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"But This Home Doesn't Look Like It Did In The Pictures!"

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Home Stager with Staged First Impressions

As a New Hampshire home stager, I offer Staged Photography services. And I often get asked, "What happens if the home looks beautiful in the listing photographs on the web, but buyers are disappointed when they get to the house and see it doesn't really look like that?"

It's true. The home won't look like the photos. But listing photos are NOT a substitute for showings.

bedroomTo the buyers that whine "but it doesn't look like the pictures!" I say "So what?"
Do you look like your business card every day?

Does make-up change a woman's facial structure? I'm not PhotoShopping out power lines or stress cracks here, I'm bringing in beautiful accessories.

When you look at a brochure for an Orlando Disney hotel, do you really believe that there are no tired, grouchy people there? I'm not fooling anyone with a smokescreen of beautiful listing photographs. People are smarter than that!

A house is a living, dynamic place that is home for dogs, cats, gerbils and occasionally some rambunctious kids. Home staging isn't about perfection 24 hours a day until the house sells. And Staged Photography doesn't lie. It just puts the home's best face forward for the photographs. 

 

Staged First Impressions, a NH home staging company. We offer Staged Photography for NH home sellers. Whether you want to post your pictures on the web, have a featured tour, create e-flyers, we're here for you...snapping beautiful listing photographs to help you sell your home faster.

 

 

 

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Sue Argue
Staged First Impressions - Hampton, NH
NH Home Stager
Joan, I don't think any of us look our "portrait best" all that often!
Aug 27, 2007 02:18 PM
Sue Argue
Staged First Impressions - Hampton, NH
NH Home Stager
Terry, no way! Your pictures are great.
Aug 27, 2007 02:20 PM
Sharon Simms
Coastal Properties Group International - Christie's International - Saint Petersburg, FL
St. Petersburg FL - CRS CIPS CLHMS RSPS
That's an interesting concept to stage photos rather than the real house.
Aug 27, 2007 03:26 PM
Cheryl-Anne Priest
Inviting Spaces - Home Staging Calgary - Calgary, AB
Inviting Spaces - Staging Calgary

Sue - thank-you for this post.  Your reminder came at a very good time for me.  For whatever reason, I had put it in the back of my mind that occupieds were totally different than vacants.  Once you stage and photograph a vacant, potential buyers see the property as it shows in the photos.  However, for occupieds no matter what the property looks like in the photos, it will never look like that for the showings.  The photographs depict the potential.  I have spent a couple of weeks now working on an occupied property.   Today was my final day back and I have to say it has been a little frustrating.  Each and every time I have returned, the work I performed on my previous visit has been undone.  As a result, not only do I have to try to finish the rest of the project but also to re-stage what had been done previously.  This project has certainly taught me a very good lesson - after each room has been staged, take the photographs and then move on.  I always leave my clients with a list of what to do for showings and once I am out the door I just have to let go and trust that they will allow the property to be shown in its best possible condition.  I have done my job and can no longer take responsibility for how the property actually shows to prospective buyers.  Thank-you so much for the reminder.

Aug 27, 2007 03:53 PM
Betty Haney
Haney Consulting - Calgary, AB
Sue, I really like what you had to say in your post.  In an occupied home I don't think the showings will ever match up to the listing pictures.  But maybe if we left photos of every room so the home owner knows what to do before a showing - it would help them put the home back to a closer perspective of the pictures.  Just a thought.  Betty
Aug 27, 2007 04:54 PM
Cindy Lin
Staged4more School of Home Staging - South San Francisco, CA
Host, The Home Staging Show podcast

I have to dare to disagree here. :/

I think buyers in any fields need to have reasonable expectations set for them, because if you hype up the products too much, when they actually see it in person, the products flop because they cannot live up to the hype from the PR buzz. Seth Godin writes about this fairly often that when you overpromise your consumers, when you don't fulfill that promise, the consumers get let down and give up on you.

If the owners don't keep it staged, what's the point of staging it in the first place? If the home is staged and being made into show ready, what's the point of not keeping it staged when it's time to show? Then staging becomes a bad investment, because true, your listing attracts buyers to the door but then they get turned off once they are at the door. Then they leave and doubly annoyed that they spent time and effort to go in the first place.

There is also an issue of trust. The buyers see one thing on your flyer, they show up, and it is not staged. Of course they will be upset "It looks nothing like it is on your flyer!" Then they can become skeptical about rest your flyer, as there are the common belief that we pad our real estate language a little bit. Like "cozy" means small, "full potential" means "fixer upper." 

