Do you want your industry to be taken seriously? Perfect! So does the Real Estate Staging Association® (RESA®), the trade association for professional home stagers.
Every industry starts someplace. Let’s compare the staging industry to the real estate industry. At one point, there were no licensed real estate agents. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® was founded as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges on May 12, 1908 at the YMCA Auditorium in Chicago, IL. With 120 founding members, 19 Boards, and one State Association, the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges’ objective was “to unite the real estate men of America for the purpose of effectively exerting a combined influence upon matters affecting real estate interests.” (more…)
The RESA Atlanta Chapter was contacted by Erin Moore, Senior Sales Coordinator at the Frazer Center. Erin handles securing donations and/or volunteers, and she also handles marketing for the center, as well as all things related to the special events held at the Frazer Center or the Cator Woolford Gardens.
Their most immediate need was assistance with the Pavilion located at the Cator Woolford Gardens, which is mainly used in conjunction with the approximately 80 weddings that take place in the Gardens each year. The Pavilion is primarily used by the Bride and Bridesmaids to get dressed and where family and friends of the Bride gather prior to the ceremony. Prior to RESA Atlanta’s involvement and contribution to the Gardens’ Pavilion, the property was very sparsely furnished with mismatched pieces. Basically, the furnishings consisted of folding chairs and 1 full length mirror.
Erin asked RESA Atlanta to donate furnishings and stage the Pavilion to enhance the look and appeal of the facility, create a warm and comfortable space, which would improve their guests’ experience; ultimately increasing the amount of events scheduled each year at the Cator Woolford Gardens and increasing the funds contributed to the Frazer Center and its programs for underprivileged children and adults.
The RESA Atlanta Chapter donated the following furnishings to create a warm and inviting space, which has greatly enhanced the experience of guests at the Cator Wooldford Gardens.
3 Rugs
7 Art
Tablecloth
Fireplace Screen
12 Accessories
1 Full Length Mirror
Bathroom Accessories for 2 Bathrooms
Decorative Pillows
RESA Atlanta Chapter Members involved in the event:
Paige Earles – Chapter President
Karen Dempskey – State President
Catherine Morrow – Chapter Treasurer
Lise Desormeaux – Chapter Vice President
In exchange for our donated furnishings and staging services, the RESA Atlanta Chapter received the following:
We permanently attached a plaque in the Pavilion, which states, “Furnishings and Staging Provided by the RESA Atlanta Chapter”.
We’re able to promote the event with before and after pictures and utilize those on our Chapter website and our business websites.
We will receive recognition in their marketing pieces, which include pictures of the Cator Woolford Gardens Pavilion.
Erin Moore and the Frazer Center Board Members were thrilled with results and very appreciative of the RESA Atlanta Chapter’s contributions!
Board Members said, “Wow, what a transformation. Thank you so very much!”. Erin Moore said, “The pavilion looks great! Thank you so much!”
Bestselling author Claire Cook, whose novels include Must Love Dogs, which became a feature film starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, and Seven Year Switch, has turned her attention to home staging in her eighth novel, Best Staged Plans. Hailed as a “charming” story of “midlife craziness” and a “crowd-pleaser for empty nesters” by Publishers Weekly, Best Staged Plans is now available for pre-order.
Sandy Sullivan is a professional home stager, so getting rid of her own house and downsizing should be a breeze. Well, best staged plans and all, Sandy’s husband, Greg, is dragging his feet and their twenty-something son, Luke, has returned home and turned the basement into his “bat cave.” Fixing up houses may turn out to be easier than fixing up lives.
When asked why she turned her attention to home staging, Cook said, “For me, a huge part of the fun of being a novelist is that I get to live other lives vicariously. Professional home staging seems like the perfect midlife career to me – it’s creative and flexible, life experience is an asset, and it’s a growing field. I had an absolute blast shadowing several generous home stagers as part of my research for the novel, and I was so impressed with their talent and resourcefulness.”
“I hope all my readers will enjoy this novel,” Cook continued, “but I think it will be particularly fun for professionals working in the industry, and it contains some solid home staging tips. My readers often get ideas for their own lives from my books, and I hope Best Staged Plans will encourage them to reach out to a home stager when it’s time to sell their own house, or maybe even to become one themselves.”
To read an excerpt, and for a chance to win a Kindle, a Nook, or a beach bag filled with Claire Cook’s novels, go to http://ClaireCook.com.
On Saturday 26 March 2011 at 8:30pm, RESA will join hundreds of millions of people across the globe in switching off the lights of its business premises for one hour – Earth Hour, the world’s largest public environmental action. By taking part in this global ‘lights out’ event RESA will be acknowledging its commitment to operational actions that benefit the planet in the year ahead.
I am proud to work for a company that is showing leadership in solutions to our environmental challenges and will join them in taking part in Earth Hour 2011. I would like to invite you, as a valued colleague, to join me and other staff and members of RESA in what promises to be an amazing and inspiring global celebration of our collective commitment to the planet.
