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| Posted on 03/20/2009 | |
| Articles >> staff | |
Money
Karen and John: Flipping Houses Here in Connecticut
Scott Whipple Business Scene
Just when you thought the craze for reality shows had faded, along comes Bravo TV’s “Flipping Out.” The weekly show follows the antics of a Los Angeles real estate speculator, Jeff Lewis, an obsessive-compulsive Donald Trump wannabe who flips multimillion dollar houses. Lewis turns a six-figure profit on most properties, insulting and firing workers in his climb to the top. If Dorothy Parker were still around, she’d probably take one look at him and remark:“If you want to know what God thinks about money, just look at the people he gave it to.”
Well, a husband and wife team, John and Karen Bernetti of Southington, also flip houses; they’re on their own quest for success, but in a different way from Lewis.
“Jeff Lewis buys houses that are undervalued because of their condition, fixes them up-we call it ‘staging’ and sells them for a profit,” Karen says. “The Home Team Advantage coaches homeowners on how to keep their homes from being undervalued. We help them fix them up so they can sell them for a profit.”
There are other differences. Lewis fixes up houses before listing them. Karen and John often get called into help after the house has been listed for several months and hasn’t sold. Then, too, their homes are more moderately priced – in the $200,000 - $400,000 range.
The Bernettis say that real-estate staging is catching on throughout the country. It’s been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and on the A&E network.
John, a licensed home improvement contractor, and Karen, a former Realtor, veterans of the construction business, offer a wide range of home-improvement and real estate staging services. Together they lead sellers to quick and profitable sales by coaching them on how to maximize their home’s appeal and make it more appealing to buyers.
“We want to take the anxiety out of the home-selling process,” Karen says.
For Realtors who believe staging is only for exclusive, high-end homes and estates, the Bernettis insist that all homes, even smaller, more moderately priced ones, deserve to sell faster and for more money. They often ask agents to consider staging as a more creative and less expensive alternative to price reductions. Maybe Realtors are getting the message.
Pat Vredevoogd Coombs, president-elect of the National Association of Realtors, prefers that her listings be staged.
“Sellers are too used to their homes,” she reports, “They can’t see them through the eyes of a buyer.” She even uses stagers to sell her own homes.
Karen and John are hosting a “Staging Secrets Revealed” seminar tonight (Tuesday) starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Bristol Public Library. For more information, call The Home Team Advantage, LLC at 860/621-6964 or visit their Web Site, www.thehometeamadvantagellc.com.
Scott Whipple can be reached at swhipple@newbritainherald.com or by calling
(860) 225-4601, ext. 319. | Reprinted courtesy of the New Britain Herald.