A seller I spoke with last month figured hiring an agent meant a sign in the yard by the weekend. It doesn’t — not if you want the house to actually perform once it’s live. There’s real work in the gap between “I’m ready to sell” and “it’s on the market,” and most sellers have […]

Published: August 3, 2026 Author: Lisa Stretton | Listing & Design Strategist | Cindy Raney & Team, Coldwell Banker Realty Location: Westport, CT · Fairfield County Reading time: ~6 minutes The first thing I do at a listing consultation isn’t pull out a comp report. It’s walk the house in silence for about five minutes […]

Published: July 27, 2026 Author: Lisa Stretton | Listing & Design Strategist | Real Estate Advisor @ Cindy Raney & Team, Coldwell Banker Realty Location: Westport, CT · Fairfield County Reading time: ~6 minutes   I’ve watched it happen from a kitchen doorway more times than I can count: a buyer stops walking mid-step, goes […]

Published: July 20, 2026 Author: Lisa Stretton | Listing & Design Strategist | Cindy Raney & Team, Coldwell Banker Realty Location: Westport, CT · Fairfield County Reading time: ~6 minutes Sellers ask me this one in almost every listing consultation, usually while standing in a living room they’ve furnished carefully over fifteen years: “Do we […]