Allisyn Wood is an accredited staging professional and owner of Coastal Coordinations, a staging company in St. Augustine.
WHAT IS STAGING?
According to www.stagedhomes.com, staging is a method to help you get top dollar for your home as you prepare it for sale. This is because staging sets the scene throughout the house to create immediate buyer interest in your property. According to the Web site, the way you live in your home and the way you market and sell your house are two different things.
WHERE IS SHE GETTING BUSINESS?
Since she is just getting started, Wood said most of her business is coming from referrals from Realtors. “I am also marketing to expired listings right now, so if they want to go back on the market they can try staging. They say that a house that hasn’t been staged and came off the market and then got staged and went back on, sells in about three weeks.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR JOB?
“I love the creativity about it. It’s really rewarding because the final product looks so different from the beginning. It looks so sharp and everyone is like ‘Wow’ when they visit the home after a staging. It’s a lot of fun. My house is in the middle of a staging because I am trying to clean out a lot of things and get rid of toys.”
WHERE DOES SHE GET HER IDEAS TO MAKE A HOME LOOK BETTER?
Wood said she has always been into decorating but the accredited staging professional course taught her the main principles: de-cluttering, de-personalizing and picking out neutral colors. In addition, she reads decorating magazines and tunes in to decorating shows when she can.
“It’s nice to know I am able to just walk into a room and visualize what it will look like when I am done.”
BEFORE OWNING HER OWN COMPANY?
Before she started her own business, she worked as an executive assistant at a company that trains people in a specialized area of real estate investment. “I decided to go into staging because I have always enjoyed decorating. Staging is a great way to be creative and organized at the same time. I feel like I get to use both sides of my brain every day.”
WHY START YOUR OWN COMPANY?
“Since staging is a new concept in this area, there wasn’t another company to join. Besides, it is nice to work for yourself so you can be flexible with schedules to make sure I make all the kids’ programs and be home when I need to be.”
HOW ARE REALTORS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“Realtors are important to me as they are usually the first contact a seller makes. Other staging professionals and I are working diligently to educate real estate professionals in this area as to the benefits of staging as we can potential save a seller thousands of dollars when trying to sell a house. It is imperative that a house stands apart from the crowd, especially with the market that we are currently in. Besides, first impressions are important. When a buyer first walks into a house, they need to be impressed and begin to visualize themselves living there. Realtors are essentially the first line of defense.”
HOW CAN YOU HELP REALTORS?
“Realtors may not be comfortable telling sellers certain things for fear of offending (and perhaps losing) a potential listing. This is where a staging professional comes in. It is our job to get the house looking (and smelling) its very best. We have little catch phrases from our training such as ‘If we can’t see it, we can’t sell it’ and others that get our point across without hurting the homeowner’s feelings. Realtors have a phenomenal amount of knowledge about all aspects of selling a house. However, they also know that a specialist, such as an staging professional, may be able to help the homeowner beyond their skills or time restraints when helping a seller prepare their house for market.”
PET PEEVES?
“I don’t appreciate when people are not on time.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
Persistence and patience.
AREA SHE SERVICES?
St. Augustine and as far north as Jacksonville and as far south as Daytona.
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS?
St. Augustine Women’s Council of Realtors.
WEBSITE
www.coastalcoordinations.com
-by Michele Newbern Gillis
Allisyn Wood
Hometown: Colorado
Moved to St. Augustine: In 2002 to be with family.
Resides: St. Augustine
Family: Lives with her fiance, Chris Youngblood, a Realtor with Pacetti Home Star Realty. She has two children, Ariel, 11 and Quinn, 5.
Hobbies: Horseback riding, going to the beach and spending time with her children.