In the lead up to Earth Hour 2011, I plan to take a close look at ways I can waste less and reduce my ecological footprint – both at home and in the workplace – and will share my actions with the world on www.earthhour.org as my personal commitment to go beyond the hour for Earth Hour 2011.
Earth Hour began as a single-city initiative – in Sydney, Australia – in 2007 and has since grown into a global movement with hundreds of millions of people from more than 4,500 cities and towns in 128 countries across every continent switching off their lights for Earth Hour 2010, creating history as the world’s greatest ever environmental action.
Some of the world’s most famous man-made marvels and natural wonders, including China’s Forbidden City, Eiffel Tower, Table Mountain, Great Pyramids of Egypt, Buckingham Palace, Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue, Niagara and Victoria Falls, Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House and many more global icons stood in darkness as a powerful symbol of landmark environmental action.
Earth Hour 2011 will be even bigger. It is a global call to action to every individual throughout the world to take responsibility for their environmental impact and join a growing international community who are committed to leading global environmental change.
To get a better sense of the magnitude and inspiring nature of the event, please take a moment to watch the Earth Hour 2011 video at www.youtube.com/earthhour.
I’m excited about Earth Hour 2011, both as the CEO of RESA and as an individual. I hope you will join me and fellow members in this important global initiative and encourage your family and friends to switch off their lights for Earth Hour at 8.30pm in your own time zone on Saturday 26 March 2011 and make a commitment to an action that benefits the planet beyond the hour.
Participating in Earth Hour is easy, fun and absolutely free. To get more information visit www.earthhour.org, where you can sign up to switch off, share your action and celebrate with the people of the world your commitment to the one thing we all have in common – the planet.
The Home Staging CalculatorTM iPhone App is one of the most useful tools to hit the real estate industry since the MLS.
Real estate professionals have traditionally had a difficult time explaining home staging to their clients and getting them to see the value in home staging. The Home Staging CalculatorTM will calculate how much money your clients are likely to spend or save if they decide to stage or not to stage based on the statistics released by the Real Estate Staging Association® (RESA®). This app is 100% customizable to cover all situations
The app also includes the complete Consumer’s Guide to Real Estate StagingTM. The guide covers statistics, explains home staging, why it works and what types of questions to ask when hiring a professional stager.
If you don’t work with a home stager, no worries, the app also links to the RESA’s home staging directory.
The Real Estate Staging AssociationTM (RESA) announced the 2011 Home Staging Industry and Leadership Award Winners during the International Home Staging Convention January 24th, in Las Vegas Nevada.
RESA recognized Staging Professionals in chapter, state and regional leadership positions. Professional home stagers in 5 regions throughout North America received awards in both Rookie Stager of the Year and Professional Stager of the Year categories. RESA also recognized a staging REALTOR of the year, innovator of the year, product of the year and spouse of the year.
Local Chapter President of the Year is Karen Otto with Home Star Staging in Plano, Texas.
RESA 2011 State President of the Year is Bernadette Flaim with Attention 2 Detail, Leonia, New Jersey.
Regional Vice President of the Year is Charlene Storozuk with Dezigner Digz, Burlington Ontario, Canada
Product of the Year- Darby Inventory Management for Home Stagers
Innovator of the Year- (A Tie) Ashley Whittenberger, The Interiority Complex and Patti Morrow the Interior Design Protection Council.
Staging REALTOR® of the Year- Doug Folsetter Remax Escarpment Realty, Inc Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
RESA Spouse of the Year- Chris Norton
Rookie Stager of the Year Region 1 Northeast-Birgit Anich, Redesign Your Space Norwalk, CT
Rookie Stager of the Year Region 3 Southern-Cyndee Long, Seaside Home Stager Pawleys Island, SC
Rookie Stager of the Year Region 4 West-Linda Turner, House to Home Staging & Interior Design, Calabasas, CA
Rookie Stager of the Year Region 5 Canada-(A Tie) Christine Bird, New View Home Staging, Waterloo, Ontario Canada
Rookie Stager of the Year Region 5 Canada-Sally Weatherley, Exit Stage Right, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
Professional Stager of the Year Region 1 Northeast-Claudia Jacobs, Designs LLC Goshen, NY
Professional Stager of the Year Region 2 Midwest-Teresa Meyer, Stage A Star Staging & Consulting Services, Cincinnati, OH
Professional Stager of the Year Region 3 Southern-Kathy Nielsen, Georgia Interior Solutions, LLC, Atlanta, GA
Professional Stager of the Year Region 4 West-Annie Pinsker-Brown, Stage to Sell, Culver City, CA
Professional Stager of the Year Region 5 Canada-Heather Cook, Rooms in Bloom Home Staging & Design, Kitchener, Ontario Canada
The overall RESA 2011 Rookie Stager of the Year-is Birgit Anich, Redesign Your Space, Norwalk, CT.
