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Staging On A Shoestring Budget!

By Carol Culkin

Real Estate Agent with Diamond Partners Inc 00244377

April 20, 2008 02:14 PM

I'm not a stager but I can do a pretty good job of coaching people on what they need to do to get their houses spruced up for marketing. Several days ago I took a listing which went into effect this weekend. When I arrived today to take photos, the seller brought to my attention - a new entry floor he just installed. The bi-level (raised ranch) had no flooring on the lower level when I first saw the property. The seller told me he would be installing new carpet in the family room which would extend into the small hallway leading to the garage. "Bad idea", I told him. The hallway to/from the garage should have an easy to clean floor. I told him the next lady of the house will see this as a negative and I suggested he take a practical approach to ward off negative thoughts about cleaning this high traffic area. Could it have been a deal breaker? - probably not, but the goal is to eliminate as many issues as possible. So, today I was happy to see that the new carpet in the family room was installed and an easy to clean laminate was now a buffer between the garage, family room and stairway leading up to the main part of the house. And, I was happier to hear that my client got off easy in terms of expenses - a trip to Big Lots and $10 later (yes, that is all it cost to cover the small little hallway (3X3 ft). Who would have thunk?

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Eric Reid

Renaissance Realty Group of Keller Williams Atlanta Partners - Lawrenceville, GA

I think one of the values of a stager is providing the fuel to get it started .. I sometimes feel that if news comes from someone else then the REALTOR... the sellers or the buyers hear it different.

Apr 20, 2008 02:19 PM

Carol Culkin

Diamond Partners Inc - Overland Park, KS

Overland Park Residential Real Estate

Eric, I totally agree. Faced with the questions from a seller - "what should I do about this or that", I usually offer my suggestions. Often, they appreciate my candidness. When I think they might need somebody to beat them up then I might call a stager. I usually see how good of a job they can do on their own first and usually I am happy. Most of my sellers are motivated to sell.

Apr 20, 2008 02:25 PM

Pam Dent

Gayle Harvey Real Estate, Inc. - Charlottesville, VA

REALTOR® - Charlottesville Virginia Homes / Horse

They were lucky that they could do it themselves. We all like the clients that are open to listening to what you have to say.

Apr 20, 2008 02:33 PM

Michelle Molinari

FEATURE THIS... Real Estate Staging & Interior Decor - Lafayette, LA

Feature This Real, Estate Staging & Curb Appeal Concepts

Nice job saving your client money AND adding a finished look to the entry way! That's what it's all about!

As an aside to Carol Culkin,

You said: "When I think they might need somebody to beat them up then I might call a stager."

I'm curious, what experience have you had that makes you feel stagers are waiting or wanting to pounce on your poor clients?

I'm throughly confused by the adversarial position between Realtors and Stagers. Maybe you, or someone else, could explain it to me.

Am I supposed to be a lowly henchman in the real-estate mafia, lol? Twisting arms, breaking knee-caps...

I thought I was helping people realize more equity out of their property faster so they can get on with their lives.

Perhaps I need to pray about the direction my life has taken...

Michelle Molinari

Feature This Interior Design and Real Estate Staging

www.featurethisdotdotdot.com

Apr 20, 2008 03:09 PM

Carol Culkin

Diamond Partners Inc - Overland Park, KS

Overland Park Residential Real Estate

Michelle - No need to feel like we as Realtors are calling you in for our dirty work but Eric makes a good point when he said "I sometimes feel that if news comes from someone else then the REALTOR... the sellers or the buyers hear it different". He's so right. Sellers love us the first day of the listing and then we have to start giving feedback - positive and negative. I tell all my sellers I would not be doing my job if I only told them what they want to hear and not what they need to hear. However, with some sellers - it can become a sticky situation when we have to beat them up too much and still maintain a relationship while we get through a business transaction which might not be finalized for weeks or months to come. It is much easier to rely on a stager to critique and give our clients their laundry list of things to-do. Especially, if we have made mention of the tasks and nothing gets done. Sometimes we can talk until we are blue in the face - then, enter a stager who can serve us well in re-hashing all the things we might have already told our clients. A stager could very well have the same ideas I did but can give confirmation from another point of view. And, it's just a play on words - when I say beat them up! Ok...call it what you want but sometimes I might need a little help in drilling it into them.

Apr 20, 2008 03:41 PM

Michelle Molinari

FEATURE THIS... Real Estate Staging & Interior Decor - Lafayette, LA

Feature This Real, Estate Staging & Curb Appeal Concepts

Lol, I get it.

Preparing a house for sale is an aspect of being a Realtor, in that you "cover"proper preparation with your client.

My job as a professional stager is totally focused on two things...acertaining why a house is not showing to it's potential, and then convincing the seller to allow me to fix what I'm seeing, to the seller's ultimate benefit.

It's kinda like baseball.

Realtors are like team owners. They own the team, so they worry about every aspect of the functioning of the team as a whole. Lots of details and big-picture thinking, contract, and bottom-line number stuff.

Stagers are in the dugout every day, running the paces, and cheering the owners to make sure that house plays it's best game, and hopefully scores a "home run". So. we are more like coaches.

Sellers are more like the players, in that they get the big check in the end.

~Michelle Molinari

Feature This... Interior Design and Real Estate Staging

www.featurethisdotdotdot.com

Apr 20, 2008 04:02 PM

Carol Culkin

Diamond Partners Inc - Overland Park, KS

Overland Park Residential Real Estate

Yup - We manage things and we can only work so hard to keep the relationship alive, the last thing we want to do is offend anybody by making comments when we really don't have any proffesional credentials when it comes to interior design. Most of us have learned tips along the way but it sounds so much more believable when the ideas are coming from a stager.

Apr 20, 2008 04:39 PM

Jennifer Fivelsdal

JFIVE Home Realty LLC | 845-758-6842|162 Deer Run Rd Red Hook NY 12571 - Rhinebeck, NY

Mid Hudson Valley real estate connection

Carol - I know how happy you must have been that your advice was heeded. Yes it is important to eliminate as many negatives prior to listing.

Apr 21, 2008 03:25 PM

Gary Woltal

Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX

Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Excellent ideas on doing light staging Carol. At least you are working with staging ideas. To some Realtors this is a foreign subject to them.

Apr 22, 2008 02:59 PM

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Carol Culkin

Overland Park Residential Real Estate

Staging On A Shoestring Budget!

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