Drum roll please, imagine they're here....Clive Burns and Lisa LaPorta, the stars of HGTV's hit show , Design to Sell!
You know the drill, they start the show off with a Real Estate Professional (not the seller's agent though an independent third party) walking through the homeowner's house, the owners are "next door at a neighbor's house" watching on video the blow by blow breakdown of why this house so desperately needs to be Designed to Sell AKA - STAGED! - With horror and fear the homeowner's brace themselves for what the expert has to say. Another version of this show is Sell this House - even more brutal because the comments are coming from actual prospective buyers with no holes barred language (censored thankfully) and criticism. "WOW", the owner's say we didn't think it was that bad!
And we know - really it's not. It's a TV show - ratings are important, shock value grand! Who cares if the owner's feeling are trampled on - this is good stuff!
What I'd like to say here is this - Professional Home Stagers are designed to sell and tell. We are the experts. We are the "eyes of the buyer". But.... we're here to help, not hurt, embarrass or shame someone into staging their property before listing. We CARE about our clients. Selling a house is an emotional process and we understand that.
Realtors and Sellers, we can provide you with a powerful marketing tool that doesn't have to cost a lot, I'll let you in on the secret it's called a CONSULTATION. And below are some things to know how it can work for you.
What is a Consultation? - A consultation can be a verbal walk through or written report detailing all the necessary things for a seller to do to get the property ready for sale.
A verbal consultation is usually paid for at an hourly rate - the area you live will determine the pricing, ranging generally speaking, from $50 hour up. A verbal consult should usually not take longer than a couple of hours depending on the size & condition of the home and verbosity of the homeowner. Just like in the show, we walk through each room and explain the changes we see that would be necessary to create the environment suited for selling - the owner is encouraged to and free to take notes. We in essence, are the "eyes of the buyer".
A written consultation is a detailed report or "blue print" of everything we recommend for each room, including (at least in www.homestarstaging.com 's report) the front two corners of the property (curb appeal) to the back two corners, as well as paint and carpet replacement suggestions that a lot of us do. This report provides the seller with all the recommendations they need to prepare their home for sale.
HOW CAN A CONSULTATION HELP A REALTOR?
- A consultation is a powerful marketing tool which can be used as part of your listing package
- Having access to a qualified, professional stager on your team sets you apart from other agents who are not using staging consultations or stagers for their listings
- Saves you the awkwardness of having to explain to your clients what needs to be done to prepare their home for sale ( We are skilled at handling the emotions of our clients in a professional, calm, and rational way. Home selling is a stressful process and we understand the needs of our sellers.)
- Very cost effective and high yield on the return - starting as little as $50 in some markets, for a one-hour verbal walk through your homeowner will have tools needed to prepare their house for sale
- It is an insurance policy of sorts - How? If your client does receive a consultation, refuses to do anything and the house sits, you have the ability to say, "have you done anything recommended on your staging consultation to get your home ready for sale?" - It is also a homeowner's responsibility - if they want to truly sell their home - to improve the CONDITION (one of the 3 key components to a sale) of their home. Don't shy away from being firm with your prospects! It only hurts you and them when you can't tell them like it is.
- We create equity for our clients and that means YOU !- the return on the investment in a staging consultation will ALWAYS pay for itself - faster sales time, which lowers the probability of a price reduction (in the thousands!) and statistically the better the condition of the home, the higher the sales price!
HOW CAN A CONSULTATION HELP A SELLER?
- Provides you with the blueprint you need to prepare your home for sale.
- Gives you the "buyer's eye" perspective before the first buyer ever walks through the door.
- Cost effective and quick!
- Sets you apart from other houses in your comparatible market
- Great for the do it yourself homeowner who is serious about selling quickly for top dollar.
- High return on investment. By doing the work yourself based on the consultation you receive from a Professional Home Stager you are well ahead of the competition. Your house not only shows better but is a pleasure for Agents to want to show.
- We create equity for our clients and that means YOU !- the return on the investment in a staging consultation will ALWAYS pay for itself - faster sales time, which lowers the probability of a price reduction (in the thousands!) and statistically the better the condition of the home, the higher the sales price!
HOW DO I FIND A STAGER?
- www.ActiveRain.com is a wonderful resource but of course call or email and ask for references!
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- Ask your receptionist - A stager may already have dropped off cards and brochures in your office and they're justing waiting for someone to take one!
- Ask your fellow agents - they may already have a stager on file
Proudly serving Collin County and North Dallas - Home Star Staging is here for you Texas!
Copyright Karen Otto 2007 www.homestarstaging.com
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Karen,
Great post...hope the realtors will read and comment!
Two things realtors need to know. If you have watched those stage it and sell it shows let's change what the perception might be. WE, professional stagers, do NOT talk to clients like the "experts" on those shows. Brutal and untactful talk is not how we let homeowners/sellers know what needs to be done. Yes, we need to give them the news but we know how to do it without being mean or nasty. Those folks on TV are there for the shock appeal and I guess it makes good TV, but it's just not reality for us.
Also, several of my realtor associates use my written notes to help themselves when a client's home is not moving and like Karen said it's a very good tool for motivation or BLAME if needed. They will say things like...let's pull out that staging consult sheet that Ginger did and see what else we can do to improve on the house. As they go through the pages they make gentle comments that let the home seller know that these things really ARE necessary and they have a job to do to make it happen. Selling the house is not just the job of the realtor and the sellers can be told that with this written report.
We really want to help realtors sell those homes and teamwork is always better than going it alone.