Home Staging: The Winning Way To Sell Your House for More Money [Paperback]

In a February 4th 2007 email that the author of this book wrote and sent out to her staff and associates about her new soon to be released book, she wrote and revealed her intention with this (her initial) book.

Ms. Schwarz actually admits this book was NOT intended to help the general public by teaching them practical home staging techniques. She admits it was purely a Public Relations brochure to "DRIVE" business to her and her association.

Let Ms. Schwarz's own words speak to you... "A book is for PR. That is mainly what a book is for. That PR is for ASP's, SHC, as well as people knowing that I created Home Staging. Do you know how many ASP's have gotten business in Home Staging from the public by the public reading my book released just a year ago on `How to Stage?' THE BOOK WEARS THE PEOPLE/THE PUBLIC OUT. They say, oh my gosh, this is too much work. I cannot do this, I must call an ASP. Once again it drives people to call an ASP to work with, or to become one."

I understand PR and this would NOT be such a bad thing if the Back Cover didn't lead the reader into believing that they would learn from the book what they needed to know to stage their own homes.

Here is what is written on the back cover of this book:

1)"That's the premise of Staging*, a concept that teaches YOU to look at YOUR home through a buyer's eyes and make adjustments to improve its appeal and value."

2)"...YOU'll learn how to play up YOUR home's strong points and improve its presentation. By rearranging furniture, trimming overgrown bushes, painting a room, and clearing out the clutter, Home Staging will help YOU spotlight YOUR property for a fast, profitable sale.

3)"Filled with organizing tips and checklists, plus before-and-Staged photographs that dramatically show how Staging can transform YOUR home inside and out, Home Staging has all the answers YOU'll need when looking to increase the sale price of your home."

Now that Ms. Schwarz has revealed the true intention of her first book, it makes one wonder what the intention of her next book will be.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 9/04/06 by JJ
TITLE: ALL SURFACE NO SUBSTANCE!

Don't waste your time. I read the WHOLE THING in 3 ½ hours. This book reveals little for the home seller looking for ideas on how to prepare (stage) their home for selling. Do a Google search on the subject... you will find MUCH more useful information in the same amount of time.

Ms. Schwarz gives a whopping ONE paragraph and 2 bullet point description on tips to stage the master bedroom, a room she acknowledges is key to attracting a buyer's attention.

The Before & After pictures featured in the book look like they were taken with an old Instamatic camera. Ms. Schwarz banters on about professionalism, yet she could not even hire a professional photographer to capture visual image examples of her own staging work. An area she self professes to be the leading authority on.

However, Ms Schwarz does give a boastful 10 pages (Chapter 8) on how wonderful her own home is. But the description is so saccharinely fake, as you read it you start to pity the "staged" fantasy she is living, or at least describing. It would make a great Saturday Night Live skit. At one point, as she shares that there are no wire hangers in her home, I could not but think of the scene from the movie "Mommy Dearest" where Joan Crawford banishes them from her own life.

This book leaves me with a BAD first impression.

This book tells you what you already knew - clean, declutter, fix broken stuff, and clean up the yard. That's about it. The reason the book is more than ten pages long is that it is chock full of the author's stories about how wonderful she is and what a staging pioneer she is. I really wish I hadn't wasted my money on this fluffy piece of advertising.

This book has some good thoughts and ideas as well as suggestions on staging your home for sale. Some of the ideas are pretty basic and commonsense and some are very good. However, the author comes across as being a real braggart throughout the entire book taking credit for just about everything and not letting you forget it. I think the book could be better if she check her ego at the door and just stick to the subject.