About Michael Fontana - The Stage Coach
Having weathered the waves of the IT industry for nine years, and telecommuting for five of them from Round Rock, it was time for Michael to find a new career path.

From Computers to Home Staging is not a transition you see every day, and one of the first questions people ask is, How did he become involved in Staging Homes? Simple story: one day, one of the home shows was on cable television. The show’s hosts were claiming to Stage a house in preparation for sale, but their decisions were completely horrible and so outrageous that he started talking to the television, his voice rising slowly.

Shortly thereafter, his wife entered the room to find him barking criticisms at the TV. Upon seeing the reveal at the conclusion of the show, she understood his comments. She then said to him, "You know - you have an eye for that kind of thing. After all, when you were working on the condo, you were basically Staging it..."

[Their previous home in Chicago was in an 80-year old building that had been converted to condominiums in the 1970's. Many items in the home were showing their age, but the common architectural elements of the time were all there: original hardwood floors and crown mouldings, plaster walls, built-ins, and barely any closet space. Luckily, before marrying, Michael had spent a couple of years working with a contractor on the construction/rehab of 100+ year old homes on the North Shore. So, putting those skills to use, they made some updates to the condo, did some painting, and most importantly, boxed up most of the clutter before calling their Realtor, Gary Hasegawa. He put it on the MLS, and started getting calls before he left the office. It was contracted in less then 48 hours of his submitting the listing.]

With a lot of discussion and a little deliberation, it was decided that my skills learned working with the contractor, coupled with a common sense attitude and “Type A” personality would be a great blend to use for Staging. Finding an accreditation program on Barb Schwarz’s StagedHomes.com website using Google, the rest is The Stage Coach history.

Michael Fontana is a member of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals, and active in its Austin Regional Chapter (IAHSP-Austin). In 2007, he served the Board in the position of Chapter Secretary, and was then nominated and elected to serve as Chapter President for 2008. The mission of IAHSP-Austin is dedicated to advancing the art and education of professionals who prepare homes for sale by: Enhancing professional ASP™ excellence, facilitating business development opportunities, Fostering Community where our members live and work, & Increasing IAHSP’s identity in the industry.

Feel free to contact Michael with any Questions:

Thanks, for stopping by!