If you are still unsure about taking that ‘leap of faith’ and living your dream of becoming a Home Stager, then please join me LIVE for the PRES Staging Webinar on Thursday February 18, 2010 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM Pacific Standard Time. I will go through the PRES home staging AND redesign course and answer any questions you may have!

You will also receive a SPECIAL OFFER just by joining the webinar!

All you need is your computer and your phone. Make sure all your programs are closed except your internet and you will get a better connection.

FOLLOW THESE STEPS:

1. On Thursday night go to your computer and CLICK or Cut and Paste this link in your internet browser:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/join/575894843

2. Phone in to get on the webinar call and listen to the prompts:

Dial +1 416 900 1165

Access Code: 575-894-843

Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting (if you are calling in my phone you just press #the two digit pin number#)

Meeting ID: 575-894-843

On the webinar you will have an opportunity to ask questions and find out answers to any questions you may have. I look forward to talking with you!

You will only receive a SPECIAL OFFER by joining the webinar!

FRASER VALLEY REAL ESTATE TRADE SHOW

Mila Herenda of MIZO DESIGN SOLUTIONS coordinated a booth at the Fraser Valley Real Estate Trade Show held in early February with Nancy Glover of MIND YOUR MATTER. Other PRES members participating were Yvonne Swain of HINT OF ELEGANCE and Sally Weatherley of EXIT STAGE RIGHT.

They all had a great time collaborating for this event, and enjoyed meeting real estate professionals. It was interesting to learn that some realtors already had strong affiliations with staging companies, while others were just starting out and were just learning about staging. Some didn’t believe in staging, while others embraced our industry.

We were fortunate to have the support of READY, SET, SHOW of North Vancouver, who were very kind in supplying furniture rental at a generous discount. Yes, the rug you see is from 18 Karat and part of READY, SET, SHOW’s inventory.

GreenApple Staging & Images at the Calgary Real EstateBoard Tradeshow

The Calgary Real Estate Board Conference and Tradeshow event was held on January 20th.  GreenApple Staging & Images was proud and excited to be an exhibitor, among approximately 100 others, all contributing to the theme, “A Brave New World”.

The GreenApple team had a great time mingling with both the attendees and other exhibitors. We had tons of traffic at our booth and got a chance to meet so many hardworking and forward thinking Realtors.

There is definitely an increased interest this year in Home Staging, professional Real estate Photography, and pre-market Consultations as part of an individual Agent’s marketing package. All part of the new economy. I believe these strategies are not just trends — they are definitely here to stay as our society continues to emphasize visual media.

It wasn’t all business! We had some fun, too, with our visitors . . .

Oh, and would you believe that every single lunch kit at the event contained nothing other than a green apple?!

Our booth was staged with our brand colors — black, white and apple green, of course — and we were happily surprised that GreenApple was declared one of the top 3 Staging Exhibitors! All were tied with an Honorable Mention for booth design and service. I was told by the judges that they just couldn’t choose between us.
Not bad for our first showing — we’ll take it!

We also held a draw and have given away a Pre-Market Consultation package and an MLS Photography Package. When I called the winners today, they were thrilled and are eager to apply these services to their next listing.

It’ll be all work and no play for awhile, as the “Spring” real estate season seems well underway already in Calgary. But that is exactly what we bargained for!

Thanks to everyone who visited us at the event, and all of those others who supported us in other ways.  We appreciate it!

Deena Cottingham & her team of GreenApple Staging

For all of 2009, the PRES Resource Centre decided we wanted to help more charities and found a way to do this. Instead of asking for a payment to PRES, for our training home clients, we asked them to make a donation on our behalf. And they did and we are grateful!!!

Some of the charitable donations were made to Canuck Place, Covenant House, Childrens’ Wish Foundation, Food Bank, BC Children’s Hospital and Big Brothers.

We look forward to spreading the wealth and abundance that we all have to those less fortunate at this time in their life.

With Complete Gratitude from the PRES Staging Resource Centre THANK YOU!

During the PRES 5 day staging & redesign course we do our ‘hands-on’ practicum in real client’s homes. Some definitely are ’show homes’ and some are just wonderful, everyday family homes. We do both home makeovers for selling (staging) and home makeovers for living (redesign). Both are home transformations that often leave our clients SPEECHLESS!!!

This is a testimonial from a home we did this week:

“I was really excited for Dana and her students to come to my home. I am having company for Xmas and I really wanted my home to look its best. When I came home for the reveal I was (almost) speechless. I could hardly recognize this as my home. The transformation was absolutely amazing. I couldn’t believe they just used my things and made such a beautiful home for me and my family in just one day. My husband thought I had bought new furniture but when he realized it was just the creative work we had done he said WOW! He thinks you are the best!”

Teresa and Melwyn, North Burnaby BC

If you want to become a PRES Training Home contact us at info@PresStaging.com for 2010!

