Recently Home Frosting had the privilege of working with Allan Mezrah, a Realtor with the Toni Everett Company, on a Davis Island luxury home. While the 4,700 + sq. ft., waterfront home was fairly new construction and had a nice floorplan, Allan believed home staging would ensure a quick sale and at the highest price. He was absolutely right. After Home Frosting staged the listing, an offer was made following the very first showing. We didn’t even take professional photos yet. We love that! If you want to see more of our work, click here.
The moral to this story is not only how home staging works.
Just ask Allan. “Karen and the Home Frosting team know home staging. They were great to work with and their talents and luxury furnishings definitely made a difference to the fast sale of this home.”
But as a Realtor, home stager or home owner in the Tampa Bay area, you must always be prepared for Tampa’s bad weather.
My team had all gone home. It was around 8 PM and I was there by myself doing some finishing touches and suddenly a violent storm showed up. Within seconds, bright lightning filled the sky, thunder was booming and the power went off, not only in the home, but on the entire street. It was pitch black, there was no AC and I was not prepared. To make matters worse, I had not eaten since the early morning, so my low sugar added to my extreme emotional state of being freaked out and scared!
I was in the master bedroom on the main floor. I could not see anything in front of me, my car keys and cell phone were in the garage over 1,000 feet away and that required going down stairs to get find them. The storm continued and I had one option, to feel my way inch by inch to my cell phone. I prayed it had enough battery power to utilize the flashlight to get me out of the house and to my car. Forty minutes later, after bumping my way through furniture, I made it to the garage and fortunately recalled where I last set down my phone. The battery at less than 5%, just enough to get me to the door and to my lit car. What a crazy night! and the lessons I learned “the staging in the dark” way.
Lessons learned
Tampa’s weather can suddenly become dangerous. Be prepared.
- Always keep your cell phone charged and on you
- When you are working, keep your body fueled. This means hydration and keeping protein foods with you
- When power goes off, it can be hours before it’s back
- There is no moon light in bad storm
- Even when a home owned by TECO is not immune to power outages
My staging in dark evening was a scary adventure. I’m thrilled the home sold so fast and that I am able to share this experience with you. Don’t get caught in a home without power and no game plan!
