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Do they think Realtors are nuts?!?!?

By Angela Spearman

Home Stager with Arkansas Staging Professionals

March 28, 2008 08:32 AM

As a home stager, I have been speaking with realtors to find out what kind of challenges they face when listing a home to sell.

What I have learned is that most realtors already know what needs to be done for a home to be "staged" or prepared before going on the market. The problem is that they can't get the home owners to follow through with their suggestions. Many realtors are fabulous decorators and have great taste. And they are the ones who hear feedback from home buyers every day. They KNOW what buyers are looking for. They can almost guess what each buyer will say before ever entering the premises. So why don't home owners benefit from the experience and knowledge their realtors are trying to provide them?!?!

One agent suggested to me that maybe the home owners see the realtor as some one who just wants them to "over improve" so they can get a higher selling price. Or maybe the home owners just need to be educated about the knowledge a Realtor can provide for them. They ought to see their Realtors as valuable resources for selling their home at top value, not as some one who is imposing on their finances and decor taste! It's crazy!

Another agent likes to bring me into his clients homes as a professional stager that offers expert advice with no other incentive than to help the sellers get top dollar for their home in the shortest amount of time possible. In other words, I am supporting everything their realtor had already told them. This second round of expert advice is often just the prompting a home seller needs to take action.

In the end, the realtor is more credible, the home owners feel more confident in their actions to prepare the house and the listing stands out from the unstaged competing homes.

Give your business a boost. Call Angela Spearman to see what Staging can do to grow your business!

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Mark Organek

And the United States of America - Mesa, AZ

It's not a game, it's your life.

Every open house that I sat with an agent that was staged seems to generate a "buzz" about it as people walk through. I'm helping on a vacant home and I sure wish it was staged. REO though!

Mar 28, 2008 08:36 AM

Gary & Melynda Wolter, Since 2001, 480-269-1164

ProSmart Realty - Mesa, AZ

Reliable, Premier Personal Service since 2001

We have done staging before. It can be dangerous as one single young man hated the home decor in our new listing and said it looked like his mom's house! He was 26 and my stager is 50 yrs old. Yikes! Hopefully he is out of the demo and is in the minority.

Mar 28, 2008 08:49 AM

Angela Spearman

Arkansas Staging Professionals - Searcy, AR

Mark, That buzz is exciting for the Realtors, the Sellers and for the Buyers! It is a win-win-win situation!

Wolters, Hopefully your home stager is professional enough to stage to the general demographics rather than personal taste!

Mar 28, 2008 08:53 AM

Mark Organek

And the United States of America - Mesa, AZ

It's not a game, it's your life.

On this listing, it would probably be about a $20,000 difference in sales price.

Mar 28, 2008 09:04 AM

Barbara S. Duncan

RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Good blog, Angela. I have a list of hints on how to make your house show better. Lots of people will go step by step through it and the house looks so good. Alas, if they live in the house it sometimes goes back to the original look quickly. Do you go back and make sure they are keeping the house nicely? : )

Mar 28, 2008 02:43 PM

Alicia Barrington

THE ORIGINAL HOUSTON HOME STAGING - Katy, TX

Houston Home Staging Presents Alicia Barrington

Ahem,

RE: 50 year old stagers.........

As a person who is careening towards his 50th birthday, I must take umbrage at the following post:

".....said it looked like his mom's house!

He was 26 and my stager is 50 yrs old. Yikes!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Whippersnappers:

Are we 'yikesing' about how marvelous it is that some decrepit 50 year old, is able to ween themselve from the Geritol for a few minutes to come place crocheted toilet tissue covers and call it a staging???

Possibly I see the situation in this light: This 26 year old twit (no offense to the 26 year olds -and no offense to the twits for that matter), couldn't see what a marvelous job my mature, sensible, and experienced stager executed in this staging.

Truly it is remarkable that I'm able to stay awake long enough during the day to run/shuffle off to the early bird special! Truly it's remarkable that I'm able to coordinate my addled thoughts, so that a 4 bedroom home can be staged with only 4 days notice. I'm incredulous that the withered edges of my Social Security card (written on parchment) still boast the original numbers and graphics (although due to the advanced age of the card it's written in hieroglyphics)! Imagine my delight when the AARP (whom I thought provided road service......no that's AAA), anyway, imagine my delight when the AARP send me my membership card.

So, please be kind to your 50 year old stagers. Obviously (due to our advanced years, and decreptitude) we'll not be here much longer, to bother you, and it pleases us so much to be of some small value to the community!

Who, me sensitive about turning 50..........nah! Hehehe!

Happy Staging Y'all.......if you need me, I'll be napping!

Mar 28, 2008 08:08 PM

Angela Spearman

Arkansas Staging Professionals - Searcy, AR

Barbara, I commend you for helping your home owners with valuable ideas for preparing their home. It is most difficult to keep an occupied home in top showing condition - especially with kids! I do often follow-up with my clients to "check-in" with them and keep their excitement up about selling the home. This helps in motivating them to keep the house in it's best condition for showings. It also gives them the opportunity to ask questions and for me to build their confidence in their Realtor. Also, most of my staging involves helping the home owners pack away and store many of their personal belongings, then to change the layout of the furnishings in the home and even paint some walls as needed. So things that I do in my stagings are not often "undone" but the home owners always need motivation to keep the house clean and uncluttered. Some of my clients have felt like they had a personal organizer help them straighten out their lives and don't ever want to go back. They see how efficiently they can live in their home and realize more potential for the storage spaces and room functionality. It may take time to keep in contact with your home owners, but by doing so you are keeping everyone optimistic and pleased with the level of attention you are giving them. Thanks for your comments!

Tom, your post was so entertaining! 50 is so young! And hey, experience is a very valuable asset! I do hope that you were not offended by Gary and Melynda Wolter's comment. As I stated before, a true professional will set aside personal taste (age being irrelavent) and stage to the demographics the Realtor is targeting. I am so glad you shared your wit and humor with us. I have laughed for days over it! :)

Mar 31, 2008 05:28 AM

Kathleen Lordbock

Keller Williams Realty Professionals - Baxter, MN

Keller Williams Realty Professionals

I think there are quite a few 50+ year old stagers on Active Rain.

When Realtors give advice there is a little flutter in that seller /Realtor relationship that doesn't happen when a staging professional is brought in. The stager works and leaves and the other two are left with each other. A stager gets very little in comparison to a Realtor and has no ulterior motive but to get the house in its best selling position.

Most agents I encounter only go as far as de-clutter and clean. That is a good starting point, but there is so much more.

Apr 14, 2008 02:09 PM

Tori Lynn Wallitsch

Prudential Ambassador / Ross Designs, LLC - Omaha, NE

This is why I laugh when agents advertise that they provide their own staging services. There is something to be said about the credibility that a neutral, 3rd party professional can offer in support of whatever the agent has already told the seller. So many benefits.

Apr 14, 2008 03:43 PM

Amy Prouty

Home Staging - Keno, YN

Realtors have a tough job. They need to leave this part to the stagers. Over all they will see their homes show better and sell faster.

Apr 14, 2008 03:50 PM

Glenda and Steven McDaniel

Long and Foster Smith Mountain Lake Office - Smith Mountain Lake, VA

Declutter and Clean is the first advice we give, but in this market we now advise hiring stagers and now even have Staging designations for agents.

Apr 14, 2008 03:53 PM

Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate

Fred Griffin Real Estate - Tallahassee, FL

Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker