When Bad Things Happen to Good Real Estate

Monday, June 28, 2010
What you are looking at is furniture on blocks, a stack of bifold doors, an extraction machine, and fans.  What happened?
At our house it’s safe to say that when the phone rings at 8:30 on a Monday morning, it’s not a good sign.  At least it wasn’t today.

Our realtor, Ms. Speedy was on the line, trying to sound calm.  The neighbor next door to our for-sale, vacant condo, had called her to say that water was coming out from under our front door, and that her carpet was soaked.  Both units are built on the same slab. 

We live just two minutes from this property, and our realtor’s office is even closer to it.  Gotta love life in a small town. 

By the time we arrived, Ms. Speedy already had the water turned off at the main tap, and had rounded up the president of the homeowners’ association and a handyman friend.  We stepped into the unit, onto wet and floating squares of parquet flooring, and squishy carpeting.  An inch of water covered the kitchen and bath floors.  It was not a pretty sight.

The good news was that it wasn’t sewage water, river water or rain water.  It was clean water.

Within an hour we had a team of fire and water damage specialists on site.  In another hour our plumber was there.  By this time Mr. Lucky and I had already sucked up over 50 gallons of water with our own big, wet/dry, shop vac.    

The plumber determined that the source of the water was the water heater.  Its safety valve had given out, spilling the contents onto the condo’s floor.  The tank kept filling up to replace the lost water.  What’s strange is that we had turned off the water heater because it made no sense to be heating water while the place was vacant.  The plumber said he had never seen this happen before. 

If you have ever been in a situation like this, you know that all you want is for things to be normal again.  All I can tell you is that if all damage repair specialists are as together as the local franchise owner, Mr. Make-it-right, there’s nothing to worry about.  As we inspected the various problems – wet vinyl flooring, wet baseboards, wet drywall -- his words were downright soothing. 

“I can take care of that”

“We’ll fix that.”

“That’s not a problem.”

The padding under the carpet was the kind that could be dried, so instead of ripping out all carpeting and padding, all of it would all be dried on site.  The baseboards would have to be discarded, but the wet two inches of drywall behind them could be thoroughly dried.  It would take all week, but the place would be clean, dry, disinfected, and out of trouble.

All my precious staging was topsy turvy!  I stripped the beds and relocated to closet shelves pillows, books, lamps, and any small stuff I could.  I brought home to wash curtains and a bed skirt that had wicked up water.        

The work is done by giant extractors, fans, and dehumidifiers.  And four men.  By the end of the day, baseboards were outta there, carpets were elevated, furniture was piled in safe places or elevated on foam blocks.

My philosophy is that every misfortune has a flip side -- either a lesson to be learned or a greater reward down the road.  Let's just see where this soggy road leads!  

Tablescape Staging Prop -- I Just Had to Have It

Thursday, June 24, 2010

A tabletop prop should add something to the room.
Every year the garden club I belong to has an auction of members’ white elephants.  It’s an intramural fundraiser and a good one because, as we all know, one woman’s trash is another woman’s folly.

The auction is actually a raffle, and we hold it when we host our annual luncheon. 

Members buy raffle tickets, place them in tin cans set next to the displayed items, and then wait until after our meal for one number to be drawn from each can. 

When I saw this leaded glass terrarium, I stuffed all my raffle tickets into that one can.  And I won it, as they say on eBay when you have bought something.  For five bucks, I have an interesting item I know I’ll use for staging somewhere sometime.

When you are staging your own home, it's always a good idea to have some options, a little more than you need  in the way of props, so that you can experiment until you get that magic mix of accessories.  

Sometimes you don't know what is going to showcase your home's best assets until you see it in 3-D, in the light of day. So, I like to keep an variety of props on hand to experiment with.

These items might be dishes and other ceramic items, glassware, lamps, vases, wall art, trays, silk flowers and found items from nature.    

For fun, I tried different possibilities with my new toy, the terrarium.

Silk ivy leaves had no pizazz.

First I put a silk ivy plant in it.  Nothing terribly exciting.

Then I tried an antique tea pot.  Nice, but a little too museum-like.

I put a candle holder with a yellow candle inside. Not terribly interesting.  How about the candle my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas, the luscious bunch of asparagus?  We're getting closer.

Finally, the one I like best is leaving it empty and using silk flowers next to it, all on a silver tray.  I'm glad I won my glass terrarium staging prop.

Maybe Mr. Lucky’s not the only one around here who gets what he wants.  Luck is really a state of mind, and a good one to cultivate.

A recent study I read about showed that people who thought they had been given a good luck charm (by the researchers) actually performed better on tests.


The teapot looks too much like a stuffy display.



I liked this candle, but I couldn't light it or smell it any more!


Leaving the glass house empty turned out to be just right.

Today I want to encourage you to cultivate a lucky state of mind.  Believe that you will sell your home for a price that makes you happy! 

Meanwhile, be on the lookout for props that help with your home staging.  Trust me, you'll get lucky.

I give pointers for creating beautiful tablescapes for home staging in my eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and For Top Dollar. Download it now, and start staging your home the thrifty way
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