So, some of you may remember my conflict about traveling 200 miles to stage a vacant home that had been on the market for over a year. Welll.....  

I took the job and it was really a great experience. Once the kinks were worked out, it was no more complicated than any regular staging job, which we all know is not usually "regular" anyway !  We rented a truck which turned out to be much bigger than we needed, but hey, better to have more room than you need than not enough! 

 I had one helper who drove the truck and had the muscle I needed to move stuff into the house. I drove my own vehicle and once at the house, we unloaded and positioned the big stuff and my help left that evening and returned the truck. I made some notes before heading for my motel and found a Wal-Mart in the morning to get a few odds and ends and then off to the house.

I brought my boom box with assorted CD's and cranked up the salsa and got to work. It took the better part of three days, and then I headed home with my Suburban full of the unused inventory.

That was just a little over two weeks ago. I spoke to the Realtor yesterday, and she was very pleased to tell me that the house has had THREE offers !.. IT IS SOLD !!! 

After over a year with nothing happening this was SUCH great news for all of us. The down side is that the price had been greatly reduced over the long months before the house was staged. ( A lesson here ??)

Now, here's WHY I think the house sold so quickly after being staged.. It was a nice house in good move-in condition, but it was very sterile and cold with white walls and gray floors. I can imagine the reaction of a potential buyer when first walking through the door.... Brrrrrrr...

We brought warm, rich earth tone furnsishings and LOTS of art and accessories in lush shades of deep mossy greens and rusts with deep red and gold accents. Some flat weave tribal rugs to soften the gray tile floors and we covered the dining table (which I don't usually like!) with a richly hued "arts & crafts" floral fabric for even more added texture and pattern.

The overall feeling was a richly colored, inviting and approachable home.  Exactly what was missing all that time.

So of course I am very tempted to nag any and all Realtors and homeowners who think that staging a moderately priced vacant home is a "luxury". It can make all the diiference in the PERCEPTION a buyer has of any property! And just maybe those deep price reductions can be avoided as well...

And the most interesting thing for me is that the happy result has nothing to do with the distance traveled to the job. This pleasant ending could have been just across town. Buyers everywhere NEED to feel good about the home they plan to live in !

 This past Sunday I spent some time visiting open houses. On this day there happened to be a nice cluster of properties open in the same area and I anticipated some good conversations concerning what might be helpful from a stager's point of view to get each home more interest and attention. I saw a rather interesting mix as it turned out.

                                           INSTANT STRESS RELIEF .. NO MEDS REQUIRED !

Homeowners who are living in their homes while they are for sale can have a dificult time with the process. Homes are taking longer to sell, and keeping a home in show condition can be tough.

I visited the first home where the Realtor had not yet arrived, but the homeowners were very welcoming. The house was superbly kept with good furniture and loads of art and objects that the owners had collected over many years and were obviously very proud of. As I was taken on a tour, the homeowner confessed to me that it was very dificult for her to keep the house perfectly tidy and ready to be shown on a moments notice. It was wearing her out and causing lots of stress in the family.

It was apparent to me that a lot of the art and collectibles could be packed up and stored away while waiting for the house to sell. The collections and art were very nice, but there was just too much of a good thing. By removing the bulk of the "stuff", the housekeeping could be made a lot simpler and less time consuming AND the editing process would help to reveal each room so buyers could see the HOUSE!

I confess, I was very tempted to roll up my sleeves and go to work with the de-cluttering of this house right then and there! I know what a difference a couple of hours can make! And I have no doubt that the harried homeowner would have a house that not only showed better, but was a whole lot easier to maintain. Instant stress relief!

                                                               TAKE ME AWAY ! 

Next I went to an unoccupied home and introduced myself to the Realtor. She had attempted to stage the home herself, and while she had the basic idea, she had made some mistakes that would not send the desired message to the prospective buyer. She had borrowed some furniture that had definitely seen better days and was quite dated. The living room felt dreary and worn. The dining set was vintage thrift store and was topped with tableware that even our grandmothers would have boxed up long ago.

