Home Staging For Dummies »

Christine Rae is an internationally recognized trainer in the home staging industry. She has been providing ground-breaking staging programs since 2001, after a 32-year career in executive business management. In August of 2005, she developed and launched her innovative certification program throughout North America (Canadian Certified Staging Professionals and Certified Staging Professionals). Through that program, she has personally instructed over 2,600 entrepreneurs on how to start and grow a successful home staging business.

Christine has received many industry awards; among the most recent is the 2007 Real Estate Staging Association Staging Innovator of the Year. Christine has coauthored the Home Staging Business Guide e-book and countless articles in industry trade publications, like Canada’s Real Estate Magazine. She is editor and contributing writer for the staging industry trade magazine Staging Standard. She has acted as subject matter expert for CE Network, an online staging program for real estate agents, and an assortment of other real estate one-day programs. She is a platform speaker with thousands of hours dedicated to the staging industry. For information about her staging background go to www.christinerae.com.

Jan Saunders Maresh is a nationally known journalist and television personality specializing in sewing and home decor. Home sellers and real estate agents bank on her training as a Certified Staging Professional, Certified One-Day Decorator, and a Certified Dewey Color Instructor and her more than 25 years of design experience. Jan is also the bestselling author of 15 books, including Sewing For Dummies, Second Edition (Wiley, 2004).

In 2005, Saunders Maresh founded Naked Room Solutions, a home staging and interior redesign company. She speaks for Realtors and teaches home decorating, staging, and color classes at national industry events, paint and fabric stores, and home furnishing and design centers.

8 full-color pages of before-and-after photos

Make your home stand out, sell faster, and bring in more money!

Want to have homebuyers knocking down your door? This no-nonsense, practical guide shows you how to make improvements room by room and generate a higher profit in the most cost- and time-effective way. You'll see how — and why — to eliminate clutter, make repairs, arrange furnishings, pave the way for buyers to make an emotional connection to your house, and much more to get top dollar!

Discover how to:

• Make the improvements that buyers want

• Clear out the clutter

• Show off your home's best features

• Woo buyers with curb appeal

• Depersonalize and neutralize each room

• Get rooms photo ready

Introduction.

Part I: Preparing Your Property for Sale.

Chapter 1: Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me an Offer.

Chapter 2: Discovering What Buyers Want.

Chapter 3: Finding the Fixes You Can’t Ignore.

Chapter 4: Color Me Sold: Using Color and Light to Sell Your House.

Chapter 5: It’s Not What You Have; It’s Where You Place It.

Part II: Three Staging Steps Toward Hitting a Home Run.

Chapter 6: First Base: The Staging Consultation.

Chapter 7: Second Base: Earning Equity with Elbow Grease.

Chapter 8: Third Base: Showcasing Makes Your House Photo-Ready.

Chapter 9: Home: Opening Your House to Buyers and Agents.

Part III: Working Through Your House, Room by Room.

Chapter 10: Curb Appeal: Making a Winning First Impression.

Chapter 11: You Had Me at Hello: Entrances, Exits, and Special Places.

Chapter 12: A Whole Lot of Living to Do: Living, Family, and Rec Rooms.

Chapter 13: A Feast of Dining Room Staging Ideas.

Chapter 14: Cashing In on Kitchens and Baths.

Chapter 15: Inviting Sweet Dreams with Beautifully Staged Bedrooms.

Chapter 16: Office Affair: Stage ’em Something to Talk About.

Chapter 17: Behind Closed Doors: Staging Closets and Other Hidden Places.

Part IV: Addressing Special Staging Considerations.

Chapter 18: Dealing with Sensitive Issues.

Chapter 19: Staging When You’re Building, Rehabbing, or Flipping.

Chapter 20: Staging Your House the Feng Shui Way.

Chapter 21: It’s Not Easy Being Green: EcoStaging.

Part V: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 22: (Almost) Ten Mistakes Sellers Often Make.

Chapter 23: Ten Reasons to Hire a Staging Professional.

Chapter 24: Ten Tricks of the Trade That Help You Sell Your House.

Chapter 25: Ten Ways to Prepare Your House (and Yourself) for the Sale.

Chapter 26: Ten Reasons Sellers Don’t Stage Their Properties (But Should).

Index.