Are You Ready for Your Closeup?

TNT Partners -- This week's column is all about show biz! First, our little bit of show biz: TNT Partners did some shooting for HGTV . . . My House Is Worth What? . . . and it was so much fun.

Lights . . . Camera . . . Action! We will let you know when our HGTV episodes will be airing. What was so sweet about the shoot . . . and it was fun in front of the camera . . . was that we drive home the same points during the show that we cover in our real estate business for property after property.

What should you do if you are selling your luxe property to get the highest return on your investment?

We love helping homeowners figure this one out!

Set the Stage: We know you love your home . . . so carefully make your renovations, add those dream additions, and make your luxe property bling with flash and style! So how do you set the stage . . . get your home as great as it should be while you're living in it . . . get your house and grounds ready for faster, more lucrative resale? 

TNT Partners has been setting the stage for clients for over ten years. It's part of who we are and it consumes what we do as professionals. There is so much media about this new home staging business. Does it help sell homes faster and get you better returns? Absolutely. Just do it. Trust us. Ask no questions. Act now. (Are we being clear about this?)

Step One: Start to Stage! Let buyers imagine themselves in your space. That's the key to staging your home to get it ready for higher-quality living if you're not planning to move . . . or to get your property listed and ready to sell.

• Clean up the clutter of your busy lives.
• Open the rooms so that they can breathe.
• Remove any heavy furniture that hides the spaciousness of each room. See our Design2Share Q&A video on Home Design Mistakes and you'll find "supersized furniture" . . . like the couch or bed that is too massive for the room . . . on your staging hit list.

Nothing to Hide. Do you have a fabulous view that luxe buyers are looking for? Can you see the mountains . . . the beach or lakefront . . . scenic city skyline? Don’t hide these features by oversized or heavy window treatments.

Keep it simple. Open up the view. Restyle those window treatments. Let your real estate and its location sell itself!

Picture Perfect! Luxe property owners are busy people. They like to view most properties that they're scouting for online before they even step foot in them . . . so your home should be magazine perfect!

Our clients want online brochures and state-of-the art communications . . . something that TNT Partners and Design2Share is working on. Stay tuned for more details!

We want to give every clients real estate around the world with a one-stop shopping experience! Your time is precious . . . and if you stage your property correctly, your rooms and grounds will photograph much better . . . will jump out with all that roominess and beauty . . . will call attention to the building details like the stone floors, the plastered walls and ceilings, the rich moldings, the hand-crafted cabinetry.

Anything but clutters and piles! Organize, store, hide, throw away. Get busy and set the stage!

Getting Ready for Buyers: Don't be overwhelmed about getting your home ready for sale! We recommend that you call a good local home stager. In San Francisco, for example, our spies tell us that most luxe homes are staged to the hilt before they go on the market. So smart and savvy, you San Fran luxe homeowners!

Visit the International Association of Home Staging Professionals website to find a home stager in your town. Do it now.

Stage It! A home staging professional can arrange and edit your furniture to give it that photograph-ready look. Put things in storage that are not being used until your home is sold. Organizers can be hired to clean out your closets, tidy up your basement, and clear the junk from your garage if you are not willing or able to do the nastiest cleanup chores.

Our clients rely on these pros to get you ready for sale. You are savvy, so put your best foot forward by adding these helpers to your list.

Works for New Construction, Too: Builders love it when we set them up with a fabulous home stager! Who wants to see an empty home? "Will my bed fit in this bedroom?" Don't make them guess! Put a bed in that empty room! New furniture, some spare window treatments, a few chic accessories . . . you've got to set the stage so folks get the idea that real people belong in this brand-new space.

Staging new homes is a good deal for top-of-the-line furniture companies as well. Many times we're seeing pieces end up in the homes right where they were placed! No fuss. Turnkey living. This is great for relocating buyers who need to move fast!

How Much? There is a price for this, of course. You might pay a monthly fee for furniture and equipment rental along with a specified fee for the home-staging pro. Window treatments and accessories? Those would add to the cost. Stagers themselves will have fees for doing up your whole house or charge rates for a certain number of rooms. Some will break it down by task, from selecting new paint colors to solely editing and rearranging what you already have. 

More Staging Ideas: Depending on what your needs are . . . home stagers can provide furniture from their own inventory. They can use your own furniture and accessories. They can rent brand-new furniture to show your luxe home off to its best!

Stagers provide a great service . . . and they do their spiff-up job every day, working to let your house shine in the best light for all of our luxe sellers and prospective buyers. No guesswork for you . . . working in tandem with your Realtor®, home staging professionals make the job much more effective! 

Lights, Camera, Action! Let’s get your house sold, savvy luxe homeowner! It's a great experience, and there are great professionals who can help you maximize your hard work and investment.

TNT to the Rescue. No matter where in the world your luxe property is located . . . TNT Partners can move you. We’re plugged into the world to help you list your home . . . sell it . . . and find the hottest in luxe properties available.

Our future columns will feature specific luxe properties available in different areas of the country! Need to get your luxe property on the market? Call us today, and you may be featured in our next luxe feature.

All our best till next week,

TNT Partners: Julia, Wendy, and Steven

Photo Credits: Stage a Star, Home Staging Concepts, Value My House