When meeting home owners for occupied home consultations for the first time, I'm always anxious to find out to what extent they are willing to take my recommendations to stage their home.
On a recent occasion, I had the opportunity to meet this REA for the first time at the house I was going to be conducting the occupied home consultation for. It was because of her suggestion, to have a stager come in, that I even had the opportunity to be there. She told me that she knew things needed to be done but preferred to let it come from someone else, referring to me as the 'professional'.
Here's the standard list of things that were recommended to be changed/updated as the house has stood still for almost 20 years and now currently screams out loud "Empty Nest House":
- Remove the wall paper borders.
It's been said before and it'll be said again: wallpaper and wallpaper borders are very specific to taste and decor. They also present a headache to the prospective buyers at the thought of removing it. Buyers will go for the house without wallpaper before they opt for the house with it, therefore extending the amount of time the home sits for sale.
- Paint neutral.
I will say in this particular case, with the exception of two rooms, the home had been somewhat prepared with neutralized paint. One that I recommended get done was the dining room. RED dining rooms must have been the 'Thing to Do' down here in the Atlanta area for the last 10-20 years because I've run into sooooo many houses with RED dining rooms. It's 2008 people! Get over your red dining rooms already! If they don't repaint it, I'm sure it won't come as a shock to most buyers but the thought of painting over red walls is certainly going to be a deterrant.
- Pack up the family photos.
I love family photos. I have as many in my house as the next person. BUT, they have to get packed up when staging a house to sell. Why? They contribute to the 'clutter' and become a distraction to buyers as they lose sight of room while focusing on who's in the pictures, where the picture was taken, wondering 'who are those people', etc.
- Reduce the amount of furniture.
I like to strive for a balance of furniture within a room that creates the appropriate form and function of the space. I like to have that balance throughout the home as well. If one room is empty, one room is partially furnished and another is jam-crammed stuffed with furniture and accessories, we need to weed some of it out and either pack it up or displace it to another room so we create a balance and flow from one room to another. Please note that all bedrooms do not need to be furnished if they are not done so already. I consider the master bedroom a 'key room' for staging on my list of priorties; all other bedrooms are purely secondary.
- Update some accessories.
It's funny how you can go into a home and say it needs to be decluttered as it has too much 'stuff' but then request that some new accessories be purchased. This house is a perfect example of this. While there were so many beautiful accessories in the house, they were more like 'collectible' type things and they were very thematic. I'm requesting for a few updated candlesticks, some new greenery (without colorful floral in it---just plain ferns, etc) and some yummy smelling candles and reed diffusers.
In this case, I'm going to be coming back to the house to stage it, however it'll be using what is already in the home, with everything 'as is'. It'll make a difference and I'm excited about the chance to make a difference either way.
So, real estate agents, if you have not had the chance to meet up with a home stager in your area, I urge you to contact one today. Let them be your 'bad guy' and tell the homeowner what needs to get done. You have so much to do to get that house marketed, so start the marketing process off the right way by getting it staged first. Don't let 6 months go by waiting to see if it'll sell 'as is'. Yes, it will eventually sell, but it's going to take a lot longer and the price will go down, down, down. Home stagers can only make the recommendations; it is up to the HO to make the final decision as to what they are going to do. But, you'll have the advice of the home stager to refer to for back up when it doesn't work out if they don't take the advice. Check out the list of Home Stagers here on Active Rain that are in your area to find out what they can do for you.
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