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Tips & Tidbits
Getting ready to sell?
Staging--Don’t Leave (Your) Home Without It!
During our lives we get ready for lots of events—jobs, weddings,
kids, and the occasional class reunion. Selling your house and
moving ranks right up there with the greatest of life’s “stress
filled “ events. For most of us, our homes are the most expensive
item we own. Yet many people spend more time, effort and money
preparing for that 20-year class reunion than they do on getting
their house ready to sell. Have you checked on the cost of
pre-reunion gym memberships, hair transplants and teeth bleaching
lately?
Well if your house is properly staged®, it too will look and feel
like it’s been to the gym -- trimmed down, tuned up and sporting a
brighter smile as well. It might even be sporting some lawn
transplants here and there. And you can be sure everyone will be
watching it as they walk into its rooms.
What’s Staging you ask? Staging
is the process of preparing any home, regardless of price or
location, for the real estate market so it will appeal to the
greatest number of potential buyers. Barb Schwarz, CEO and founder
of Stagedhomes.com™ is the creator of the Home Staging Concept. Barb
has personally Staged and Sold over 3,000 homes in the greater
Seattle area and she holds the Federally Registered Trademark from
the US and Canadian Governments on Stage® & Accredited Staging
Professional™ (ASP).
Accredited Staging Professionals™ are personally responsible for
using a proven set of guidelines to help you prepare your home, both
inside and out, to meet predefined standards that allow a property
to be designated as a "Staged Home". When a home is marketed as a
Staged Home, realtors and buyers know it has been properly prepared
and is ready to sell!
Sadly, not everyone in our area is familiar with the practice of
staging, particularly if they’ve never seen HGTV’s “Designed To
Sell”, or A&E’s “Sell This House”. I say ‘sadly’ because it’s not
uncommon for a house in our area to be on the market for 6-9
months-- or more. I have heard many realtors say that every house
will sell sooner or later, at the right price. It doesn’t have to be
that way.
The best time to sell your house is during the first 30
days on the market. A HUD survey stated that staged homes sold an
average of 50% faster and for 17% more than un-staged homes. In a
hot market staging can produce multiple offers and sales prices
above listing price. In a slow market it gets the house sold at a
price sellers can be happy with!
The truth is that your house is really only worth what someone else
is willing to pay for it. And so how do you get your house to be
more valuable in the buyer’s eyes? You got it--by staging it.
Staged doesn’t mean that it’s a set up, a fake, or that it’s meant
to disguise faults. In fact Staging is just the opposite. It helps
prospective buyers see the real house, not the stuff in the house
and puts the focus on features, space, architecture and
possibilities. Real Estate Staging® is more like the staging lights
at the races—a series of steps you go through before the big jump to
the market!
Stagers provide sellers with comprehensive, honest evaluations of
their home’s presentation. They then provide ideas, solutions and
techniques designed to broaden the home’s market appeal so it sells
faster for more money. In today’s market, you can’t just clean the
house, cut the grass and then put up the sign. It’s a good start,
but there’s more to it than that if you’re looking for top dollar.
“The way you live in your home and
the way you market and sell your house are two different
things.”~Barb Schwarz, founder of Staged Homes.
After living in a home for 5, 10 or 30 years--and layering on all
those special collections, decorating touches, family portraits and
life memento’s--our houses really do begin to look like us. That’s
great for living there, but not for selling to any number of people
who may be viewing the home.
Most buyers spend less than 10 minutes viewing a home. They often
make a ‘like or don’t like’ decision within 5 seconds of opening the
door. Staging insures that the first impression is as good as it can
be and that critical 10 minutes in
your home is memorable in the most positive way.
Why wouldn’t my home make a positive
impression---I certainly like it!
Problem One: NEWS FLASH! Buyers don’t want to buy our
homes just the way we live in them (unless we happen to be a
celebrity and they don’t have much of a life of their own). Buyers
want to buy a house that they can make into their ‘dream’ home.
When homes are filled with our favorite decorating colors and
styles, hobbies, treasures and family photos, buyers feel like they
are intruding on our lives as they walk through. As intruders, they
won’t feel comfortable enough to let themselves “mentally move into”
your home. And if they can’t see themselves living your home—they’ll
never consider making an offer. They can’t make an emotional
connection to your home. How could they? It’s YOUR HOME!
So in order to sell swiftly at the best price, owners need to let go
of their home, and neutralize, de clutter, de personalize
their house to get it ready to sell. By erasing their
personal stamp on the house, owners actually give the buyer
permission to buy! I want you to read the last two sentences again.
