Home Stagers and REALTORS: Consider yourself forewarned of your illegal actions!
Federal Trade Commission's plan to change rules on ad endorsements, testimonials worries marketers
Extreme results, disclaimers to be overhauled by FTC
You may want to take heed and follow the link to the article above published by the Chicago Tribune.
BOTTOM LINE: The FTC is going to require advertisers to show typical results.
Yep, that right!
You know what that means! Home stagers and Realtors are facing a dramatic change in the home staging industry! After all, home stagers and Realtors are marketers striving to display the absolute most favorable property presentation possible.
But now, what if the FTC wants us to only display homes in a typical fashion???
Well, no more displaying a home for sale like this:
Now we are being instructed to show it in it's typical state:
Hmmm . . . I don't think anyone wins here . . . and yes, I know, I am being a little extreme (you know I am just kidding, right?) regarding the FTC coming after us.
The point I want to make is that good home staging is not an act.
Good home staging is a true enactment of real living options.
A good home staging presentation must be accurate in displaying how a room can be physically utilized.
Case in point, I recently staged a darling little bungalow home built in the 1930's located in Emory Village in Atlanta, Georgia.
The home had an upstairs bonus room with a full SPA bath. Check out the following photos of the stair well.
Narrow space for sure! Now here is the Bonus room located at the top of the stairs.
Because there is a full bath and a huge walk in closet, it would make sense to show this as a Master suite which was the preference of the sellers and the Realtor. However, a queen box spring would not fit up the staircase. I could get two twins up the stairs to form a king, but no wall was large enough to hold a king bed.
It was suggested to do a blowup queen mattress on boxes, but I just couldn't do it. Yes, physically I could do it. But, ethically, I could not.
WHY? Because, logically, the buyer couldn't live like that. I mean, really now, who wants a blow up mattress for their nightly rest in their master suite?
This upstairs needed furnishing that can be assembled out of the box once the box is carried up. A dresser, or chest will not make it through the narrow opening. I felt determined to demonstrate that in a positive way.
Here's the end result:
The perfect staging solution! The 1st floor has a small parlor/living area, a dining area, kitchenette, two bedrooms and a full bath. Thanks to honest staging the buyer can now appreciate the exceptional "get away" space for their entertainment needs located on the upper level.
I think the FTC would be proud of me!
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How folks live in a home is their business, how folks present the home for sale is our business!
For tips on how to prepare your home for sale and information on staging a home in Atlanta, visit the web site of PEACHTREE HOME STAGING or call us at 770 595-8809.
We do occupied and vacant home staging with professional perfection! Visit our portfolio at http://www.peachtreehomestaging.com/beforeafterphotogallery.htm
Peachtree Home Staging is a proud APPROVED AND ACCREDITED Business of the Greater Atlanta Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Georgia State President of the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)
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