I always say staging is a little bit like dating. Before you go on the date, you put on your best foot forward, best outfit, best makeup, etc. First impressions counts, but not just the first impression online, in person also count. You may meet someone who has a great online profile, great photo, clean shaven, neat hair, looks like Brad Pitt in Ocean's 11. But when you meet that person in person and he comes messy haired, dirty shirts, smell of body odor, would you want to date him?

It's true that I don't look like my business card photo, but I am not selling my face, I am selling my creative ideas. If you were hiring a swimsuit model, wouldn't you expect that she looks like her photo? If she shows up with a great touch up photo, but in person, she is 20 pounds heavier, not the photo where it's after some nip/tuck and lipo of what she potentially could be, would you still hire her?

I think you raised really good points, but I am not sold on the idea. I just don't see there is a point of staging if the the sellers fundamentally don't agree with it by keeping it staged. I am going through that right now with sellers that the husband wants to sell but the wife doesn't. So she kept it un-staged on purpose. It creates issues for the realtor and buyers agents, because people just cannot visualize the potential of the home when they show up at the door and the home is messy and not ready. They have had 17,000 hits online and great traffic at the door, but no offers. The buyers agents show up to show the home and they expect it to be staged like the photos are, but it's not. My realtor client is actually on the verge of firing his seller clients because of that. It's a waste of time and effort for the realtor if they go through all the trouble hiring a stager and presenting great photos and the virtual tour, but in reality it is not kept that way. 

I don't mind slightly altered because true, lived-in homes has much more wear and tear then vacant homes. But it can't look drastically different when buyers show up. Staging is about first impressions but when buyers' expectations are not met in person, it will be hard to close the deal on it. 

Perhaps geographic areas also influence people's expectations? In San Francisco bay area where staging is much more common, people expect the homes to stay staged when it is staged. The market is just too competitive here, you can't afford to not keep it staged. Sorry for not agreeing with you on this one ;\

Aug 27, 2007 05:34 PM
Cheryl-Anne Priest
Inviting Spaces - Home Staging Calgary - Calgary, AB
Inviting Spaces - Staging Calgary
Cindy- wow, that is quite the commentary and you have made several valid points.  I love the analogy about dating but as we all know, realty sets in at some point.  I have just been in a situation where the sellers knew they required staging in order to realize the full potential of the property however, everyday living is getting in the way.   Betty's comment about leaving photos of each room for the client could work however in my experience, notwithstanding the pre-showing sheet that I provide my clients as well as a CD of their before and afters, it is not always possible to maintain the "staging".  This particular situation has make me re-think how I will be staging occupieds in the future.  For instance, bedrooms are not going to look like hotel rooms everyday unless the homeowner has access to "housekeeping staff".  Bathrooms get used numerous times a day and it is unrealistic to think that the pretty towel arrangement will stay the same day in and day out.  For one of the occupieds I did, the family actually left the house for a couple of weeks so that it would stay staged however, this again is unrealistic.  What is the answer - I am not sure but as I mentioned, Sue's post and now, your comments, have encouraged me to re-evaluate the way I stage occupieds.
Aug 28, 2007 05:09 AM
Cindy Lin
Staged4more School of Home Staging - South San Francisco, CA
Host, The Home Staging Show podcast

Sorry to be so long winded ;)

Cheryl I totally agree! Sue's posts on staged photography and recent posts have really challenged what I think about occupied staging. Luckily my clients have been pretty good about it except this one couple that my realtor is on the verge of hiring because they didn't really want to sell. I think it has to do with really how much they want to sell because basically all the redeisgn jobs so far, most sellers had small children and they worked out pretty well. I don't do a lot of decor stuff when I redesign. I focus really on paintings to change the ambiance because those are the stuff that won't get changed during day to day living. I actually tie up nice towels in the bathrooms so they know not to use them.

I ask my sellers to get

*a shower caddy -- so all they need to do is chuck it in the cabinets

*shower the night before open house so it doesn't look like someone just took a shower which sometimes can repel people

*put the show accent pillows out in the living room when it needs to be shown (i only put out 2)

*i ask what their living habits are and where they eat, so if they eat at their dining room table, the set up is very minimum. they can either eat around it haha or recreate it themselves. 

