and negotiating a deal, and finally guiding it to a successful closing – people notice.
People like the owner’s friends and family, neighbors, and even prospective Buyers — who came through your Sunday open houses, and frequently have their own homes to sell.
When they see your work product (and you!) in person, then need a Realtor in a month (or a year), it’s natural for them to want their transaction handled the same way . . . and think of you!
{ 0 comments }
