If you have your house on the market during the holidays, staging with holiday décor is a wonderful way to showcase the positive features of your home. In order to do so effectively, it is important to recognize the fine line between decorating your home for the holidays and staging your home for the holidays. The goal when staging is to use the decorations to enhance your selling potential. If done right, you could be popping open a bottle of champagne earlier than expected this year.

Simple, neutral and natural
The most important rule to remember is to keep decorations simple. Potential buyers need to be able to envision themselves in this house, to see their lives in this home. Thus, the fewer personal effects you display the better. Instead of displaying those holiday cards from family and friends this year, they would be best kept in a decorative basket that can be swiftly stored for showings. In addition, while we all love showing off our family's holiday art, you should forego displaying it on the fridge while you're still showing your home.

Keeping decorations simple also means they should be used sparingly. The key to staging is to never clutter the space, but since holiday staging involves added décor this can be a difficult challenge. If you are not sure how much is too much, I suggest you use three pieces or less. This will ensure a clutter-free holiday look and feel throughout the home.

It is also important when staging for the holidays to try to keep the décor as nonreligious as possible. One tasteful Christmas tree or menorah is perfectly acceptable, but be advised that these are the only exceptions. Pictures of Santa, nativity scenes and other iconic holiday imagery should be held to a minimum or better yet, kept in storage for next year.

Light on decorations
Instead of these personal holiday decorations, use traditional, natural decorations such as poinsettias, wreaths, and garland. Add a potted poinsettia or two to add color and life to the family room, but get rid of it as soon as it starts to die! Hang a wreath on the front door to accentuate the curb appeal. Use garland on the threshold or mantel to draw attention to these beautiful selling features. And if you do decide to add any of these holiday decorations, be mindful not to create any permanent damage — garland, lights, and wreaths should be mounted with noninvasive adhesives.

If you have your house on the market, enjoy and celebrate this holiday season while strategically accentuating the positive features of the house. Remember to keep decorations simple, neutral, and natural. Happy holidays and best wishes for successful staging!

For more interior design and home décor tips, contact Kelly Stevenson at kellystevensonid@gmail.com.

Believe it or not, even though the market is 'bad' homes are still selling. Of course they are not selling at the rate they used to … but they are selling. So, if you are trying to sell your house and find yourself asking the question 'Why isn't my home selling?' you may be surprised to know that the answer to that question is quite simple, but a bit multifaceted. The sale of a home in today's market is dependant on a five factors that if not seriously considered and advantageously applied will keep your home from selling.

The first factor you must look at is PRICE. The asking price of a home today can not be dependant on what the price would/could have been in the 'good old days'. The price of your home must be appropriate for today's market … AND, because there are so many other homes in the market, it also needs to be aggressively competitive. Home buyers want and will spend the least to buy the most they can. Holding out for more will only result in MORE time on market — so be wise.

The next factor is CONDITION. The better condition your home is in, the more attractive it is. Buyers do not want to spend their money repairing and making simple updates once they take possession. A home that is 'move-in ready' is going to be snatched up long before a similar home that needs attention. Investing in a home inspection and addressing any major issues earlier on may cost you some money, but it will never cost you the sale. However, problematic issues that the buyer's inspector discovers will still cost you money and also may be just enough to kill the sale. Besides hiring a home inspector, who focuses more on structural and mechanical conditional issues, you might want to also work with a home stager. This person will focus on the numerous smaller maintenance details and repair concerns that influence a buyer's perception of condition.

PRESENTATION, both online and in person, is the third factor that needs to be taken into account. The online presentation of your property needs to be captured and shown with first-rate photography. Gone are the days when a Realtor took poor-looking digital snapshots and loaded them into an MLS system. Today's buyers, who lives are busy and hectic as yours, depends on the Internet to help them prescreen properties. Better photos tell a better sales story. In addition to having quality photos taken of your home, it still must look great when a buyer tours it. An experienced home stager will guide and direct you to set and present your home so it can be easily toured and distinguished from your possessions in it.

Hiring the right listing AGENT is the fourth key factor essential in getting your property sold. Selecting a Realtor, solely because they recommended the highest listing price, may be the biggest reason why your home will not sell. It's also crucial to pick a savvy and strategic agent who has a variety of marketing tactics and who is adept in working through of the many roadblocks that can stop a sale once a buyer makes an offer. An experienced Realtor, who has a proven track record for marketing and selling homes, will earn every penny they are paid for selling your home.

