guest post: real estate style

They know Alexandria, in and out. And not just because it’s their job. In fact, they live and work here, too. As a real estate group specializing in properties in Alexandria, The Patterson Group ensures they know the city like their own backyards. Over the years, they’ve found that with this knowledge they are better able to assist their clients in finding the perfect home as prospective home buyers often take into great consideration their favorite places to shop, eat and relax.

Aside from their expertise on our beloved city, The Patterson Group prides itself on professionally organizing, staging and photographing all their listings. In fact, look for staging tips and decorating tricks to come from them in future posts. They know that how you live in your home and how you sell your home are two totally different things. “How things look online is so important these days! 98.6% of buyers look online before they even get in the car. And the 1.4% that isn’t looking online are probably just your nosey neighbors who just assume pop through your open house,” says Brittany Patterson. “For instance, red is a dominant color in photos. That’s a huge mistake. Red dining rooms, for example, were all the rage in the early 2000s, but now we have to go into clients’ homes and tell them, ‘We love your dining room. We had one too. But please paint it!'”

Another one of their favorite sayings is as follows: “More than three of anything is a collection. A collection is clutter. And clutter eats equity!” (The same could and should be applied to decorating a home for living!) According to Brittany, The Patterson Group “really tries to push our sellers to the edge of their comfort zone when getting their homes on the market. And we get pushback. Often they even ask me what my house looks like?!”

So, Phyllis and Brittany–two members of The Patterson Group–have taken the challenge! They are going to let Stylebook into their homes in the coming weeks. And we will share with you what the inside of their homes looks like: clutter, red dining rooms, and all.

Meet The Patterson Group:

The Patterson Group joined TTR Sotheby’s in December of 2013. The team is headed by Phyllis Patterson, who has 30 years of real estate experience and is a resident of Mount Vernon. Her daughter, Brittany, joined her 7 years ago and has helped Phyllis grow the business. Brittany lived in Old Town and jokes that she drinks “the Old Town Kool-Aid.” Tracy Dunn, a resident of Waynewood and former preschool teacher, joined Phyllis’ team as an agent two years ago. JoAnne Sawczuk, the most recent addition to the team, is a resident of Wellington and has joined the team after a successful career at Xerox. Lastly, the lady who keeps them all together, the fabulous team administrator, Maria Bowman, who grew up in Waynewood and graduated from Bishop Ireton.