New York Home Stager Helps Ailing Home Owner Make Quick Sale

Debra Gould
Not everyone who puts their home up for sale is happy about moving. In fact, some of the saddest stories you´ll hear involve families being forced to sell their home.

When New York home stager and Staging Diva Graduate, Susan Atwell, was contacted by a couple in dire need of a fast sale, she wasted no time springing into action.

A deteriorating illness was forcing this couple to downsize to a one level home and after 14 months on the market, they were growing more desperate with each passing day. Unfortunately the market was also deteriorating and this couple simply couldn´t afford to lower their price again.

Even if a significant price reduction was made, there would still be no guarantee for a fast sale.

They asked their real estate agent if they had any more options and the agent suggested home staging.

When AtWell Staged Home came on the scene, a detailed and budget-conscious DIY plan was created. The plan was implemented aggressively by almost 30 volunteers from the couple´s church and all work was completed in two weeks. The only items that were purchased for this 3500 square foot, 5 bedroom house were paint and a slip cover. The home sold four days after it went back on the market.


Susan says, "A family´s life changed and all it took was a plan, some paint and a slip cover. Rooms were de-cluttered, furniture was expertly moved around and some rooms were re-purposed to create an inviting and clean space for buyers to imagine themselves living in."

Thanks to the work of Susan AtWell´s home staging company, this family was able to breathe a sigh of relief and move on with their lives without the stress of selling their home hanging over their heads.

Through the Staging DivaŽ Home Staging Training Program, Debra Gould has trained thousands of people like Susan to turn their passion for decorating into a profitable career.
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Debra Gould

Debra Gould, aka The Staging DivaŽ, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.

Gould has trained 7,000+ Staging Diva students in over 21 countries to start their own businesses. All shared a natural talent for decorating and interest in real estate, but didn't know how to make a living in their own house staging business before learning her secrets.

Debra Gould's mission is to inspire and empower others to use their natural talents to earn a living. She followed her dreams and wants to teach others to be able to do the same.

Gould pursued an MBA in Marketing and began a corporate career before moving to advertising. In the 1980s, she launched one of the first integrated marketing firms, which she ran for 10 years. Wanting a more creative life, Debra gave it up to design home accessories. She created the Debra Gould Home Collection, landing a magazine cover story and book feature, followed by her first of several HGTV appearances.

Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a new staging career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since that time she has staged homes for hundreds of clients in addition to providing home staging training.

Gould is the author of "Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide: Home staging tips, tricks and floor plans", "Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide: The easy way to pick colors for home staging projects", and "Staging Diva Ultimate Portfolio Guide: Winning clients with the perfect home staging portfolio".

In addition to HGTV, Debra Gould's media coverage includes: CityTV, GlobalTV, CBC, CBS Radio, CNNMoney, Wall Street Journal, Woman's Day, Reader's Digest, MoneySense, Entrepreneur, House and Home, Home & Decor, Style at Home, Centre of the City, USAA Magazine, FabJob Guide to Become a Home Stager, Home Style, National Post Homes, This Old House, Home Business Magazine, Globe & Mail and others.

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