The fifth and final factor involves your INVOLVEMENT. Sellers need to fully share concerns, needs and objectives with their agent right from the start and continue until the property is sold. But while candid honesty is key, it must also be a two-way street. Your Realtor must not only listen to you, but you must listen to them. So stay informed, watch the market conditions, and objectively listen to the feedback after home showings. Then consider and act on key information you gather as if you were the buyer. Ultimately your home's sale is controlled by you — NOT your Realtor.

So that's it. The secrets are finally revealed on how to sell your home in a tough buyer's market. How you choose to work with and apply these five simple factors will make, delay or totally keep your home from selling. If you think that just because you have a few of the factors under control your home will sell, you are wrong. It really takes all five working together.

Sell It Forward...Craig Schiller, founder of Real Estaging

We all know that the real estate market is in a major slump. Nothing seems to make that grim point more real than when one takes a short drive through any neighborhood. For it is there we see, dotting the front yards of so many homes, a multitude of For Sale signs. But while looking at a sign in a front yard makes a tangible point of reference for what is happening with the sales of single-family homes, what's happening in the condo market is sometimes harder to see.

Because often there is no sign, it is easy to overlook the fact that there are many, many condominiums for sale, too. In some ways, selling a condo is harder then selling a single-family home. First, it is not uncommon, especially in larger developments, for one condo in a building to be selling against another condo configured with the exact same floor plan, features and finishes. And, except for slight differences in the exterior facades, it is also not unusual to find one building full of condos to be pretty much the same as another building full of condos in the same neighborhood.

Cookie-cutter condos
Sellers need to understand that with so many condos to choose from, they all start looking the same to the buyer. In the buyer's eye, without much distinguishing one from another, they become just another Vanilla Box.

While there are many configurations of the Vanilla Box, the typical Vanilla Box of today has the door in the rear, sliding patio doors to a balcony in the front, and a kitchen in the middle with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and an island that separates the kitchen space from the open dining/living room area. All are pretty much the same — floor to floor, building to building, neighborhood to neighborhood.

With so many condos being relatively the same, the chance for a sale is quite competitive. Plus, if you are a home seller that is currently living in a Vanilla Box, in a neighborhood that offers similarly priced NEWLY constructed Vanilla Boxes, keep in mind that a shiny new Box is much more appealing to a buyer, than a scuffed, scratched, and worn used Box.

Stagers to the rescue
Good news is that the hope for selling your Vanilla Box is not a lost cause, whether it's the independent owner trying to sell their unit or a builder trying to sell one or more units. Both, for different reasons, can benefit from hiring an EXPERIENCED home stager.

Stagers will help an individual seller trying to sell their unit in a number of ways. First, they will point out the problem areas that make a used home look used, and then offer low cost ideas and solutions that will make the condo feel new. Next, while it is a fact that a furnished property is easier to sell than a vacant one, sellers need to understand that due to size constraints of the home (typically condos are more compact), furnishings in the condo need to be set in a way that actually help the condo show and flow for touring. A stager can help here, too. Good staging is a balance between adding the right amount of visual appeal, without having the interior decor distract the buyer's eye from the property.

For the builder, a stager can also be of great service. Who hasn't been a bit surprised to experience a builder's empty vanilla white unit after touring their lush and lovely model? For this reason, large builders have for years had model properties for buyers to see first. Today, the opportunity and benefit of having a model unit need not be a selling advantage reserved only for the larger builder. Smaller builders can hire a stager who can provide low-cost, yet beautifully designed staged-model solutions. PLUS, if the builder is selling multiple units in one building and the staged unit is sold, the staged model can be moved from one unit and reset in the next. The added flexibility of a 'rolling' model offers yet more flavor and appeal to the Vanilla Box.

So yes, without a doubt this is a tough market, especially for condo owners. But properties are selling. Fortunately, builders and owners of Vanilla Boxes can change the flavor of their offering from FOR SALE to SOLD!… with the help of a Home Stager.

Flavor It Forward... Craig Schiller, founder of Real Estaging

Without a doubt, the end result of a home's staging should be a great visual impression, and that is why home staging looked upon as an image industry. But as a relatively new industry, home stagers have much to learn from their counterparts in other, more-established industries such as advertising, interior design and landscaping. Professionals in these fields know that to sell and grow their own businesses, they must first present a good visual image of themselves. This impression starts with the logos, business cards, and Web sites they use to market their products and services.

