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Exercise equipment snaps do not sell homes.

Keeping yourself physically fit and in shape is important and to be encouraged, but when selling your home, sellers should put the exercise equipment away.

We need visiting buyers to be able to see how they could live in the home, not how you live in your home.

Have a look at the following ‘for sale' snaps as posted by real estate agents on a public listing site in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Would you choose to visit these properties based upon how these rooms look? Can you tell the price range of these homes? Answer below.

Moving the clutter out of the way is the first part of this owner's get-fit routine. Buyers want large bedrooms, put the gym equipment away.

Just what buyers want; a home office and free gym membership. Most buyers want a roomy home office - remove the gym equipment.

Ahhh, for the outdoors type. This is Florida, buyers want to have an outdoor seating area for relaxing/entertaining, put the gym equipment away.

Finally, the fully equipped gym. Not a square inch wasted. No room for anything else. I think you get the picture, buyers prefer an extra bedroom. Put the gym equipment away.

These 'snaps' are not ‘Marketing photographs'.

ANSWER: All these homes were listed for sale between $550k and $650k. Surprised?

Over 85% of buyers search for properties online and photographs of your property are how they decide which homes to visit. Buyers typically short-list properties that meet their price, location, etc. search criteria online, and further refine their short-list of homes to actually visit based on how the home looks in the online photographs.

As a result, how your property for sale looks online is critical in getting buyers to visit - the more visits, the better chance of an offer. Your property needs to look better than the competition.

Give us, the Open Door Staging team 15 minutes, and we will tell you how to make your listing look better than the competition online to sell your property faster.

South Florida's Premier Home Staging Professional Services Company.

http://www.opendoorstaging.com/

Have us present at your brokerage or organization.

Posted by OpenDoorStaging.com - South Floridas Premier Home Staging Co 866-6STAGE1 on 05/14/2008 09:27 AM

Comments (12)

hom staging, fort lauderdale, fort lauderdale home staging, how do you tell a seller to prepare their home for sale, exercise equipment

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12 Comments on Exercise equipment snaps do not sell homes.

MAY

2008

Surprised no, sad yes. Agents need to really help clients com to the understanding of either get the clutter out and make it look as close to a model home as possible or hire a staging company.

There's nothing more comforting that having a stepper next to the bed! Oh, and a treadmill behind the computer...now that's multi-function!

Sad is a good word to use, it is indeed sad that in this market, poeple still throw listings up on the wall and see what sticks.

The real estate landscape has changed, and only those than can change with it will survive.

As an example, approx 15% of my real estate agent mailing list bounce each month, they are no longer in the business.

MAY

2008

Exercise equipment may be great for users, but they are terrible space hogs. Unless the seller intends to include the equipment in the transaction it should be removed.

Sad fact is, many home we stage have a room dedictaed to gym equipment and it'l like pulling teeth to get them to remove it ~ they often times DO use is daily. My rule of thumb is that if you have to have it - pick 2 peices that will serve all your needs and out them both either in the garage or in 1 room. But NOT on the back porch....and NEVER include the picture of in the MLS

Excersice equipment does not sell houses most of the time! FYI - you misspelled competition a couple of times in the last couple of paragraphs.

One of the trends in our market are in home gyms. It's huge just like men cave rooms. The best thing we found is if there is a room over the garage or a great area in a 3 car garage turn it into a gym and make sure you roll towels, use bottle water props etc. and make it shine. You are correct it doesn't help sell a home with a big piece of equipment in the master bedroom. move them on out!

Kym Hough, Staged to Sell, Expert Stagers for the SF East Bay.

I say make it a gym only if it is designed for that purpose, otherwise, an office is a better choice. These people may need to get a gym membership for a month or two ;)

OCT

2008

Workout Equipment belongs at the gym-your photos are a great eye opener.

Couldn't agree with you more on this topic. Bedrooms should be shown as bedrooms. Paitos should be shown as patios etc.

Let the buyer decide if they want to turn a room in to a gym.

If you have a spare area in the rec room, I say go for it. I have even done one in an extra wide hallway in a basement that was being under utilized. In this example, there was still another 4 feet of space in the width of the hallway for passage to the rec room at the end of the hall and for the traffic pattern to the exit door to the back patio.

Here is an example of that one. In fact, this exercise area was the feature that sold the house. The Realtors showing the house said that buyers were actually sitting down and trying out the yoga area that I created. Ah! marketing at it's best. Showing buyers in a gentle way how they could live in the house.

I agree, put away the majority of the work out equipment and just leave out enough to show the possibilities to the buyers.

To say nothing of the odor that often accompanies the towel hanging on the treadmill...ugh. Do like Michelle Finnamore's yoga center above, though.

OCT

2008

For my personal home I use one of 4th bedroom as a gym. It would just get filled with clutter. But, for staging purposes, I agree, put it away. Oh, I dread moving!

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