*i only put bedskirt if the bed needs it. I left their sheets if it's in good condition which most of time they are. I only bring in the "show" comforter and the matching bed pillows for them. All they need to do is take those out from their closet before show time and cover their existing sheets. 

*I also asked them to pack up a lot of items that they don't need right now. Because they are moving anyway, might as well pack now! ;) 

Stuff like that makes living in staged home much easier when they don't have to do a lot to recreate the effects. Actually I had one couple really liked what we did, when I destaged they were like "awww, we are going to miss your stuff!"

I think I am pretty easy on the homeowners. I try to use their stuff as much as possible so they are comfortable around it. I have known some pretty severe staging. I was hiring an assistant and she said that her friend had the home staged when she sold her condo, the stager asked them to pack up most of the closets and left the remaining clothes hanged 2-inch apart. I was like "What?! That's crazy!!"

Cheers,

Cindy 

Aug 28, 2007 05:32 AM
Maureen Maureen
Orangeburg, NY
I think it is the obligation of the listing agent to put the best photos on the internet.  The point of the photos is to drive buyers to the home - the rest is in the hands of the homeowner.  
Aug 28, 2007 11:45 AM
Juliet Johnson
Vizzitopia - St Johns, FL
Jacksonville Photography & Digital Marketing

Thank you for posting this Sue, as it give me the perfect opportunity to reprise this post of mine, which was very funny, and ignored by all!

http://activerain.com/blogsview/181983/All-that-matters-is

Not that I'm still peeved or anything.

;-)

Aug 28, 2007 12:40 PM
Sue Argue
Staged First Impressions - Hampton, NH
NH Home Stager

Cindy Lin - I LOVE your comments. You put your heart and soul in your comments like no one else. I appreciate the energy that you gave here. 

Sharon Simms - wow, thank you for visiting my blog! I'm not sure if you're comment is positive or negative, but I'm pleased to see you here nonetheless.

Cheryl-Anne - I like your comment, "reality should set in at some point." Bing!

Betty - I'm sure sellers have good intentions of keeping the place staged, but life happens.

Maureen - this is a beautiful summary, the only thing I'd add is that the agent should pay for the photography.

Aug 28, 2007 12:54 PM
Sue Argue
Staged First Impressions - Hampton, NH
NH Home Stager

Juliet, my friend, I read that post 3 times. Can you come back & explain the joke? I wasn't sure if I should be happy about the mention or not!

Aug 28, 2007 01:08 PM
Jennie Norris
Sensational Home Staging - Littleton, CO
Denver Regions Premier Home Staging Resource,

Sue - this is a great post - very thought provoking!  I believe that part of our job as Stagers is to teach our clients to keep their house in "Staged condition" - and I actually give them a list of what to do each day to make sure it shows well to buyers.  If I have a client with a lot of kids or special circumstances and I KNOW they will not be able to maintain a fancy level of Staging touches (such as table set with full plates, etc., layers of throws and trays on the beds), then I purposely keep it more streamlined and simple.  It has to be easy for them to maintain with their every day lives but that does not mean it has to be plain or boring.

Having sold my last 2 houses that were Staged and kept Staged - while I had 4 SMALL children (ages 1-4 and then 2 1/2 - 7 for our last 2 moves) I can empathize with sellers that are overwhelmed keeping the house clean and "Staged."  I did not stress out over having all the laundry folded and put away, I used creative thinking to keep the laundry room staged.  But I did keep my houses Staged because I wanted to SELL.

I think one of Sue's point here - is that photos need to showcase the house, and the Sellers need to put in some effort to keep their house Staged - or else what is the point?  A buyer will not be fooled by walking into a cluttered mess just because the photos looked good, although it might help them to still appreciate the house if they really like it. . . and can picture it with its true potential.  I do not photograph houses to deceive buyers - distorting room size and shape (like the spin 360 tours do - making a room seem extra large when in reality it is not) . . . although I do have a wide angle lens that lets me capture as much (or as little) of what I want in the frame as possible.

We need to remember that Buyers are not stupid, their agents are savvy, and a well positioned and photographed picture serves to help market the house, generate interest, but the house still has to "sell" itself to the buyer.  Any Seller that fails to maintain the level of "staging" in their home is shooting themselves in the foot for sure!  Again, keeping it simple for them, understanding their circumstances and communicating that a level of inconvenience may be present for a short period of time compared to the big picture, but in the end it is worth it when their house SELLS while the competition that is un-staged SITS.