Be leary of staging hypocrites. If home stagers are going to pitch the need and importance of investing money to prepare properties for the market, then the stager needs to invest money to do the same for their staging services. To have credibility, a home stager needs to invest in their business image — but it takes more than just spending money. A stager's work, which can typically be viewed on their Web site, must demonstrate staging knowledge and the skill to apply basic design principals. Basic design principals are universal and govern all visual creativity, including the skill and ability to properly stage a home.

Picture what they preach. Another area, where real estate stagers need to practice what they preach, is in the portfolios they use to sell their ability. First and foremost, the work they show MUST ONLY be theirs — and it better look good. If stagers are going to advise sellers and Realtors on the importance of using good photography to capture and present a home, a stager should take the same advice to heart and produce visually appealing photographs to showcase their own work. A stager's portfolio is a key, yet often overlooked tool that communicates quality, skill and ability.

Sellers looking to hire a stager can use a stager's online portfolio to prescreen and review a stager's talent and ability. The best portfolios address the following three points.

• Versatility and proficiency. Every market is different, and examples of the work a stager shows should represent the types of homes being sold in the markets they serve. But the more depth and diversity a stager can show the better. The most compelling portfolios will show staging work that was done in both big and small homes, vacant and occupied homes, low- to high-end homes, and the ability to work with a variety of design styles.

• Same viewpoint. Proof of a stager's skill and ability is often shown in before-and-after photographs. But quite often the before photo is taken from a totally different position in a room than the after photo. The best sales testament that shows a stager's ability and talent come from having the photos taken from the EXACT same angle.

• Quality photos. While it may not be possible to take the perfect picture, the rooms must be well photographed. Stagers that invest the time and money to take quality photos visually communicate their commitment to their profession. Just as a home that is for sale is being judged by how it looks, sellers can use the stager's portfolio to judge skill and ability. The best home stagers will picture what they preach.

Stage It Forward ... Craig Schiller, founder of Real Estaging

So my home selling pets, would you like to pick a house stager but are not sure which in the bunch to hire? The fact that it seems like there are more and more people becoming home stagers almost overnight, doesn't help simplify the dilemma.

It can be tough to know which stager you should work with, especially because staging is still relatively new in most parts of the country. But there are also many new bananas rapidly joining the staging bunch.

Staging qualifications
To make a wise and informed pick, you need to understand that a 'professional stager' may just be an average green Jane or Joe who just fell out of a training tree. Many are transformed into 'professionals' because they sat through a one-, two- or three-day foundation training workshop. That's it, as little as one day, and voila! — a new staging banana with an impressive title tacked on it.

So be wise, home staging credentials that hype 'trained,' 'certified' or 'accredited' can be a bit deceiving, especially considering that it can take as little as one day to be trained and graduated from foundation training programs. This is not to say that there are well-qualified real estate stagers who have been professional trained. But remember, above everything, the ripeness of EXPERIENCE trumps all else — even 'credentials.'

Unfortunately, the home staging industry is an unregulated wild bunch. As a result, sellers are at risk, especially in a tough selling market. Picking a green stager could cost you some green. So while staging looks mighty tasty to those of you who are looking for some help, don't blindly accept the fact that a stager who has a horde of initials after their name really knows what to do to maximize your home's staged appeal.

Picking a ripe stager
So how can you pick out a green novice house stager from the ripe experienced stager? Well, it is not that difficult, if you keep in mind that home staging is an 'image' industry.

Considering it is a stager's job is to create a good first visual impression of home seller's property, then a good stager needs to do the same for themselves. A good stager knows the importance of and how to present a good visual first impression of their company and their work.

To weed out amateurs from the experienced, first consider looking closely at the stager's portfolio of work. Also, make sure that you ask the stager if they ACTUALLY staged the properties they show in their portfolio. Believe it or not, there are some foundation training programs that give green stagers a set of 'starter' portfolio photos. Finally, if you have any doubts, you can always ask the stager for testimonials from past clients or references.

Considering it's a jungle out there in the housing market, picking a stager doesn't have to be as difficult. Follow these tips and you'll be well on your way at grabbing the ripe stager.

Staging It Forward...Craig Schiller founder of Real Estaging