Buyers never want to feel that they are downgrading. It is a big mistake to stage a house with anything that isn't of appropriate quality. How many potential buyers will enter this house and be immediately disappointed? Outdated or dingy furnishings send the message that the entire home may not be well cared for. While this Realtor was well intentioned, she may be sending potential buyers away unknowingly.

                                                                  BRRRRRRR..... 

My two final visits were unccupied new construction. Both of these homes were in the $500,000 price range and had all of the current bells and whistles. Granite, stainless steel, giant walk in closets, master suites with spa-like bathrooms, etc.. What they lacked was any sense of warmth or individuality. They could have easily been confused with each other. There was nothing to set them apart or make them memorable. They echoed in their emptiness.

While the Realtors both expressed an interest in staging, they knew the owners would balk at the expense. Both of these homes had been lowered in price more than once. Perhaps if these properties were warmed up with the right staging that evoked the charm and warmth of a HOME, they would be remembered and revisited as a prospect for a purchase.

Vacant homes, no matter how new or how nice, send a message of coldness and desperation. These emotions are very real and can negatively affect perception.

                                                                   PSYCHED !

It is amazing how little it can take to turn a buyer off to a property. As a stager, it is my belief that there are almost always some simple things that can be done to improve any properties potential. Some of these are very straight forward physical changes, and others may have more to do with the emotional perception that is harder to percieve, but just as important.

About six months ago, I staged two vacant homes that had been sitting for months with little interest. When I agreed to take these jobs, it was rush rush,, gotta have it done by Friday... "We have scheduled an open house !" sorta deal. 

Both of these homes were built in the 70's and really needed updating. But the homeowners and the Realtors thought that if the homes were staged, it would downplay the negatives.

So, I did my "magic" as best I could, and then I waited to hear the follow up comments from the Realtors after the first open house..  The report was that while the staging was admired, it was not enough to fool anyone as to the REALITY that these homes were going to require some upgrades.

I then proceeded to make a list  of tasks for each of the houses that detailed what was needed to lessen the fears of the prospecive buyers. None of these fix-ups was very intrusive or costly. Things like replacing light fixtures, painting some rooms, updating cabinetry hardware, etc.,

Bottom line, the homeowners declined to undertake to make ANY of these changes and after several months, my staging came out, and the homes are still for sale.

I have a feeling that there are lots of stories like this, and I've been asking myself if , as stagers, do we do our profession more harm than good when/if we take these kinds of jobs ?..Was my approach re the upgrades wrong? It's a very touchy issue to tell a homeowner that his pride and joy is not percieved that way by the buying public! And how do we get the homeowners to realize that with so much property on the market, they MUST accept that it is indeed a competition.!?

I haven't been here in months,, and I apologize if this topic has been hashed out, .. That said,, here is my dilema.. ( and maybe yours too ?/) . EVERYBODY WANTS TO STAGE VACANT HOMES ! .. And while I love to work on a nice clean empty canvas, I have run out of inventory and I cannot invest in anymore STUFF and I am turning down work !,, I WANT TO DO MORE RE-DESIGN !,, How do you get Realtors or homeowners to GET IT, that most occupied homes look like crap !..  I often check out the photos of listings online, and I am SHOCKED at how awful many of them look !  These websites are where buyers go to see all the "pretty pictures" !!,, Good grief !,,  So.. do you call the Realtor ? Can you be diplomatic somehow when asking them if they know how bad a particular property looks on the computer screen ?..  " Hello Mr. Smith.. My name is Anne Vigneri and I am a home stager in your area. I just visited your website and I wonder if you might be open to hearing some suggestions that may improve the marketability of your listing at 1000 West Bicycle?"   Would this sort of approach be viable, or just plain rude? Anybody done this ?

Hi All, 

Please visit: http://www.casavero.com/beforeafter.html

To See Casa Vero's New, Completed Projects.

Thank You.

Anne V.,  Placitas !  New Mexico