- Jennie

Aug 28, 2007 01:16 PM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

"Staged Photography doesn't lie. It just puts the home's best face forward for the photographs." Sue Argue

Now doesn't that almost seem human? We do the same thing when we want to 'dress to impress'.  Your message is clear Sue.  You give the sellers the image they need to project (through beautiful photography)  to their "date" with the buyers but it is up to them to keep up the appearance as well. Just like a professional head shot - if it's over 10 years old and your hair is a new color - update it before people are shocked to see the real you.

The tide is rising Ms. Argue, get your surfboard ready!

Aug 28, 2007 01:21 PM
Sue Argue
Staged First Impressions - Hampton, NH
NH Home Stager

Hey Jennie, thanks for stopping by tonight and leaving a well written comment. 

I know some are wondering why I am marketing staged photography so hard. Well, in NH, people have been very reluctant to pay for full home staging. They don't want to pay for props at all. To me, the props/accessories are what adds punch to a listing photo. Imagine the above photo with a digital clock & kleenex on the table instead of a plant. And replace the basket and the pink flowers with clutter. Is this just a fluffy staged photo of a bed?

No it isn't. This picture shows the crown molding, the clean nice carpet, the updated wall color, the 3 sunny windows, and a huge bed with plenty of space around it.

Staged Photography works. But definitely yes, the seller has to do their part to keep it looking decent for showings. 

Aug 28, 2007 01:32 PM
Sue Argue
Staged First Impressions - Hampton, NH
NH Home Stager
Karen, you're the bomb. I'm holding on tight!
Aug 28, 2007 01:34 PM
Cheryl-Anne Priest
Inviting Spaces - Home Staging Calgary - Calgary, AB
Inviting Spaces - Staging Calgary
Karen - I chuckled when I read your analogy about the "head shot" and new "hair color".  My driver's license was taken four years ago when my hair was "dipped".  Since then I have let it grow out so when clerks ask to see my ID and they do a double take, I just say that since the photograph I have put in blond highlights!  Gets a smile every time. 
Aug 28, 2007 01:37 PM
Jennie Norris
Sensational Home Staging - Littleton, CO
Denver Regions Premier Home Staging Resource,

Hi Sue,

I am with you on all points - when over 80% of buyers are making up their mind based on the PHOTOS they see online on websites, MLS, etc. - the photos better look pretty darn good!  There is a difference between a Staged photo and one that is not Staged too!  I had a house where I took a photo of the dining room showing the WHOLE room - entrance, walls, window, etc.  The Realtor took their own photo and got only 1/2 the room so it shows part of the table, a window and a tree.  HUH?  Whenever possible I do provide photos as an added service to my clients - and you have a TRUE eye for photos so I KNOW what you are taking is QUALITY!  A Realtor and/or seller would be a fool not to use your images!  My point above was that hopefully the Seller will also be motivated to keep their house looking good - and sometimes it's US that to prod and educate them to reap the full benefits of the Staging process.

- Jennie

Aug 28, 2007 01:45 PM
Cindy Lin
Staged4more School of Home Staging - South San Francisco, CA
Host, The Home Staging Show podcast

Hey lady, thanks! I think your post clearly showed that different strategies work in different markets, and also how we differ from area to area. It's a very thought provoking post.

;)

 

cheers,

Cindy 

Aug 28, 2007 05:09 PM
Juliet Johnson
Vizzitopia - St Johns, FL
Jacksonville Photography & Digital Marketing

Hi Sue,  Oh dear, when you have to explain the joke it doesn't seem so funny after all.  I think I was intending to say a few things:

1.   Photos are more important than ever before, and as a result, they are redefining how we design.

2.   We need to be careful.  If we design for the photos only, then we might be tempted to do only parts, not the whole.  In fact, there might not even be a need for the whole.

3.   The last section is a stroll through a "new" listing where only "art" photos are included, not the spaces being described in typical listing copy. I took it a ludicrous look so as to make the point that the photo needs to be of the space, not a great shot in and of itself.

So the post is neither a compliment nor a sly poke.  It is simply a commentary on a new trend changing the nature of our process.  I wanted people to understand how I saw the new landscape if pursued irresponsibly (at worst) or (misunderstood) at best.

<chuckling> I sound "holier than thou" don't I?  <sigh>  I've only been blogging since July, and I have yet to find the right way to put things.  I have a lot to learn.  AR is a great place, if it can be forgiving?

Much love,  Jules

Aug 29, 2007 12:36 AM
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