What a great night at the Kensington Paint & Decorating Benjamin Moore store in Burnaby. Thanks Tim and Eric Rasmussen! Guests enjoyed a fun night of learning about 3 of the key areas to preparing your house for selling – Decluttering & depersonalizing; highlighting architectural features with correct furniture placement and choosing the right paint colours. Jeffrey Murray, the BM Rep did a great job of explaining the technical aspects of paint. BM has some great new paints out Aura for one is great because it dries within 1 hour and no primer is needed; they have some new eco-friendly paints with no VOC omissions.

Most of the technical goes right over my head because I just love to pick the colours!

This is great news for those of us already in the business and those who are thinking about it. Think no more!!! While this is a USA stat, Canada is always close behind. For the entire article go to this link:

HOME STAGING #1 EMERGING CAREER

By Rachel Zupek
CareerBuilder.com writer

Editor’s note: CNN.com has a business partnership with CareerBuilder.com, which serves as the exclusive provider of job listings and services to CNN.com.

In today’s uncertain job market, even the jobs once marked as “recession-proof” are not as safe as we thought. So where should you focus your job search? Several trends — existing and emerging — continue to drive job growth and creation throughout the United States. Developments in technology, health care, environmentalism and globalization, as well as current trends in the economy are clearing the path for several cutting-edge careers to surface.

If you’re in the market for a new job, here are seven emerging careers that are making a mark and poised for growth in the coming years. Please note that salary and job growth information is not collected for all positions because of the size and awareness of each job.

1. Home Stager
The real-estate market is not what it used to be and homes are taking longer to sell. Potential buyers usually decide how much they like a property by picturing their own possessions in the house. That’s not always easy if the home is cluttered with unattractive décor and furnishings. House stagers work with real-estate agents and their clients to improve the appearance of their home and make it more appealing for potential buyers.
Industry umbrella: Interior design
Job growth: N/A
Salary: Most stagers are self-employed and set their own fees. Prices may vary from $75 for an initial consultation to $500 for staging an entire house.

Very good news indeed and we have gone from a ‘buyer’s market’ to a ’seller’s’ market these past few months.

I can’t believe it is already May! The market has picked up so that’s great news. I have been busy finishing my two new ebooks for the DIY seller who wants to get their home ready for selling. These ebooks were created for people who really like to do their own home staging and with the economy being what it is, might want to save themselves some money.

Make no mistake though, the PRES stagers are the best in the business and you may want to start with our professionals and determine what you can do on your own.

Up until May 11th you can purchase Do-It-Yourself Home Staging: Getting Ready for an Open House in 10 Easy Steps for $19.97 and for a Limited Time Only you can receive my mini-ebook on Creating Curb Appeal that Sells! Then the price goes up to $47 still a great bargain – a small investment worth a whole lot more when you sell your house!

Check it out: Do-It-Yourself Home Staging will take you room to room, divulging expert tips and techniques on how to de-clutter, de-personalize and rearrange your home so that it will attract the most prospective buyers. This ebook is a hands-on, economical approach for home staging. It’s so simple, with or without any previous decorating experience, you will be able to follow along easily and achieve exceptional results.

Full of tips, checklists and before-and-after pictures, Do It Yourself Home Staging leaves no room untouched, providing you the most comprehensive plan for getting your home “open house ready” in such a way that saves you time, money and energy!

Happy Selling!

Hello,

I wanted to thank the 80 or so patrons that came out for my White Rock Library talk on my 5 Top Tips for Home Makeovers for Living or Selling! What a fun group you were!

I always have a draw for a ‘FREE’ one hour consultation and the winner is:

SUE WILSON of Surrey!

Sue is busy with family and friends right now so we will get together after Easter and have a fun time picking out some new paint colours and giving her a few decorating tips in our time together.

For those of you in Langley I hope to see you at my library talk on April 4th. If you are interested in ‘Budget Decorating’ and learning how to make changes in your home using some of what you have and getting creative in new ways, then check out my Mothers & Daughters 2 for 1 offer on May 9th.

PRES has expanded its PRES Staging School to Calgary this year. We are currently interviewing potential training home clients to secure 2 training homes in which we bring in our students (up to eight) and TOTALLY TRANSFORM your home for LIVING or SELLING! And best of all – we do this for ‘FREE’! All we ask is that you make a charitable donation on behalf of the PRES Staging Resource Centre to your favourite charity – how great is that!

If you think your home would be suitable as a PRES Training School home then go to our website under www.PresStaging.com and click on Staging Training - Be A Training Home and fill out the information. You can also email either Kym@PresStaging.com or Dana@PresStaging.com and we will be in touch with you shortly if you meet the training home requirements.

If you know of someone who lives in Calgary and you think they might be interested feel free to have them email either Kym@PresStaging.com or Dana@PresStaging.com and we will be in touch with them.

With Gratitude
PRES Instructor Team