The overall RESA 2011 Professional Stager of the Year-is Annie Pinsker-Brown, Stage to Sell, Culver City, CA.
Award Winners Photos
Convention Photos
About The Real Estate Staging Association
The Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) is the trade association for Professional Real Estate Stagers. For more information on the nominees and the convention please visit www.RESAConvention.com For more information about Real Estate Staging, the RESA Endorsement Program, or to find a professional stager call 800-201-8687 and speak with Shell Brodnax, or visit the RESA Web site at www.RealEstateStagingAssociation.com
A Lunch and Learn is a presentation that positions you, the home stager, as the resident expert in home staging. This 2 hour presentation provides you with the ability to share with real estate agents the benefits of home staging and enables you to teach the agents on how best to communicate the value of home staging to sellers as well as how to overcome objections. Available to members and non-members. You will be required to enter your own staging photo examples. You must have Power Point.
Income Generator:
The RESA Lunch and Learn is designed to help you market home staging in your local area. The goal is to get new clients and educate agents on your local level through your Lunch and Learns. You may also charge a small fee to attend the workshop. Fees typically increase attendance, as people tend not to cancel if they have paid. Serve a quick lunch of your choice and conduct an amazing workshop.
For those interested in turning this Lunch and Learn presentation into a class where agents can earn continuing education credits, you may apply to become a RESA approved instructor. Credits and requirements vary by state.
NOTE: You do NOT have to be RESA Approved Instructor to offer this workshop and buy the Lunch & Learn. You ONLY have to be a RESA approved instructor to give agents Continuing Education credits if they attend your Lunch & Learn.
If you are already an approved instructor in your state you MAY NOT offer continuing education credits for this Lunch and Learn unless you are approved by RESA.
Stagers you asked for it and RESA delivers again! Over the last several years we have had home stagers asking RESA to produce a tool that will help agents and stagers explain home staging to sellers.
Everyone is well aware of our printed version of the Consumer’s Guide to Real Estate Staging. We have used those same helpful concepts and translated it into a fun, fresh, HGTV type of vibe in DVD format.
The DVD is a great way for stagers and agents to communicate the benefits of staging to homeowners in an effective manner. By having the trade association for your industry communicate the benefits of home staging simply reiterates what stagers and agents tell sellers and adds credibility to what you are already saying.
We cover, what staging is, the benefits, statistics and how to find and hire a professional home stager. I am so excited about this project and I wanted to give you a glimpse of the hard work several people put into this project.
The Real Estate Staging Association® (RESA®) study shows 126 homeowners had their property on the market on average of 263 days before they decided to stage. 263 days = 9 months!!!
Those same homes were staged and sold in 60 days on average after staging. This is 78% less time on the market. This is 7 months less time on the market.
As an example, using this formula you can determine approximately how much money you will continue to spend while your home is on the market un-staged.
If your mortgage is : $1800.00
If your direct expenses are: $300.00
Total carrying cost per month: $2,100.00
Our study shows home owners had their property on the market for an average of 9 months. $2,100.00 X 9 months = $18,900.00 in expenses.
Had those homeowners staged first, their time on market would have been cut by 223 days on average (7 months). $2,100.00 x 7 months= $14,700.00
Staging their homes first would have saved them $ 14,700.00.
These numbers are all relative to individual mortgage and expenses. Use this simple formula to determine how much you will save by staging your home or listing before putting it on the market:
Real Estate Staging Association (RESA®), the member-run trade organization, is now accepting applications for sponsors for the group’s second conference being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 23, 24, 25, 2011.
The RESA International Conference is the only one of its kind focused on providing professional real estate stagers with personal and professional development opportunities to take their businesses to the next level of success. The conference will bring together businesses of all sizes from the United States and Canada for education, networking and to strengthen this evolving industry.
RESA is searching for sponsors/VIPs (Valuable Industry Partners) that are serious about building lasting relationships with professional stagers. By taking advantage of sponsorship, exhibiting, and advertising opportunities, you will be among an exclusive group of organizations that partner with RESA to further its mission, while at the same time build YOUR brand with this loyal sector of the real estate and design population. RESA members look to our sponsors for not only the best solutions to the challenges they face in growing their businesses, but for partnerships with companies who are true champions for their success.
We are looking for sponsors and vendors:
Moving/Storage
Marketing
Furniture Rental
Props and Faux
Food
Paint
Linens
Rugs
Lighting
Website Design
Graphic Arts
Special Tools
Software
Merchant Services
Legal Advice
Eco Friendly
Insurance-Medical & Business
Storage solutions
Floral/Greenery
Window Coverings
For more information on becoming a sponsor, or a speaker, visit www.RESAConference.com or contact Shell Brodnax at 1-888-201-8687.
Do you want your industry to be taken seriously? Perfect! So does the Real Estate Staging Association® (RESA®), the trade association for professional home stagers.
