The number one question my clients ask me is "Does staging really work?"

The answer is YES! After examining their home from a "buyer's eye view" I can easily tell them what needs to be done to make their home more marketable BUT getting them to commit to doing the work to prepare their home for sale is more of a challenge. Understandably, home sellers do not want to spend $$ on a home they are about to sell, and often do not have the time to get projects done before the home has to go on the market. 

I have found that the best way that I can convince clients to invest in their home is to share success stories with them and show them the results.  I wrote a similar post a few months ago about how staging really does work to sell homes faster and wanted to share some more success stories with you today. Hopefully, whether you are a stager or a Realtor you can use these real life examples to help your clients commit to staging.

Here in the Philadelphia/Main Line market staging is really making a difference in the way buyers perceive properties. Here are 2 success stories from last week: BOTH HOMES SOLD IN ONE DAY FOR FULL PRICE!!!

Client A: This home sold in one day for full price!

I was called in to assist client A by the Realtor that was listing the property. This client was helping her father downsize from of their family home to an assisted living facility. The home was about 20 years old and had a lot of personal artwork, photos and an entire basement full of files from the father's law practice. To help this client come up with a plan I started with a consultation. During the consult I addressed how the home needed to be depersonalized and how the interior needed to be updated to make it more appealing to younger buyers. This home was in a very desirable neighborhood but had to compete with new construction homes in the same price point. I gave the client a list of what items to keep in the rooms and how to arrange the furniture, what items to remove, what items to put in storage, and then the names of contractors that could help take away the furniture they did not want and a service to help with the removal and storage of the documents. As for updating the interior of the home, I gave the client recommendations for new paint colors, new carpet colors for the lower level and the second floor and recommended that they update the kitchen with new appliances, hardware and counter-tops to make it more competitive with newer homes. We also decided to replace the roof, repair the split rail fence and remove 3 large trees that were blocking the view of the home from the street. After the work was completed I then went back to the home to help the client with the final touches- making sure the artwork was hung correctly, the bookcases were organized and to put the finishing touches on the master bedroom and kitchen. The agent then held and open house and the home sold the first day!

The above may sound daunting for some people (my client was exhausted) but for her family this was the best solution. They needed to sell their father's home quickly and get top dollar since he is on a fixed income. The investment they made in their time and dollars got them top dollar for their home and a quick sale.

Client B: This home sold the same day as the broker's open!

I was called in to assist client B by a Realtor that we had worked with before. This Realtor uses staging as a part of her listing process and relies on us to provide this service so she can focus on the marketing of the home. The home was owned by a young couple that was relocating to another state for work. This family had 2 small children so having to have the home ready to show at all times was going to be a challenge. The home was an older home (87+ years) that was in a desirable neighborhood and very well maintained BUT the home did not have a garage since they converted it to a family room. The goal for this property was to show young families how this property was an ideal space to raise a family and also had a lot of storage space despite it not having a garage. I started by visiting the home and giving them a consultation of how they can make the home more desirable. Believe it or not clutter was not an issue. The home was very simply decorated and they actually needed to add things to give the home a more upscale look. Understandably, as young parents they did not want to spend money on things like art and accessories since the children would be handling them! We came up with a plan that included updating the older light fixtures to make the home brighter and look newer. We also recommended painting the formica cabinets (YES YOU CAN PAINT IT) in the bathrooms to give them a clean neutral look. We also addressed furniture placement to make sure that each room showcased the selling features of the home such as the tall ceilings, hardwood floors and gorgeous fireplace. After they had the work completed we returned to rent them a few things to give some pizazz to the space. We added artwork and accessories to the living room, and accents in the same colors in the dining room. Having these rooms share the same color palate made the rooms visually flow better and made the space feel larger. We also added artwork, accessories, toss pillows and lighting to the master bedroom to give it a more romantic feel. The investment these clients made was relatively small compared to the price they got for their home. Not only did they not have to endure months of showing their home with small children, they also did not have to stress about the sale of their home so they could focus on the relocation. Even better- they got to keep the $$ the company was going to give them for temporary housing when they moved because now they could purchase their new home right away!