Platinum Home Staging, Inc.

Visit our extensive Home Staging portfolio of Owner Occupied homes, Vacant Homes, New Construction, Re-Designs and Re-Models. From paint colors to place settings, Platinum Home Staging, Inc. is your complete Home Staging and Interior Design Company. Call us today to begin your home's transformation.

(805) 553-9952

The Difference in hiring a Home Stager or a "stager"

Platinum Home Staging, Inc. was called in on a very larger property for a Home Staging Consultation. This bachelor has what every bachelor has in his dining room - a POOL TABLE, of course! Well, his Broker suggested using a Home Stager to get his home up to par, since the exact same floor plan across the street was also for sale. (Thumbs up to him!)

After talking with this home owner several times, we're 99% ready to move forward and I suggest this beautiful, handmade dining room set which seats 8. Everything in the home is Casa de Mexico, handmade, rich woods, terracotta tiles, etc. The dining room is 15' wide by 17' long, so this was my suggestion for a small monthly rental fee. Keep in mind, this is the ONLY piece of furniture we have to bring in for him, so this would be his ONLY furniture expense.


So flies in the Broker to save the day! His Broker has "a warehouse of furniture that he uses for staging that we can use for FREE!" - "Great!" I replied, "We can use what he has" - we do this every day; incorporate other pieces into the plan, besides it's only 1 room of the entire 6,000+ square feet of house - right?

Here's the kicker - THIS is the set that the Broker IS CURRENTLY USING in a house right down the street, which he is offering for us to use for free! How generous of him! Thankfully the Home Owner agreed that this set was a bit "weak" to use as the formal dining set.

That is why people hire experienced, Professional Home Stagers to STAGE homes, not just put furniture in a house....

Plainum Home Staging, Inc. is your experienced and professional Home Staging Company serving the greater Los Angeles and Ventura County areas. Call us today for your FREE Home Staging Bid at (805) 553-9952

Home Staging is not just for "Selling" Homes

The term "selling" a home is actually quite broad and varied. Think about it - "Selling" a home is not just for selling homes. If you are a Property Manager, or have a second income rental or vacation property, you are also "selling" your home, or rather it's services, every day.




These homes are not "for sale", yet they are essentially "selling" themselves; their service of a location for a relaxing vacation or quiet weekend, a family reunion, a weekend by the beach, or a ski trip in the mountains. Keeping in mind that over 98% of all potential clients or customers will view and decide on your rental or vacation property purely by how it is presented via the internet. How the property is presented through it's photographs IS the first impression.





For a very minimal investment, a Professional Home Stager can help Re-design your property using what you already have or for small additional cost, bring in accessory items, artwork, even furniture. Platinum Home Staging, Inc. will even take new, high resolution digital photos of the property once it has been Staged for use via internet marketing and print ads. Additional services such as Virtual Tours and embedded HTML codes are also available.

Using the same approach of "selling" your Rental and Lease properties can pay for itself within days as many home owners in today's economy are looking to lease homes verses apartments.

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Call Platinum Home Staging, Inc. today (805) 53-9952 for your FREE Home Staging Bid. Serving the greater Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Home Staging for Los Angeles, Los Feliz, Hollywood, Hancock Park, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Canoga Park, Van Nuys, West Hills, Northridge, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Wood Ranch, Thousand Oaks, Calabasas, Oak Park, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura, Santa Barbara

This Realtor in La Canada, CA Gets IT!!!

With some recent Agents saying that what I do as my chosen profession categorized as being "out" for 2009, I wanted to post a link to a Realtor Blog in La Cananda, CA that gets it!

Phyllis Harb of Dickens Podley Realtors
Her Los Angeles Real Estate Blog hits the nail on the head and I invite everyone to take a read and realize that this is coming from an Realty Industry Professional, not a Home Stager, and please leave a comment on her blog.
No wonder this Glendale home took 241 days and three price reductions to sell!

Home Staging is a viable marketing, selling and listing tool that Realtors should, and need to, embrace. The NAR recently released that over 87% of Buyers are "shopping" the internet first. Realtors everywhere are commenting on how advertising a property in local newspapers is a thing of the past and a waste of money. That being said, how the property is portrayed via the internet IS the homes FIRST IMPRESSION!
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Platinum Home Staging, Inc. has been recognized and grown into a tremendous success built on customer service, integrity and best of all, customer referrals. Specializing in Home Staging, Interior Decorating and Model Home Interiors. Serving the greater Los Angeles & Ventura County areas. A home's first impression is the most important one. A home should be inviting and memorable; to stand out among the hundreds of homes that Buyer's may be looking at. Selling a home, is in fact, selling a product. Market the product, "package" it to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible. After all, ...How you live in your home, and how you sell your home, are two completely different things. Call us today at (805) 553-9952

Your Professional Home Stager for Los Angeles, Los Feliz, Hollywood, Hancock Park, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Canoga Park, Van Nuys, West Hills, Northridge, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Wood Ranch, Thousand Oaks, Calabasas, Oak Park, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura, Santa Barbara

"My home has been on the market for months. Now what?!"

Before we answer this question, we need to address a few more scenarios about why your home hasn't sold.

The first and foremost being: Are you listed with a Real Estate Agent? Or are you trying to go it FSBO? If the later is your situation, you really need to suck it up and start interviewing Professional Agents in your area (not your cousin's-best friend's-sister who is a Realtor located 45 miles away) The money you were trying to save by not paying the commission has already been lost in delaying the sale of your home and carrying costs. Bite the bullet! List with a Professional Realtor who knows your area, neighborhood, your target demographics and can market your home far better than you can and are.

The second part of this goes hand-in-hand with the first: Your asking price. Communitcate with your Realtor, this is WHAT THEY DO. A Realtor will either a) Give you a reality check and adjust your price accordingly, or b) be able to market the home to the right demographics.

Lastly, take a HARD look at your home and ask yourself, "What can I do to make it better?" If you answered your own question with, "...nothing, my home is beautiful..." Then it's time to call in the additional services of a Professional Home Stager.

In today's market, your home needs to be the the utmost, BEST condition, as it is likely to be competing with hundreds of other homes for the same price! "Location, Location, Location" is not the selling mantra in today's market. "Location, Price, Condition" is what is going to sell your home. Obviously, if your home has been on the market for months, it needs something you're not willing, ready or able to do. For very little investment, most Professional Home Stagers offer a consultation service.

From curb appeal, de-cluttering to paint colors, flooring or misc. upgrades and repairs: a paid Consultation will give you the road map to ensure your home will show at its very best every day. If the 7-10 page typed report seems a bit over-whelming, ask the Stager to give you a bid to have them perform part or all of the suggested items. It's a great place to start, and you have nothing to lose....except maybe another mortgage payment.
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Platinum Home Staging, Inc. has been recognized and grown into a tremendous success built on customer service, integrity and best of all, customer referrals. Specializing in Home Staging, Interior Decorating and Model Home Interiors. Serving the greater Los Angeles & Ventura County areas. A home's first impression is the most important one. A home should be inviting and memorable; to stand out among the hundreds of homes that Buyer's may be looking at. Selling a home, is in fact, selling a product. Market the product, "package" it to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible. After all, ...How you live in your home, and how you sell your home, are two completely different things. Call us today at (805) 553-9952

WARNING: BAD MLS Photos!

AGENTS - WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!!!!?????!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Here are just a few local MLS pictures that EVERY REALTOR and BUYER is seeing of YOUR LISTING!!!! Whether they are local buyers or relocating from across the country or from the other side of the world ~ isn't the Internet a wonderful thing?!?!?!
Have you forgotten that over 85% of Buyers look to the Internet to "shop" for homes? Have you forgotten that first impressions mean everything?
PLEASE, Call us - we can help!!!

Platinum Home Staging, Inc.
www.PlatinumHomeStaging.com
(805) 553-9952

These photos were not the "worst-of-the-worst", but were within the first few listings of selected areas as posted on Realtor.com. Since it is inevitable that we will offend someone with this post, anyone who believes that this is offensive should take this apology to apply to them personally. Sorry, We're only trying to help!

My $.02 Regarding Home Staging "Courses"

That's RIGHT! I'm on my soap box and I have HAD IT!

Being a Home Stager in an unregulated industry is HARD enough...

Trying to educated Home Owners, Realtors and the general Public about my industry is HARD enough...

But I AM here to educate EVERYONE that in the Home Staging Industry, EXPERIENCE and PROFESSIONALISM will trump ANY alphabet-shalphabet string of "certifications" or "accredidation" letters behind my name any day!!!

GO AHEAD - LET ME HAVE IT!!! But before you do... You have to know why I am on my soap box today, and those of you whom may have gone through one of the VERY few courses which have been around for years, should also be mad as he**!

I can't count on my fingers and toes just how many NEW and so-called home staging "training" companies have suddenly jumped on the bandwagon advertising themselves as offering that they can turn anyone into "certified", "accredited" or "exclusively trained" home stagers. Promising "a minimum of $75 per hour with little to NO inventory required" that can turn you into a bona-fied home stager "...in as little as 2 days..." and can cost anywhere from $500 - $2,799 and this is one I came across just this evening that sent me over the edge and prompted this post.

Home Staging Certification
$149
(INSERT PAYPALL BUTTON HERE)
And even advertises "Take 1 test and get 2 Certificates!

One for YOU, one for YOUR PARTNER!!!"

I actually called one of the more recent "certifying home staging courses" that just opened in my own back yard and asked her what her credentials were and asked if she had a website other than her own training course where I could see some of her most recent works..... She had none.

Another one I did a little back-up research on and found that they had NOT STAGED A SINGLE HOME IN OVER 8 MONTHS before opening this so called "training course with the ‘exceedingly successful' home stager _______________".

It is HARD ENOUGH to do what we do, to educate those who ALREADY know about our industry - imagine trying to explain to the other 90% of Home Owners and Realtors who don't know about our industry, that basically anyone can pick-up "any" certificate from "anyone" who calls themselves an "instructor"...These fly-by-night, pop-ups have now completely invalidated any course you have taken in the past and may stand behind. Since "anyone" can seemingly hand out these pieces of paper, your alphabet means nothing in the sea of Home Staging today....

So, why the heck not: Who wants to come get the "Exclusively Trained by the Certified Platinum Home Staging Accedidation Course"? Please email your contact information and payment to..... ( I am just kidding - but that is just how easy it has become )
I'm off the soapbox now....who's next?