An "Expert" Says Staged Homes That Show Well Are BAD, BAD, BAD

Marianne

This article only goes to prove there is always someone will to go against convention for the notoriety, If you say white I say black because I can, and for no other reason

I love the first person come back.  He questions why the writer has such a nice picture of land on his website, and does this represent all the land he sells.  How funny!!

We just have to keep plugging along one convinced realtor at a time!!

Becky

Marianne,

Thank you for sharing this article with the AR staging world.  First of all Mr. Seltzer is a land surveyor, not a realtor or a stager.  So I beleive he is not aware of the importance of preparing a home for sale.  I like the first comment below the article, by Dwayne, who states that Mr. Seltzers webpage shows land for sale with green rolling pastures and rainbows!  Give me a break, sounds like Mr. Seltzer had nothing better to write about! BUYERS BEWARE: Land for sale with rainbows and rolling greens, may be disguised for land filled with bio-hazardous materials! Truth be told, home staging as Mr. Seltzer says in his article sells more homes.

Marianne- Thanks so much for sharing this with us! Not only did I get a giggle from it, but I feel so much more "powerful" than before! My staging can put potential buyers in a trance, sometimes leading them to offer more money for the home! That's great!!! That's EXACTLY what I'm trying to do!!!

I have mixed thoughts on staging.  Clearly, staging is nothing but retail merchandising.  The added cost to the seller raises the seller's expectation of return.  At the same time most staging is accomplished with cosmetic items such as furniture that do not convey at sale or paint, that while it looks nice, in reality adds little to the value of the house. and a lot to the price.  At the same time some elements of staging distract from other defects in the house including deferred maintenance issues and cause surprises at home inspection. 

We always see consumer articles and reports on the merchandising practices of supermarkets - you know milk and bread in the back of the store so you have to walk through the chips, soda ice cream and cookie isles to get there.  If a seller is using staging as part of their merchandising of the home, shouldn't you expect the same kind of consumer warnings?

The fact is that not all people can imagine how an empty room will look with furniture in it.  Staging sets the scene of the home and shows how furniture can look in the house.

I never recommend using staging to "cover up" flaws in a home that is deceitful.  Staging is used as a tool to bring life into an otherwise dull space. 

Some of my agent partners argue that staging BENEFITS THE BUYER by showing them the full potential of a home.  I have never used staging to mislead a potential buyer by disguising deferred maintenance, etc. These things are pointed out by me as a responsible stager and discussed with the listing agent as well as the seller.

ANNNNDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD -- with regard to how staging can add too much cost to the seller, the fees for Home Staging (occupied and vacant) are less than the first price reduction.

I'm beginning to feel like I should make this comment a permanent fixture in my document file to inject whenever I come across a Realtor, inspector, seller,etc. that has a problem with staging.

THE PURPOSE of staging is to accentuate the positives, DIMINISH any negatives and give potential buyers something "to write home about".  There is nothing deceitful going on here.  We are simply motivating buyers by appealing to their senses.  We all know the big, bad inspector is lurking so why would anyone attempt to cosmetically cover up an issue?

Use staging when it is logical.

It is a TOOL in selling.

Staging is NEVER used to trick a buyer but to only HELP a seller. When done correctly we emphasize taking care of all the negatives so a buyer can live with  the house until they can afford to replace any old kitchens and baths, etc. I always do occupied homes and we paint, remove carpeting and polish hardwood floors. What's wrong with that?

Phyllis Pafumi

So staging a home is bad and we should show them vacant.  Not show to buyers what the home should and could look like.

Does this mean that we shouldn't put on our makeup when going out on appointments?  Isn't that giving someone the wrong impresson of what we really look like.

Maybe we should go out naked because the clothes hide what we are really like.

Guess Corky believes........................

and should stick to vacant land

Oh my, I've gotten a giggle or two here. I've used the same type of analogy of going to a job interview in your pajamas, or better yet, as mentioned above,....naked.

You will notice that as you're walking to the back of the store, practically EVERY ITEM IN THE STORE IS PACKAGED. Would you like to see the cereal in a plain plastic bag, NO!

Staging is packaging - it can be overdone, yes. But it is a valuable marketing tool and shows most buyers how nice their new home could look. 

Obviously this person hasn't heard about the study that only 10% of buyers can visualize a home's true potential.  So when they walk into a home that smells of cat pee and is cluttered from floor to ceiling that is the only potential they know.  Obviously, not having a home staged is doing the seller a disservice.