It’s amazing how many new owner dreams have been squashed because
there was too much furniture, clutter, or wallpaper. Don’t make the
buyers do the work for you. Most of them can’t imagine what it would
look like without all the added attractions and dated finishes. If
they can, they’ll charge a pretty penny for it when it comes to
their offering price—that is if they make one. My favorite comment
after a staging is “It doesn’t look like my home anymore—but I love
the new look! I never would have thought of doing this!”
That brings us to Problem Two:
Sellers have a very difficult time being totally objective about
their own personal treasures and decorating statements and knowing
what should go or stay. Even their best friends and realtors can’t
see or won’t say what needs to be said. Stagers can see instantly
what sellers will never spot.
The following pictures of homes are all taken from the real estate
marketing websites and are being offered for sale by real estate
companies at this writing. They have not been staged. They are all
“lived in –loved on” houses--perfect for whomever lives there. And
no one would ever say otherwise. They all contain very personal
decorating styles and statements—all the things that make them
“Homes”. Because of this, most of these rooms would probably not be
considered generally appealing to the greatest number of prospective
buyers and therefore less likely to get top dollar in the shortest
time based on the way they are presented on the internet.
Remember the sellers are asking buyers to pay $80 to $200+ thousand
dollars for these properties. They’re not having open houses to show
off their style or their stuff. Homes usually need to have some “un
decorating” for the real estate market. Neutral and pleasing with
just enough design so they’re not boring. Do we live like that? NO.
Do we sell like that? Definitely! That’s where the training, talents
and creativity of a professional stager pay off.
Over 75% of home shoppers use the Internet to search for their new
homes. Many homes are eliminated from consideration with the click
of a mouse based on what they look like in their pictures. So
pictures are very important. Staged Homes do look better in
pictures, in brochures and on the Internet. They are the first
“virtual” impressions.
If you walked through 8 model homes, would you find any rooms that
are decorated like these? As you look at these pictures, notice what
you look at first. Is it the walls, windows, floors, the space---or
the stuff on the walls, windows, and floors?
The objective of staging is to sell the square footage, the
architecture and the focal points of a room. In sales you’ll often
hear the phrase, “sell the sizzle, not the steak”. In real estate,
it’s mostly the steak that sells. The location, square footage, the
architecture, the features, the light and the feel of a house—with
just enough ‘sizzle’ to bring out these features but not overwhelm
them. But it’s also the dream of eating that steak—or the
buyers’ dream of living in that house- that sells. Every bit of the
sellers’ excess furniture, clutter or personal items gets in the way
of an offer.
People react to these rooms in several ways:
They don’t like the décor and are not attracted to the room.
They are so distracted by the stuff; they never really get to see
the room so it doesn’t “sell” them. If they can “see” the room,
they’ll offer a lower price because they don’t like the stuff in it.
It’s human nature. We judge books by their covers all the time and
we’re willing to pay more for something we really like or perceive
as more valuable.
Or the final reaction–they are the one in a hundred that love the
room, the house, and everything in it and make a generous offer. The
question is how long do you wait for that one in a hundred chance?
I’d be interested in hearing from you—let me know. If you were
shopping for a home, what would you think or feel as you walked into
these rooms
There are 5 very simple techniques that could be used in each of the
above rooms to make them more appealing to more people without
buying anything new—with just one stager and an hour or so.
“You Love Me… You Really Love Me!”
So how do you get your home to look like it could be someone else’s
house? Well that takes an evaluation with a “buyer’s eye”, a
customized list of recommended changes, and then usually some room
editing, and styling that sells. It takes a professional, trained,
stager who starts across the street from the house, at the curb and
goes completely through the house and property. They’re not making
judgments on how you live or decorate. They are simply pointing out
how you sell. It also takes homeowner work, sacrifice and family
participation to keep the house in ready-to-show condition.
And speaking of ready to show—Staging® should always be done
before the house goes on the market—even before realtors® are
called. They also need to be impressed with and get excited about
marketing your house! Don’t plan on getting ready while it’s on the
market before any “really interested buyers” show up. You never know
when that one real buyer will walk through your door. And you
wouldn’t want to risk losing them because you weren’t ready. I’ve
bought several houses that I didn’t think would be “the one” until I
walked through the door and that connection was made.
Selling your house is a job. But if you do your job well, the hourly
wage you’ll get paid is very good. The small investment you make
gives you big returns.
The bottom line of Staging® is the bottom
line —your money. The money your house has earned by
increasing in value over the years is equity. You get that equity
back in the bottom line of your closing statement when you sell—the
one titled “monies due back to seller”. Why would you want to risk
losing some of that equity because of something you didn’t know
about or didn’t think mattered? Other savings, such as avoiding
bridge loans or double mortgage payments (when you’ve bought the
next house before selling the last one) and not having to take price
reductions also have to be factored in.
The investment in staging your home to sell will be less than those
reunion-inspired gym memberships and plastic surgery I mentioned in
the beginning. It will definitely be less than the first price
reduction you’ll need to take if the house doesn’t sell.
Financially, no one benefits more from staging a house than the
homeowners. Realtors® only lose a small percentage of price
reductions, usually 2-6% depending on commission splits and fees
–sellers lose the whole $5, $10, or $20,000 in sale price. On a
$10,000 price reduction, that could be as little as $200 up to $600.
So who has the most to lose if the house doesn’t sell quickly –at
the best price? And who has the most to gain by Staging? The seller.
If your realtor hasn’t suggested a professional staging evaluation,
or tells you don’t need to do anything to the house, I’d be asking
myself why and who has the most to lose if they’re wrong. Remember,
real estate agents listed all those houses above. Even the most
beautiful, professionally decorated homes need to be staged to sell!
Some agents will suggest a few things, hand you a list or a video to
watch. Professional stagers however are your very own personal
sell-your–house coaches and can give you a customized program to
prepare your house to sell.
Just tell me what you want!
Buyers want and love houses that are well maintained, spacious, with
a clutter-free, neutral décor and just enough pizzazz to make it
memorable. Remember, buyers are not just buying the building;
they’re also buying their dreams of a new life in their new home. So
what’s in that dream?
→Kitchens and Bathrooms can make or break the sale of a house and
they need to sparkle. →Counter space sells Kitchens. The feel of a
spa retreat sells Bathrooms.
→Master Bedrooms need to look like relaxing retreats as well-- not
home offices or exercise rooms.
Rooms Staged by Room Works
Figure 1 Before Staging |
Figure 2 After Staging: Simple Techniques to Tempting Retreat.
The owner did this herself—with a little staging advice from an ASP™ |
→Kids bedrooms do not look like stuffed animal or poster shops.
→Closets and cabinets are spacious and organized.
→No dirty laundry, no dishes to do, no bills piling up, and no
maintenance work to do.
→No ratty recliner in the family room.
→No stuffed animals, gun racks or knife racks on display. Pack them
up for your next home.
→Kids live here but you’d never know it.
→Pets live here but you’d never know it. Keep their supplies out of
buyers view.
→Soft music and wonderful accent lighting set an easy welcoming
mood.
→A great home to live in, but it looks like nobody lives here! The
buyers dream house can develop that way.
→Let’s add a fresh smell and a new look as well. Aahh yes! The
perfect home!
Now this is where the fake part comes in--Who
lives like that all the time? Nobody I know! Not me. Nevertheless,
the clean, organized, always-ready-for-a -visitor look is THE GOAL.
It’s my goal when I’m selling and it’s a necessary goal when your
house is on the market. Buyers will come in and instantly notice all
those signs of daily wear and tear and clutter. Things that have
faded into the background and become invisible to the owner’s view
suddenly take center stage.
Yes owners do have to live there, but
the less it looks like that to the buyers, the faster the house will
sell and the better the offers will be. Remember this is only
temporary—you’ll be getting back to normal when the house is sold
and you have moved. Some sellers actually love the “new life.” A few
have even decided not to sell after staging has revamped their home.
So how does an owner know exactly where to begin, what to do and
when to do it? You hire a professional stager®. A stager works for
the seller by thinking like the buyers. Their main goal is to make
sure your house shows at it’s very best, every time it is shown.
They can do as little or as much as you like to help you achieve a
faster sale, and a higher price.
No amount of staging will ever make up for an overpriced house—but
buyers will pay a premium for a well maintained home that’s just
right for them. Staging will help them envision their new life in
your house. That leads to offers. And offers are something you can
take to the bank!
To conclude, Staging® is the art and science of preparing a house
for the real estate market. Clean and neat counts, but it’s much
more than just vacuuming, making the bed and putting out the cat.
It’s also not just about decorating. It’s deliberate design that can
make buyers stop, look and linger long enough to want to make an
offer—before someone else does!
Staging Works!
Call an Accredited Staging Professional™ near you to find out what
they can do for you!
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