You Think You Were Overwhelmed Before Meeting The Stager?

Most sellers have no idea what to expect from a home staging consult.  They certainly don't expect the condition of the house to be worse off after the staging.

When I leave a seller's house, after a home staging consultation, the condition of the house is usually much worse off than when I arrived.  When I walk out the door, I leave the seller armed with a to-do list and piles of items to be dealt with.  Pictures are removed from walls and knick knacks are removed from shelves and furniture is pushed into the foyer to be donated or sent to storage.  Dusty silk flower arrangements, musical instruments, magazines and stuffed animals are covering the dining room table. 

I was working with a client recently and we were upstairs in the bedroom.  The daughter came home and ran up the stairs to find her mother.  She wanted to know who had "ransacked" the house? 

 I raised my hand and proudly announced "that would be me!"

Unlike the home staging shows on TV,

real life staging does not create a fabulous showhouse in an hour.  

 I don't walk into a house and wave a magic wand

 and transform the 1980's decor and yellowed wallpaper

like a fairy godmother transforms pumpkins.

I walk through the house and point out every single thing that needs to go and needs to be changed. I explain the importance of perceived value.  I rearrange the furniture in each room to define space and function.  I educate on the red flags I see, and the wrong messages that could be sent to buyers. 

It is then up to the homeowner to complete my list of improvements, including the removal of all the items I have designated as needing to go. 

I tend to leave behind an overwhelmed seller with a house that looks like a mini tornado has struck. 

Now, here's the good news...

Yes, they are overwhelmed, but they are empowered because they have a list and they know exactly what it is they need to do.  They understand what is necessary in order to appeal to as many buyers as possible.  Once educated and armed with this information, most sellers become very motivated to complete the task and once they do, I can return and put on the final touches. 

I've had several calls lately from sellers, including one who is a Realtor,  who didn't think they needed much help. 

They only needed a "quick consult" because they thought they already knew what needed to be done to prepare their house. 

 Much to their surprise...Tornado Tara struck and showed them that they had much more to do than they thought.

Hiring a home stager is very important.  Working extremely hard at following the stager's advice is even more important.  Don't get discouraged by what seems like an overwhelming amount of work to prepare your house for sale.  Your stuff has to be dealt with and removed when you sell, and removing it prior to listing will make the sale happen sooner.