Price Reductions + Poor Condition - Staging = Months on the Market

Platinum Home Staging, Inc. hasn't done many Home Stagings in Moorpark, CA.  Sure we do the occasional Re-Design or Consultation, but the real reason I believe, in my humble opinion, is because HOMES ARE SELLING within 30 DAYS on average!  Yes, we have foreclosures. Yes, we have over 100 homes on the market at any given time. But when we were called to a home for a Staging bid right in our own back yard, we decided to "pass". 

WHY?!  You ask? 

The Realtor believes in Staging, but the Home Owners Don't.

The Realtor asked them to "clean things up & make some repairs", but the Home Owners refuse.

The Realtor asked them to then at least "remove your items since you no longer live in the home" but the Home Owner wanted to make the home seem as if someone "might" be living there.

The Realtor called us to give a bid to Stage the home, but said "the Owners won't spend any money on the home. They just keep lowering the price."

So in a market where Right Price + Good Condition = Quick Sale in 30 Days,  the home has been on the market for 4 months and gone through 2 price reductions.

So instead of giving a Staging bid for a Realtor who is spending a lot of time and money trying to sell a home with obviously unmotivated Sellers, we decided to help the Realtor in another way.  Some might say that we gave away the milk for free, but it wasn't THAT bad.  Instead we sent the Realtor a nice little email that he could then forward to the Home Owners.  Simply giving a "Professional Opinion" as to a few MUST DO's before we could even Stage the home. Here is a snippet of the email we sent:

To follow up with our discussion, although the home really needs to be professionally Staged there are a few things that Buyers would simply not be able to look past.  There are literally hundreds of homes on the market in the Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks area - buyers are looking for the best price coupled with the best condition. Currently buyers are only seeing that they will need to put more money into the home before being able to move in.
 

1. The carpeting is folding and buckling throughout the upstairs bedrooms and hallway.  This is actually a severe trip hazard as buyers walk through the home.  The carpeting needs to be re-stretched as soon as possible and then given a GOOD steam cleaning. 
2. The house really could use a fresh coat of paint throughout, however if this is not within the budget, then the next best option would be to completely EMPTY the home and give it a good, deep cleaning from top to bottom.  The current furniture & fluorescent light fixtures are actually distracting the buyers away from the positives of the property.
3. I would also highly suggest spending the few dollars it would cost to paint or stain the cabinets in the master bathroom.

Once these items are completed, only then we can begin the phase of actually Staging the home to make it warm & inviting to potential Buyers.  Please let your clients know that by NOT addressing these items, they are very much tripping over dollars to save a few pennies. **

We didn't close the door altogether, we didn't give away ALL the milk for free - we Partnered with the Realtor and reiterated what he had already told the Home Owners. That these items needed to be addressed.  We became the Industry Professional, and the unbiased opinion to back up the Realtor's statements and concerns.  And maybe by pointing out the fact that the buckling carpeting really was a trip hazard verses "just more money to spend", just might light a fire to get the other items completed as well.