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The true Secrets on HGTV's "SECRETS THAT SELL"

By Karla Davis

Home Stager with Florida Home Staging & Redesign, Inc.

June 10, 2007 11:09 AM

So, I've been spending a bit of time recording and watching some of the new home staging, real estate and decor shows that have recently come out. There was one in particular I thought I could relate to called "Secrets that Sell". If you've heard of it you know that a lady and her mother team up to meet home owners that still live in their home and give them suggestions on how to sell.

Basically they provide a consultation without doing any of the actual work themselves! That in and of itself makes a wonderful business! Getting to be the expert without having to physically lift anything.

I enjoyed most of the show and the recommendations were very much what I would recommend. In many cases I see other glaring issues with the homes that they seem to bypass. Today, I happened to see an episode where the home owner decided to take their advice and then moved out of the home completely.

The words of the two ladies that host the show were "With the home owners moved out of the home and completely empty, potential buyers can now envision themselves in that home." WHAT?! Are you kidding me!? Vacants are equally as problem-ridden as the occupied homes. The very fact that there is no scale, warmth or and inviting atmosphere starts us off. There is also the potential to find more dents, ding, cracks etc.

For any home owners considering home staging, make sure you hire a qualified professional that will go over ALL the details with you and has your best interest at heart. Real Estate Agents are great but it may not be their forte. Their desire to help may hinder you as a Stager is trained to see all the areas that are red flags to a buyer.

For more info on why Florida Home Staging & Redesign is Central Florida's preferred Home Staging Service, visit our website at www.FloridaHomeStager.com. Call us anytime for questions you may have at 407-284-1705.

I'm wondering if some of the shows on HGTV are as misleading to our potential clients/homeowners. As other AR members have stated, the one thing clients forget when they see shows like Designed to Sell etc, is that there is actually a fee for the labor! Not to mention we don't normally have teams of 4+ people to complete the work, so it take a bit longer. Nonetheless they are entertaining and I do get new ideas from some of them. ;-)

Sincerely,

Karla Davis, Florida Home Staging & Redesign

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ARDELL DellaLoggia

Better Properties Seattle - Kirkland, WA

Didn't they move furniture in? Did they actually show it totally vacant? Amazing!

Jun 10, 2007 11:21 AM

Karla Davis

Florida Home Staging & Redesign, Inc. - Orlando, FL

Orlando Home Staging Firm

Ardell- Hi. They did make recommendations on the home because it was occupied at the time. They always give a synopsis after the show to say if the changes worked and they sold etc. With this one they mentioned that the couple moved out of the home (so it became vacant afterwards) and into a new place closer to their new business. The issue I had was that the touted the newly-vacant house as better, that the buyer could now envision themselves there and their stuff in the house. We know this just isn't the case when it comes to staging.....

Jun 10, 2007 11:28 AM

Gregory Maley

Sold Buy the Sea Realty & R.E.N.T. - Wilmington, NC

REALTOR, GRI, CBR, SHS, e-PRO, ABR

I don't know.... I've been in some houses that would be "staged" by having the homeowners move. ;-D

Jun 10, 2007 11:53 AM

Ken Cook

Content, coding, marketing, host. - Marietta, GA

Content Marketer/Creator

I think these television shows do more harm than good. Case in point, Google for "Sam Leccima".

Jun 10, 2007 11:59 AM

MAUREEN STACCATO

Springfield, MA

I have mixed feelings about it some may help and others may harm- guess it's 6 of one and 1/2 dozen of the other.

Jun 10, 2007 12:07 PM

Tina Parker

EXP Realty Canada Inc. - Halifax, NS

Managing Associate Broker

I am a professional home stager who recently purchased a vacant house and was concerned about the small size of the master bedroom. I was surprised how big the room was after I moved my furniture in. This just goes to show you how important it is to leave furniture in the rooms for scale in particular.

Jun 10, 2007 12:29 PM

Monica Murphy

Preferred Staging, LLC - Potomac Falls, VA

ASP, IAHSP, RESA

Karla - I watched that episode today, too, and I had the same thoughts about the house being vacant. The recommendations weren't outrageous, and you've got to wonder if the homeowners did what was suggested, would the house have sold faster and for their asking price? We'll never know...

Monica - Preferred Staging

Jun 10, 2007 01:25 PM

Penny Schoenbeck

AZ Home Styling & Redesign - Mesa, AZ

AZ Home Styling

Hi Karla,

I totally agree, I work for a realtor that has me stage her listings and one of them(an occupied) just was not selling(it looked awesome but the price was to high) it went on the market in November. The family moved out and relocated but left all the funiture (in January) it looked as if they were still there. So it sat on the market 4 months, I went to an open house one Sunday to talk to the realtor and she told me that her broker suggested they take all the funiture out because SHE (the broker) thought it looked dated. I was shocked that she would even consider this. I talked her into leaving the furniture in it a bit longer and she agreed. The house sold 4 weeks ago with the stipulation that they include all furniture and accessories!

Jun 10, 2007 05:04 PM

Anonymous

kathryn

I personally think empty houses are much harder to sell than furnished ones.

As you say - the 'home' atmosphere has gone, the house is just an empty box.

Plus, many houses where the decoration looks ok when its furnished, soon appear shabby when the furniture and pictures have been removed. There will always be black lines where the mirror used to go and the carpet will still be in its 'untrodden' 'straight from the shop' state where it has been under the sofa for the last few years.

These types of flaws are almost impossible to get rid of - and it will make the potential buyer start adding up the costs of complete re-decoration.

http://www.homereporter.co.uk

Aug 07, 2007 05:12 AM

The true Secrets on HGTV's "SECRETS THAT SELL"

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